(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Rein Merkx & Stabroek Chicaboo's)
IN MEMORIAM
...Griet De Schrijvere...
(1980 - 2022) |
 Veteran Belgian softball-player Griet De Schrijvere passed away
Nederlands
 WAREGEM (Belgium) -
Sad news has come from Belgium, as it was announced that former National Softball Team-player Griet De Schrijvere had passed away on Friday (February 4) at the much too young age of 41 after a brief illness.
A few years ago, Griet played in the Dutch Silver League for Roef! for whom she played in one more game last year.
Also last year, she played for Chicaboo's Stabroek, with whom she captured the Belgian Championship-title.
The memorial ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 12 at the Sint-Laurentius Church in Wielsbeke at 11 AM.
It is possible to say goodbye to Griet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (February 8-10) between 3 and 5 PM at the Rouwkamer Primula of funerarium Lefèvre, which is located at Westerlaan 13 in Waregem.
Griet De Schrijvere, who was born on March 13, 1980, had a long career in softball in both Belgium and internationally.
Through the years, she became a solid, driven and well-respected player and played for many seasons in the highest Belgian league.
On the field, she could be very serious and was always focused.
She had one very characteristically trademark, which was sticking out the point of her tongue while playing at first base.
Because of her smile (which was always there) and her fun-loving and friendly character, Griet was much-liked by many.
Of course by her teammates and coaches, but also by opponents and officials.
Griet, who was a righthanded pitcher and played at first base, also played for some seasons for Roef! in the Netherlands.
Internationally, she participated in several European Cup-tournaments and with the Belgian National Softball Team she played in European Championships.
Griet De Schrijvere participated in many European Premiere Cup and European Cup Winners Cup-tournaments with Belgian clubteams.
Most of them with Brasschaat Braves, but also with some other teams.
In 2011, she played for Heist-op-den-Berg Afterburners in the A-Pool of the what then was the European Cup (now Premiere Cup) in Italy.
There, the Dutch team of Tex Town Tigers won the Cup, while Afterburners finished in sixth place.
...Griet playing for Roef!...
...during the 2015 Indoor Cup...
(© Photo: Rein Merkx) |
Thereafter, she participated almost annually in an European Cup-tournament with Brasschaat.
With this team, Griet won the European Cup Winners Cup in the B-Pool in 2012 in Trieste (Italy) after winning the Final against Pezinok (Slovakia), 13-3.
Back then, Dutchman Jan Naterop was the coach of Brasschaat.
In 2012, Griet was named Female Athlete of the Year in Wielsbeke.
During these tournaments, several Dutch players were added to the team of Brasschaat as pick-up players, including Sophie Bugter, Debby Connor, Michelle van Driel, Charlotte Haen, Anouk van den Heuvel, Ilse van Kerkoerle, Gini Ketelaars, Eva van Knegsel, Wies Ligtvoet, Isa Los, Marjolein Merkx and Cindy van der Zanden.
In 2018, Griet was a pick-up player herself in the team of London Angels from England during the Cup Winners Cup-tournament in Capelle a/d IJssel (Netherlands).
Other guest-players in that team included Dutch players Judith van den Berg, Sterre den Duijn, Cheska Ham, Roos-Marijn Kramer and Marjolein Merkx and Belgian players Nathalie Hosten and Sandy Lauwers.
The team was led by Dutch coaches Evert Versloot and Robin Stoevelaar and Belgian Vicky Vanacker.
Griet also was to play for the London-team in 2020, but in that year, all European Cup-tournaments were cancelled due to to COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2013 and 2014, Belgian Jeroen Swers was one of the coaches of Brasschaat Braves.
In 2015, Swers became the new Head Coach of Roef!, which then played in the Silver League, the second highest league in the Netherlands.
Griet De Schrijvere has been one of the Belgian players who played for Roef! in 2014, which then was coached by Jeroen van de Wiel.
In 2015 and 2016, Griet also played for the team from Moergestel.
In 2016, Roef! shutout UVV 7-0 in the deciding Promotion/Relegation Play-Off to promote to the Golden League, the highest division.
After the 2016 season, Griet returned to Belgian.
While playing for Roef! in 2014, she played together with Charlotte Haen, Ilse van Kerkoerle, Eva van Knegsel and Marjolein Merkx.
These players also were teammates during the Cup Winners Cup-tournament in 2014 while playing for Brasschaat Braves.
Besides the above mentioned players, other teammates with whom she played together in 2016 at Roef! in the Dutch Silver League, as well as during the Cup Winners Cup-tournament in Ostrava (Czech Republic) with Brasschaat include Dutch players Gini Ketelaars and Wies Ligtvoet, Belgians Ennia Ballardini, Nina De Permentier and Shauni Thys and New Zealand-pitcher Jasmin Kaiaruna.
With Roef!, Griet also participated in the Indoor Cup-tournament in Schiedam (Netherlands).
...Griet pitching for Roef! in 2016...
(© Photo: Rein Merkx) |
Last year, Griet played one more game for Roef!, which also was her lone game in the highest Dutch league.
On May 15, Griet was inserted as pitcher in Game 1 of a double-header against Tex Town Tigers.
In Belgium, Griet De Schrijvere mostly played for Brasschaat Braves, but she also played for Wiesbeke Pitbulls and Stabroek Chicaboo's.
Last year, she had a successful season with Chicaboo's, which was led by Dutch coach Evert Versloot.
In the regular season, the team finished in second place with a 24-4 record behind Hoboken Pioneers (26-2).
By finishing in first and second place, these teams met in the best-of-five Belgian Series.
Although Griet now was a veteran player, who had turned 41 in March, she still was a very productive and valuable player for her team, being used as a pinch-hitter and designated player, but also at first base and sometimes as a pitcher.
In an important game on September 12 against Hoboken, Chicaboo's won 3-2.
While trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Griet delivered a pinch-hit single that enabled Nathalie Hosten to score the tying run.
Moments later, Griet's pinch-runner Lynn Cornelis scored what would be the deciding run on a single by Lisa Van Raemdonck.
In the Belgian Series, Chicaboo's shutout Hoboken 11-0 in the opener on October 10, but then lost the next game with a 11-9 score.
In that last game, Griet contributed with an RBI-single.
A week later, in a double-header at home, Chicaboo's won 7-0 and 13-3 to capture the Belgian Championship-title.
Pitching for Chicaboo's last season was Australian pitcher Jessica Tolmie, who in 2018 pitched for Tex Town Tigers in the Dutch big league.
During the Final Series, Chicaboo's also had Dutch players Lizzy Uytendaal and Nicky Uytendaal on its roster.
With the Belgian National Softball Team, Griet De Schrijvere participated in several European Championships.
In 2011 (Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy) and 2013 (Prague, Czech Republic), amongst her teammates in the Belgian Team were Imane Alou Issa, Ennia Bellardini, Innes Goosen, Nathalie Hosten, Sophie Hosten, Sandy Lauwers and Shauni Thys, who all have played in the Dutch big league.
In 2011, Griet De Schrijvere got a pinch-hit at bat against the Netherlands, which won 9-0.
In both 2011 and 2013, Griet played in all seven games for the Belgium played, which finished in tenth and eleventh place respectively.
After Belgium didn't participate in the 2015 Championship, the team was back again in 2017, but Griet wasn't a member of the team then.
However, in 2019, when the European Championship was played in the Czech Republic and Poland, Griet returned to the National Team.
In that year, the team included several veteran players, including Imane Alou Issa, Lynn Boermans, Kelly De Lanoy, Kate Geldof, Sarah Van Der Meiren and Griet Van Doorslaer.
With her 39 years, Griet De Schrijvere was the second oldest player in the team.
Van Doorslaer was the oldest, being 41.
In 2019 Championship, Griet De Schrijvere played in six games for Belgium.
Griet also shared her softball-knowledge as a coach at the club-level, but also for a National Team.
In 2012, she was a member of the coaching-staff of the Belgian Junior Team, which then participated in the European Championship Juniors in Enschede (Netherlands).
...The team of Chicaboo's celebrates the Belgian title in 2021...
...Griet sits in the middle (wearing a black cap)...
(© Photo: Stabroek Chicaboo's) |
After the news of Griet's passing was announced, there were many reactions on Facebook-pages.
On Friday, Griet's current team Chicaboo's Stabroek posted the following reaction on its Facebook-page:
,,This afternoon, we received the unreal news that we had to say goodbye to Griet De Schrijvere unexpectedly.
We would like to wish everyone a lot of strength with this incredible loss.
Dear Griet, we will miss your enthusiasm, your engaging character, your warm smile, but above all your presence enormously, both on and off our field.''
Roef!, where Griet played in 2015 and 2016 and in one game last season, also posted a reaction on Facebook on Sunday:
,,Griet, a teammate with the heart in the right place  .
Super fanatic, perfectionist, strict with himself, much less strict with others, a genuinely interested teammate, always in for fun and the nicest accent we've ever have had at Roef!
On Friday, we received the incredibly sad news that Griet passed away after a relatively short illness.
The news has touched us deeply and made time stand still for a while.
How nice that we were able to enjoy one more game from you in the green suit last season.
Lots of love, strength and hugs to the many who love Griet.
We are going to miss you "big" .''
Wielsbeke Pitbulls, where Griet also played and coached, posted this on Sunday:
,,Dearest Griet.
Thank you for your personality, motivation and humor.
Thank you for putting Wielsbeke Pitbulls on the map.
Thank you for being the cornerstone of the club with your sisters and all your family.
Thank you for the coaching and the knowledge you brought to the club later in your career.
You as a player with ambition and how you continued to support enthusiastically as a former Pitbull, remains an example for our young guard.
We will miss you, forever in our hearts.''
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News also offers his condolences to Griet's partner Jennie, her parents, her sisters and other family and friends and wishes them a lot of strength with this huge loss.
(February 8)
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