The Dutch Netherlands thrashed Austria 16-0 to lay down an early marker in the round-robin stage.

Both Dinet Oosting and Annemiek Jansen had three runs batted in (RBI) each and were also two of six players to score a home run.

The Dutch sealed the win with a score of seven runs in the fifth inning.

Czech Republic followed with a 9-0 win over Denmark, helped by the work of Gabriela Slaba and Eliska Thompsonova who hit three and two RBIs, respectively.

A third straight shut-out was completed when Russia thumped Bulgaria 10-0 after an incredible second inning saw the team score eight.

Daria Semenova and Tatiana Pinigina were the standouts with both hitting two RBIs, as did Milena Makushina.

Three runs in the opening inning set France on their way to a 5-2 win over Ukraine, while elsewhere in Group D, Spain defeated Slovakia 5-3 thanks to two runs in both the third and fifth innings.

Germany swept aside Lithuania 17-1 in Group B despite no home runs - with the team scoring 11 and six runs on the third and fourth runs.

In Group C, Israel emerged 7-0 winners over Croatia, finishing off the game with five runs in the fifth inning, and Poland hit Hungary for eight runs in the fourth inning of their game to win 11-1 in Group A.

In the late game, Italy thumped Russia 9-0.