It was Great Britain that opened the score in the top of the first inning off of Kaj Timmermans, who went the distance for the Netherlands.
The righthander gave up a lead-off single to Richard Brereton, but a double play followed.
However, hereafter British catcher Hayden Platt homered down the leftfield-line to put the British squad ahead.
Initially, Czech Home Plate Umpire David Kulhánek ruled it a foul-ball, but when British Manager Liam Carroll argued, the 3-man umpiring crew came together.
Croatian 3B Umpire Tomislav Ozimec then stated that the ball had left the field on fair territory and with that, the call was overruled and reversed.
It would the lone run that the British scored in the game.
Great Britain, which is ranked 30 on the World Ranking List, got some scoring opportunities in following innings, but failed to add runs.
In the second inning, the British came into scoring position again.
This time, Jordan Edmonds led off with a single, but Timmermans followed with two strikeouts.
Edmonds then stole second base, but a grounder ended the at bat.
For the Netherlands, it took awhile to finally turn the game its way.
Trailing 1-0, the Orange-squad scored twice in the second inning, but the team still led only 2-1 halfway the sixth inning.
Two runs were then added and the 10-run difference was reached in the seventh, thanks to a 7-run rally.
British starter Conrad Cornell retired the side in the first inning, but then gave up two runs in the next at bat.
Denzel Richardson and Kendrick Delima led off with singles, which led to runners on first and third base.
Moments later, Richardson scored the tying run on a passed ball.
When next batter Rodney Daal fouled out to first baseman Conner Brown, Delima took off to advance to third base.
A throwing error followed and that enable Delima to score and put the Dutch ahead, 2-1.
After being retired in order in the third inning, and now trailing 2-1, the British got into scoring position again in the next two innings.
But Kaj Timmermans settled things himself.
In the fourth, he walked lead-off hitter Hayden Platt, who moved on a sacrifice bunt.
Hereafter, Timmermans picked off Platt and closed with a strikeout.
In the fifth, he gave up a lead-off double to Jamie Dix and again executed a successful pick-off.
...Kendrick Delima...
...3 basehits, 1 double, 2 runs, 1 RBI...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
In the meantime, the Netherlands was silenced by Conrad Cornell, who retired the side in the third and fourth inning, striking out three batters.
The team reached base again in the fifth, but this time, the British defense avoided giving up runs.
Rodney Daal led off with a single, but was forced out on a grounder by Ruar Verkerk, who later also was forced out himself.
In the top of the sixth inning, Great Britain got close to coming alongside.
Timmermans walked lead-off hitter Juan Diaz and gave up a single to Richard Brereton.
They moved on a sacrifice bunt, but with runners on second and third base, Timmermans struckout the next hitter.
A flyout ended the inning.
The Netherlands then decided the game in the bottom of the sixth inning by scoring two runs to lift the lead to 4-1.
While the run-difference was only three, that was enough for the Orange to work with.
The two runs were scored with two outs.
Jelle Kroft then walked, then Denzel Richardson and Kendrick Delima followed respectively with a triple and a double.
After not being that productive in the first six innings, but never getting into jeopardy, the Netherlands suddenly came to a 7-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase the lead to 11-1 and end the game via the mercy-rule.
Lead-off hitter Ruar Verkerk reached on an error, but was forced out on a grounder by Rachid Engelhardt, who was the first of nine consecutive batters to reach base!
Hereafter, the bases got loaded when Nick Peels and Delano Selassa both singled.
Max Draijer (who celebrated his 23rd birthday today) followed with a 2-run double, which was the signal to start the rally.
After Jelle Kroft walked, it was Denzel Richardson, who delivered a 2-run single.
A pitching change followed, but the bases got loaded again when Kendrick Delima singled.
A wild pitch led to the next run and a walk for Rodney Daal re-loaded the bases.
When next batter Ruar Verkerk also walked in his second at bat in the inning, the score was lifted to 10-1.
With that, there was only one run needed to end the game and that came soon after.
Rachid Engelhardt stepped into the batter's box, but the first delivery he saw was a wild pitch that enabled Delima to score and end the game.
In today's game, the Netherlands collected 10 basehits, including three by Denzel Richardson and Kendrick Delima.
Richardson also scored three runs and batted in three, while Delima scored twice and batted in one run.
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Netherlands Under-23 in Semi-Final after win against Great Britain
BRNO / BLANSKO (Czech Rep.) -
The Netherlands Under-23 Baseball Team has reached the Semi-Final of the European Under-23 Championship by winning the Quarter Final against Great Britain on Friday (August 11) with an 11-1 win in seven innings.
In the Semi-Final, the Orange-squad will meet Belgium on Saturday-afternoon (3 PM).
In the evening, the Czech Republic plays against Spain in the other Semi-Final.
The two teams that will reach the all-deciding Final will qualify for next years Under-23 World Championship.