Congrats to Orlando's and RHPMom's sons playing in European Nationals

Thanks for letting us know about this, MN-Mom.
Quite an accomplishment ... congrats Aeden and Drew.

Way to go guys! Congratulations and keep up the good work!

That is very cool. I have met both players. Fine young men both. I'll bet they are having the time of their lives.

Do they need an equipment manager or stat guy?

Congratulations to Drew and Aedeen.
Had the pleasure of meeting Drew and watching him pitch this Spring. He is a very talented player with a personality and presence to match.
I fully expect his next 3 years in college to be very productive...but not for batting averages.

Congratulations to Aedeen and Drew!



Wow its amazing what you find out on this web site. I thought I was the only parent of a GB National Team member.

My youngest, David, is on the GB Cadet squad, that will be competeing in the European Championship Qualifier tournament in Kutno, Poland 23-29 July. (He lives with me in Nebraska.)

My oldest, Will, was part of last years GB team that won the Euorpean Pool B Junior's Championship. (He lives in England.)



We're going to have to start a Great Britian Forum.

sonisclass08,

That's great to hear that you found a couple more US-Brits through this thread! I believe RHPMom and her family are still over in Europe, and I think Orlando was going to make it over there for part of the tourney, so she may be out of the country, too. You should get in touch with both moms, though. They are both really nice people who I'm sure would enjoy talking with you about this unusual, exciting opportunity that your sons have in common! Best of luck to your son later this month!

Wow, just came across this.
It sounds like eveyone's son is having a great summer!
Way to go boys!

Well, Aeden and Drew, I really appreciate it when you coordinate your efforts and BOTH appear in the same game highlights!!!

GB Baseball Guarantee Top 10 Finish in Euros
Friday 15 July 2005
http://www.baseballsoftballuk.com/

Here is a report on the last two games of the GB Men's Baseball Team at the European Championships in the Czech Republic. By beating Croatia 13-3 today, they have secured a top-10 finish this year and maintained their A Pool status.

...

GB 13, Croatia 3

Great Britain Baseball again showed their ability to bounce back from adversity, crushing Croatia 13-3 Friday afternoon. GB broke loose in the fourth inning, scoring five runs, then put up another four in the sixth. Aeden McQuery-Ennis led the way with three hits, while Drew Bignall threw five and two-thirds impressive innings.

...

Bignall tired in the sixth, giving up one run before departing, and being charged with a second shortly thereafter. He struck out seven while allowing only four hits, hammering the lower half of the strike zone with fastballs and a nasty changeup. Gary Tongue, Nick Carter, and Simon Flynn each got an innings' worth of work to finish out the game.

Way to go, Drew and Aeden!!!

Thanks everyone for the cheers!

The guys had a GREAT time playing for Britain and experiencing European baseball in the Czech Republic. They spent the first week in Prague playing in a pre-tournament with some of the other national teams, then everyone moved to outlying districts to begin the European Championships. We stayed in a picturesque little town with a surprising sports complex and travelled to other areas for some of the games. This was a fantastic opportunity for us fans too! We got to watch baseball daily and have an adventure at the same time.

I too am surprised to see another GB parent on the HSBBWeb! Nice to see you here sonisclass08, and good luck to the Cadets in their Euros.

Baseball is a growing sport in Europe which makes it especially surprising that it was cut from the 2012 Olympics. After the announcement about the 2012 Olympic games being played in London, our guys got to be future Olympic athletes for two days until the cut announcement was made about baseball.

Thanks, MN-Mom, for your kind words. Life has "gotten interesting" this summer and I haven't been checking in often enough to have seen the thread when it started.

The GB team had it's highest finish ever this year....and came frustratingly close to entering the championship round. (Left the bases loaded in the 8th and 9th in a one-run game!) I didn't get a chance to go over to see them play, but RHP Mom was kind enough to give me an overview of the Prague scene....somehow internet access in Chocen was not so easy...

And in the middle of all this, the guys get word that London got the Olympics bid, followed by the attacks in London, followed by the vote to eliminate baseball and softball from the Olympics. Quite a time for them.

It's a fantastic experience. Best of luck to your sons, sonisclass08, and feel free to PM me about the organization. Do you know that Lance Painter is now their pitching coach? The guys have really benefited from that.