The Women’s U22 National Team travelled to Pardubice, Czech Republic in July to compete in the U22 European Championships. The team had high hopes on improving their 3rd place finish in the previous U22 Championships. A difficult task as they faced some of the top European Softball Nations.
On opening day Greece faced the tournament favorite and later the European Champion Netherlands. The Dutch were too strong thus defeating Greece 15-0. The team bounced back and later that evening beat Poland 9-1 with solid pitching by Loren Stavrou.
The next match against Slovakia was highlighted by a Katie Vretzos homerun in the 5th inning, but that was not enough, as costly defensive errors resulted in a 5-2 loss. The defeat did not affect the team as the next day they dominated Lithuania and won 16-1.
The following two games of the tournament were against two of the strongest European nations, Russia and the host Czech Republic. Greece was defeated 15-0 and 9-1 respectively.
The final day of play saw a rematch against Poland. The game was tied 1-1 until the 6th inning, when costly defensive errors by the Greek team resulted in a 4-1 loss. This result placed Greece in 6th place in the European Championship.
STAFF
Head Coach: Dennis Horafas
Assistant Coach: Iandros Zavitsanos
Team Manager: Maria Horafa
Assistant Team Manager: Zoe Stavrou
PLAYERS
Loren Stavrou
Katie Vretzos
Demi Patonis
Iliana Kourea
Dafni Emmanouil
Danai Emmanouil
Foteini Nikolaki
Stavroula Tzortzi
Vasiliki Minou
Stavroula Merliga
Elpida Diavati
Iliana Vlasi