Initially, the Netherlands opened the score in the top of the first inning.
With one out, Max Draijer was hit by a pitch, then Kendrick Delima singled with two outs.
Moments later, Draijer scored when Rodney Daal reached on an error, but two runners were left behind.
That would be the lone Orange-run in the first five innings, while the Czechs turned the game its way.
The Netherlands didn't look that good in these first five innings and left the bases loaded twice!
In the bottom of the first inning, the Czechs scored three runs off of starter Ismail Ross, who ran into problems quickly.
The righthander walked five batters, uncorked a wild pitch, gave up three runs and threw 38 pitches.
Ross walked the first two batters he faced, then gave up an one-out single to Marek Chlup that brought in the tying run.
Two runners then advanced on a wild pitch and the bases got loaded when another hitter walked.
Ross followed with a strikeout, but then walked the next two batters, Martin Cervinka and Filip Claus, which gave the Czechs a 3-1 lead.
It also led to the early departure of Ross, who had pitched one inning before during the tournament, last Wednesday against Croatia.
Kennimar Locadia took over the pitching and got a comeback-grounder that ended the inning.
The Czechs added another run in the second inning.
Vojtech Mensik led off with a single, who moved on a grounder and a single by Filip Smola, then scored when the last was forced out on a grounder by Marek Chlup.
In the third inning, the Czechs increased its lead to 5-1.
Michael Vykoukal led off with a double, moved on a sacrifice bunt by Martin Cervinka and scored on a sacrifice fly by Filip Claus.
From the fourth inning on, the game started to move somewhat towards the Netherlands.
The Czechs did reach base again, but the Dutch pitching and defense avoided giving up more runs.
In the fourth, Locadia began with a strikeout, but then hit Adam Hajtmar with a pitch and walked Filip Smola.
The lefthander then gave up a single to Marek Chlup.
Hajtmar tried to score, but he was eliminated at the plate on a throw from rightfielder Denzel Richardson.
Locadia closed with a strikeout.
In the fifth, two Czech baserunners were forced out, but there also was a delay.
After Kennimar Locadia struckout lead-off hitter Michael Vykouval, Czech 1B Coach Vladimir Chlup approached Italian Home Plate Umpire Yuri Macchiavelli to discuss something.
Moments later, Macchiavelli called his three colleagues to him to have a talk with them.
When that ended, Netherlands Manager Sidney de Jong got an explanation, as did the Czech Coach.
The discussion was about catcher Rodney Daal having some pine tar on one of his legguards, which the Czech coaching thought might be used on the ball.
That was not the case, as Daal used it for his fingers not to be slippery because of the warmth.
No further steps were taken.
...Sidney de Jong...
...Winning Manager...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Trailing 3-1, the Netherlands was retired in order in the second inning.
Trailing 4-1, the Orange got the bases loaded with two outs in the third.
With one out, Max Draijer walked and with two outs, Kendrick Delima and Rodney Daal also walked.
A pitching change followed and Lukas Ercoli took over from starter Ondrej Furko.
With the bases loaded, next hitter Ruar Verkerk went after the first pitch he saw, but flied out, ending the inning.
The Netherlands got another scoring opportunity in the fourth when it again got three baserunners with two outs.
Nick Peels then walked and stole second base.
Next batter Delano Selassa also walked, which brought in the third Czech pitcher.
Jiri Vavrusa took over, but he saw the runners advanced on a wild pitch, then loaded the bases when he walked Max Draijer.
But he then closed by striking out Denzel Richardson, meaning three runners were left behind again.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Netherlands rallied for five runs, the team got back to life and took a 6-5 lead.
Jelle Blaauw led off with a walk and with one out, he reached second base safely when an error was made on a force play-grounder by Delano Selassa.
The bases got loaded when Max Draijer walked.
Hereafter, Denzel Richardson singled into centerfield to bring in Blaauw and Selassa.
This time, Czech Manager Pavel Chadim approached the Home Plate Umpire, arguing that Selassa had interfered with catcher Michael Vykoukal when he wanted to throw to second base, as Richardson was advancing on the throw to the plate.
Selassa had slid in head-first to score, then stood up and indeed briefly was in front of the catcher, but then duck when he wanted to throw.
No interference was given and so, the score was now 5-3 and there were Orange-runners on second and third base.
Kendrick Delima then doubled into right-centerfield to bring in both runners and make it a 5-5 score!
With two outs, Delima scored the go-ahead run when Ruar Verkerk singled, which led to another pitching change.
The lead was shortlived, as the Czechs came alongside in the bottom of the sixth.
Vojtech Mensik led off with a double, moved on a bunt-single by Adam Hajtmar and scored on a force play-grounder by Filip Smola.
The Netherlands re-took the lead again in the top of the seventh inning.
Jelle Blaauw led off with a walk, then Nick Peels followed with a bunt-single.
He bunted the ball somewhat too hard towards first base, but then made a head-first slide to reach the base safely.
The bases got loaded when Delano Selassa singled, then Blaauw scored on a sacrifice fly by Max Draijer.
Hereafter, Peels was eliminated at the plate trying to score on a grounder towards third by Denzel Richardson and a strikeout ended the at bat.
...Rachid Engelhardt...
...game-winning, 2-run single in 10th inning...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The Netherlands added another run in the eighth off of new pitcher Tomas Ondra.
With one out, Ruar Verkerk lined the ball into centerfield, but there, Marek Chlup made a great diving catch.
With two outs, Rachid Engelhardt doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by Jelle Kroft to make it an 8-6 score.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Locadia walked a batter and was relieved by Maickel Rietel.
He was greeted with a single, but two pop-flies ended the inning.
The game was far from over, as the Czechs came alongside in the bottom of the ninth, but there also were some disputable ball/strike-calls from Home Plate Umpire Macchiavelli, which led to some reactions from the Dutch side.
Of course, the angle the umpire has is completely different (after all, he is behind the plate and all umpires have their own strikezone) than looking on from the dug-out or watching a TV-screen, but some pitches appeared to be very close to or in the strikezone.
Jerremyh Angela started the inning for the Orange-squad, but he ran into problems.
The lefthander walked lead-off hitter Martin Muzik, but hereafter, rightfielder Denzel Richardson made a nice catch on a drive by Michael Vykoukal, while falling down.
The Czech Manager argued that the ball might not be under control, but Macchiavelli confirmed that it was the case and so, the out stands.
Angela then gave up a single to Martin Cervinka.
Hereafter, Angela got to a 3-0 count on pinch-hitter Matej Laznicek.
The next pitch was close to the strikezone and Laznicek stayed in the batter's box, expecting the ball to be called a strike.
Instead, it was ruled ball four and so, the bases got loaded!
A run was then scored when Angela hit Jakub Ondracek was hit by a pitch.
That led to another pitching change for the Netherlands.
With the bases loaded, lefthander Colin van Laar took over.
He got a 2-2 count on Vojtech Mensik, then appeared to throw his next delivery through the middle of the strikezone.
Instead of a strikeout, it was ruled a ball and that made it a full count.
The next pitch also appeared to be on the edge of the strikezone, but that was ruled ball-four and brought in the tying run.
Hereafter, Van Laar struckout the next two batters, but the score was 8-8 and so, the game went into extra innings.
In the top of the tenth inning, Ondrej Satoria became the sixth pitcher for the Czechs.
Tie-break runners Denzel Richardson and Kendrick Delima advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Rodney Daal.
After Ruar Verkerk had popped out into centerfield, Rachid Engelhardt drove the ball into centerfield for a 2-run single that put the Orange back on top again, 10-8.
The go-ahead run was scored by Richardson, who led the tournament with 12 runs and 13 basehits.
With a .448 batting average, he was the best Orange-hitter in the event.
The suspense stayed alive in this Hitchcockian Final, as the Czechs also scored again and got the bases loaded with midnight approaching!
The Czechs got the bases loaded when Colin van Laar walked Marek Chlup (on another pitch that appeared to be close to the strikezone), which moved the two tie-break runners.
A run was then scored when Van Laar walked Daniel Padysak.
Hereafter, Van Laar showed a great performance, as he struckout the next three batters on nine consecutive pitches!
That ended the game and celebrations began, as the Netherlands had captured the first-ever Under-23 European Championship-title!
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Netherlands Under-23 wins European title in marathon-thriller Final!
BRNO / BLANSKO (Czech Rep.) -
The Netherlands Under-23 Baseball Team has won the first-ever European Under-23 Championship!
The Orange-squad won 10-9 against host Czech Republic in a 10-inning thriller that lasted four hours and 41 minutes!
Trailing 5-1 after five innings, the Netherlands rallied for five runs in the sixth, but the Czechs came alongside.
From this moment on, the Orange-squad showed a fighting spirit and answered with two runs.
The team led 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth, but the Czechs again tied the score.
In the tenth, Rachid Engelhardt delivered the most important hit of the tournament, as his single gave the Orange a 10-8 lead.
This time, the Czechs were unable to come back again and scored only one more run.
With the bases loaded, reliever Colin van Laar struckout three batters to end the game!
Afterwards, Van Laar was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
