  Dutch beaten by All Stars; Farley leaves Taiwan
Nederlands
 TAICHUNG (Taiwan) -
The Dutch National Baseball Team continued its preparations for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Saturday and played its first of four exhibition games in Taichung (Taiwan).
In the previous two weeks, the Orange squad played six games in Arizona (USA) and won five of them, including three against the national team of China.
Today, the Dutch Team was beaten 10-5 by the Taichung University All Stars.
On Wednesday, the same team lost 7-1 to Australia, which also narrowly lost 3-2 to Japan, which has won the previous two World Baseball Classics.
In breaking news on Saturday, it was announced that Brian Farley has left the team in Taiwan.
In a statement released by the Dutch Federation (KNBSB), it was said that Farley left the trainingcamp 'due to personal (and non-baseball related) reasons'.
Farley is Manager of the Dutch Team since 2011 and guided the squad to the World Championship-title in October of that year in Panama.
Last year, the Dutch Team had to settle for silver in the European Championship, which was held in the Netherlands.
In October last year, it was announced that Hensley Meulens, former player and coach of the Dutch National Team, was named Manager of the Orange for the World Baseball Classic.
Meulens, who played in the Major League and is the current Hitting Coach of World Series-winner San Francisco Giants, was to be assisted by Farley, who would serve as Bench Coach.
Robert Eenhoorn, Technical Director of the KNBSB and former Manager of the Dutch squad, takes over as Bench Coach, effective immediately and therefore will return in uniform.
Eenhoorn, who was with the team in Arizona and traveled with the team to Taiwan, already was in the dug-out as Bench Coach during today's game.
Eenhoorn also will be the Bench Coach during the Classic.
In today's game, the Dutch Team opened the score in the third inning with one run, but gave up two in the bottom half of the at bat.
In the fourth inning, the Taichung All Stars rallied for eight runs to take a commanding 10-1 lead.
The Dutch got three runs back in the fifth and added a run in the seventh, but ended up short.
Former Major League-outfielders Wladimir Balentien and Andruw Jones joined the Dutch Team and got into action today.
For Balentien, this was his first game in the Orange squad since the Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens (Greece), while Jones played his last game for the Dutch Team during the World Baseball Classic of 2006.
Both play in Japan this season.
After being retired in order in the first inning, the Dutch Team reached base in the second at bat.
With one out, Andruw Jones and Kalian Sams singled , but both stranded.
The Dutch then opened the score in the third when Michael Duursma led off with a double, moved on a sac-bunt by Randolph Oduber and scored on a grounder by Hainley Statia.
Taichung answered with two unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning off David Bergman, who had taken over for starter Orlando Yntema.
In the next at bat, the All Stars rallied for eight runs, all earned.
With one out, Bergman gave up four hits (including three doubles) and walked a batter, leading to five runs, then was relieved by Jonatan Isenia.
He was greeted with another RBI-double that made it 8-1.
The bases then got loaded after a walk and hit batter, followed by 2-run single that lifted the lead to 10-1.
In the final four Taiwanese at bats, the All Stars were scoreless and got only four more basehits.
In the fifth, Isenia gave up one hit, in the sixth Berry van Driel had the bases loaded after two 2-out walks and a single, but then a grounder followed.
In the seventh, Mark Pawelek gave up a lead-off single, then was supported with a double play and in the eighth, Loek van Mil gave up one more basehit.
The Dutch Team got three runs back in the fifth inning.
Curt Smith led off with a walk and Dashenko Ricardo followed with a single.
After a flyout, the bases got loaded when Randolph Oduber also singled.
A walk for Hainley Statia, a wild pitch and a groundout by Yurendell de Caster then accounted for the runs.
The Dutch Team scored its fifth run in the seventh inning.
Quintin de Cuba then led off with a double and later scored on a force play-grounder by Oduber.
| Pitching Stats |
| pitcher | INN | SO | BB | H |
| Orlando Yntema | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| David Bergman | 1.2 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Jonatan Isenia | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Berry van Driel | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Mark Pawelek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Loek van Mil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Playing in today's game were:
Randolph Oduber (1-for-4), Hainley Statia (0-for-3, walk), Yurendell de Caster (0-for-4), Wladimir Balentien (0-for-3), Dwayne Kemp (0-for-1), Andruw Jones (2-for-4), Kalian Sams (2-for-4), Curt Smith (0-for-3, walk), Dashenko Ricardo (1-for-2), Quintin de Cuba (1-for-2), Michael Duursma (2-for-4).
(February 23)
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