varsity news
DURHAM LORDS
Monday, August 1, 2011
Dempster leads Great Britain to victory at the European Championship Qualifier
ISRAEL – Led by Durham College head coach Sam Dempster, the Great Britain national baseball team won the European Baseball Championship qualifying tournament in Tel Aviv, Israel this past week and has earned a trip to the 2012 European Championship in the Netherlands.
“The team is thrilled to be returning to the European A-Pool,” said General Manager Jason Greenberg. “We were relegated last year after narrow losses to Greece and the Czech Republic , and it was devastating. Today, Great Britain Baseball is back where it belongs: amongst the top baseball nations in Europe .”
After going 3-0 in round robin play with wins over Lithuania (14-3), Israel (8-6) and Georgia (8-7), Great Britain earned a spot in the finals against Israel . Israel would have to beat Great Britain twice to earn the tournament title after finishing in second place in pool play.
In game one, Israel shutout Great Britain 7-0 to force a winner-take-all scenario in their second match of the day.
Trailing 1-0 after three innings, Great Britain stormed back with five unanswered runs over the next four innings to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Israel was able to get a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but their rally was stopped short as Great Britain won by a final score of 5-2.
Returning to the European Championship in 2012 are the Netherlands , Germany , Italy , France , Greece , Sweden and the Czech Republic . Joining these teams are the other four winners of this summer's qualifier competitions including Russia , Spain , Croatia and Belgium .
2012 will be a big year for the Great Britain national program as they will also be taking part in the qualifying round for the World Baseball Classic.
Durham College alumnus and assistant coach Darryl Reid is also a member of the Great Britain coaching staff .
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.259.2825 (C)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca
With files from Great Britain Baseball
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