(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
   Netherlands Cadets win big against Russia; Reach Semi-Final
Nederlands
  WIENER NEUSTADT / ROHRBACH IN OBERÖSTERREICH (Austria) -
The Netherlands Cadets Team recorded a big 17-0 shutout-win against Russia on Thursday-morning (July 20) to stay unbeaten at the U15 European Championship Cadets in Austria.
In the evening, the team secured a spot in the Semi-Final after host Austria lost to the Czech Republic, which therefore also reached the top-4.
An Austrian win would have created a 3-way tie.
On Friday, the Netherlands and reigning champion Czech Republic play against each other to decide first place in Pool A.
In today's game, the Netherlands needed only four innings to score 17 runs.
The team collected only nine basehits, but eleven more batters reaches base thank to walks issued by the five Russian pitchers.
Also, two batters were hit by a pitch.
The Orange-squad decided the game with a 6-run rally in the top of the first inning.
Raydley Legito led off with a walk and Tyriq Kemp was hit by a pitch.
The two moved on a balk, then an error on a grounder by Emile Haswell led to the first run.
Singles by Jesse Velders (one-run) and Jelle van der Lelie (2-run) and sacrifice flies by Chris Stuart and Jason Netten produced the other runs in this at bat.
After adding another run on an error in the second inning, the Netherlands again scored six runs in the third at bat.
This time, Legito and Kemp began with singles, then a run was scored on an error.
The bases got loaded when Haswell and Ayran Araya Lemaire walked.
Jason Velders followed with a 3-run triple and later scored himself on a wild pitch, followed by a runscoring grounder from Van der Lelie.
Four more runs were scored in the fourth.
With the bases loaded, Araya Lemaire hit a 2-run double.
A sacrifice fly by Velders and a grounder by Derek Paesch then lifted the lead to 17-0.
Starting pitcher Jelle van der Lelie retired the first seven batters he faced.
With one out in the third, a Russian batter reached on catcher's interference, but stranded on first base.
Jaysen Gonesh pitched the fourth inning for the Netherlands.
He gave up a lead-off single to Daniil Chernov, which was to be the lone Russian basehit in this game.
Moments later, Chernov was caught stealing.
(July 20)
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