15 July 2003

Great Britain 5, Germany 3

Heath Great Britain salvaged the final game of the group stage of the , by beating Germany, 5-3, on 15 July in Amsterdam. Britain finished the round with a 1-4 record, enough for fifth place.

Britain’s leadoff man, Darren Heath, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. David Donaldson earned what turned out to be the game-winning RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. British starter John Beaven gave up all three German runs — including a Marvin Apphia home run — in his three and 1/3 innings of work. Simon Eissens earned the victory in relief.

German first-baseman and former Buccaneer René Herlitzius was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Because they failed to finish in the top four of their pool, Great Britain are now in the relegation bracket, and must win one of their two remaining games to avoid being relegated to the B-Pool for the next European competition. They face Belgium on Thursday in Rotterdam and Croatia on Friday in Amsterdam. Box Score »

In other games played in Group 2 on 15 July, Italy beat Spain, 5-1, and Greece brat Russia, 11-4. The score was enough for Greece win Group 2. In group 1, the Netherlands routed Sweden, 10-0, in a game that was stopped by the Mercy Rule in the seventh inning. Croatia shut out Belgium, 5-0, and the Czech Republic beat France, 5-3.