14 July 2003

Greece 10, Great Britain 1

Heath Greece beat Great Britain, 10-1, on 14 July in Haarlem. The result leaves Britain winless in their first four group matches at the 2003 European Championships.

Great Britain managed just five hits off the Greek starter — San Francsisco Giants prospect Kevin Pickford — but Britain’s leadoff man Darren Heath was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, and Ryan Stewart collected one of the other British hits of the afternoon. Michael Close pitched one inning of relief, giving up three runs on two hits. Close also walked a batter and hit another.

Because baseball is virtually unknown in Greece, but the country will need a competitive baseball team when it hosts the 2004 Olympic Games, the Hellenic Amateur Baseball Association looked to the United States to form a team. Led by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a team comprised of American minor league and college players of Greek descent was assembled. As a result, Greece is one of the strongest squads in the competition. Box Score »

In other games played in Group 2 on 14 July, Italy shut out Russia, 6-0, and Spain beat Germany, 5-2. In group 1, the Netherlands edged France, 1-0;the Czech Republic beat Croatia, 3-2, and Sweden beat Belgium, 10-2.

Great Britain face the only other winless team in the group, Germany, on 15 July in Amsterdam.

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