 Dutch Team wins big again; De Caster not coming
Nederlands
 ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
On Day 2 of the European Championship, the Dutch Team again won big on Saturday.
After winning 17-0 on Friday-evening against Belgium, the Orange squad today shutout France 15-0 and needed only 4 1/2 inning to do so.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that infielder Yurendell de Caster will not come to Rotterdam to be with the Dutch Team during the Championship.
De Caster was one of ten active professional players selected by Manager Brian Farley, but on Friday, his team Winnipeg Goldeyes reached the Play-Off Final of the independent American Association.
The Goldeyes beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 4-1 to complete a 3-game sweep and reach the final against the Wichita Wingnuts.
This series opens next Tuesday with Game 2 to be played on Wednesday, making it impossible for De Caster to join the Dutch Team.
It is not possible to replace De Caster on the roster, as a list of 24 players had to be handed in for the final roster during the Technical Meeting last Thursday-evening preceeding the tournament.
Initially, France appeared to have a good start, as Maxime Lefevre and Joris Bert led off the game with singles off of starter Rob Cordemans.
But the veteran righthander then retired the next three batters, including two of them with a strikeout.
In the second inning, Frederic Hanvi and Boris Marche also began with two singles, but again Cordemans retired the next three, the last two with a strikeout.
After giving up the second basehit in the second inning, Cordemans retired the next 12 batters in order, six of them with a strikeout to bring his game-total to eight.
The Dutch offensive decided the game right away in the first inning, thanks to a 7-run rally on only three basehits.
Five batters got a free pass (four walks, one hit batter) and another one reached on an error to give the Dutch a big early lead.
Lead-off batter Michael Duursma was hit by a pitch, then Hainley Statia struckout, but the bases got loaded when Curt Smith and Bryan Engelhardt walked.
And then the scoring started.
A walk for Kalian Sams, sacrifice fly by Quintin de Cuba and singles by Wesley Connor and Danny Rombley accounted for four runs and forced the French Manager to make a pitching change.
But new pitcher Eloi Secleppe then committed an error on a grounder by Nick Urbanus, which led to the next run.
With the bases still loaded, Duursma walked to bring in the next run and then Statia followed with a 2-run double to make it 7-0.
In the second inning, Engelhardt led off with a walk and advanced on a passed ball, then Sams struckout.
Hereafter, De Cuba drove the ball into centerfield where Joris Bert caught it and then showed the strenghth of his arm, as he threw out Engelhardt at third base trying to advcance to complete a double play.
Four runs were then added in the third inning.
Connor was hit by a pitch, then Rombley singled.
Urbanus then followed with an RBI-single and a double by Duursma made it 9-0.
With one out, a grounder by Smith led to the next run and a double by Engelhardt made it 11-0 and led to a new pitching change.
In the fourth at bat, again four runs were scored.
De Cuba led off with a single and Rombley was hit by a pitch with one out, then Urbanus again singled in a run.
A single by Duursma, followed by a throwing error, produced the next two runs and a double by Statia (his second) brought Duursma to third base, who then (after a new pitching change) scored on a grounder by Smith.
And so, the lead was lifted to 15-0, enough to reach the mercy-rule difference to end the game in or after five innings.
As France was retired in order in the top of the fifth inning, the game ended after only one hour and 45 minutes.
Duursma, Statia, Rombley and Urbanus all collected two basehits with Duursma, Rombley and Urbanus scoring three runs.
Duursma also had three RBI's, while Smith, Statia and Urbanus had two.
(September 8)
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