Probably no one would have predicted that Bonn Capitals would lead 4-0 halfway the fifth inning against Neptunus.
With that, the German team was 15 outs away from what would have been an upset score.
But that didn't happen, Neptunus decided the game with an 8-run rally in the bottom of the fifth.
Bonn Capitals had a strong opening off of starter Elton Koeiman.
With one one out in the top of the first inning, Christopher Goebel and (pitcher) Wilson Lee hit back-to-back homeruns to give the Germans an early and unexpected lead.
Next batter Maurice Wilhelm singled, but he stranded on first base.
Neptunus got a chance to do something back in its first at bat off of Wilson Lee.
The Australian lefthander gave up a lead-off single to Coco Johnson, who moved into scoring postion on a grounder.
After the German catcher dropped two foul balls, he moved to third base on another grounder, but Lee then closed by striking out Gianison Boekhoudt.
Neptunus again failed to score in the second at bat and this time left three runners behind.
Dudley Leonora led off with a walk, then moved to third base when a pick-off ended in an error.
He then was unable to advance on two grounders, but hereafter, the bases got loaded when Benjamin Dille and Greg Muller both walked.
The three runners stranded when a flyout ended the inning.
In the third inning, Stijn van der Meer led off with a walk for Neptunus.
But he was caught stealing in a double play while Dwayne Kemp struckout.
...Dudley Leonora...
...3-for-3, 2 runs scored, 2 runs batted in...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
In the meantime, Elton Koeiman had retired the side in the second and third inning, but then ran into problems in the fourth.
Maurice Wilhelm led off with a double and Lennart Weller followed with a bunt-single.
The third German run was scored when next batter Nicholas Miceli also singled.
When Bonn got runners on second and third base on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin van Meensel, a pitching change followed.
Brendan Schoemaker took over and saw another run being scored on a passed ball.
He then hit a batter with a pitch, but closed with two strikeouts.
After Neptunus left a runner behind on second base in the fourth inning, the team struck in the fifth at bat, scoring eight runs on seven basehits.
Six of the runs were scored with two outs.
With one out, Coco Johnson and Stijn van der Meer walked, then both scored on a double by Dwayne Kemp.
Hereafter, Gianison Boekhoudt singled and the next run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Dudley Leonora.
Moments later, Neptunus came alongside thanks to a single by Shaldimar Daantji.
Next batter Quintin De Cuba also singled, which was followed by an error that enabled Daantji to score the go-ahead run.
Hereafter, a pitching change followed.
Australian lefthander Wilson Lee was replaced by American righthander Nicholas Miceli, who had been the catcher up to that moment.
He was greeted with a double by Benjamin Dille, then saw a run being scored on a wild pitch.
An error on a grounder by Greg Muller and a single by Coco Johnson accounted for two more runs and lifted the lead to 8-4.
Neptunus added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Benjamin Dille.
In the seventh, Neptunus scored five more runs off of new pitcher Anthony Kinzling to reach a 10-run difference.
In this at bat, the first two runs were scored on a wild pitch, then Dudley Leonora added a runscoring single.
With two outs, Quintin De Cuba batted in a run with a double and later went on to score himself on a walk-off single by Greg Muller.
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Neptunus turns deficit into big win against Bonn
BOLOGNA (Italy) -
Curaçao Neptunus trailed 4-0 halfway the fifth inning, but then rallied for eight runs and went on to win 14-4 against Bonn Capitals (Germany) in its second game of the European Champions Cup in Italy on Wednesday-afternoon (June 5).
The German opponent scored twice in the first inning and added two runs in the fourth to take a surprise 4-0 lead.
Neptunus then scored eight runs in the fifth inning to turn the game its way after all.
After adding a run in the sixth, Neptunus scored five more in the seventh to reach a 10-run difference.
European Champions Cup 2019.