(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
   Netherlands wins exhibition game against Spain
Nederlands
 NOVARA (Italy) -
The Netherlands Baseball Team played an exhibition game on Thursday-afternoon (September 9) against Spain in what was a preparation for both teams for the upcoming European Championship, which opens next Sunday.
The Orange Team won 7-3.
The game was played at the baseball-stadium in Novara, which in 1988 and 2009 also hosted games of the World Baseball Championship.
On Friday, the Netherlands plays against Sweden in another exhibition match-up.
On Sunday, the Netherlands opens the Championship in Torino against Slovakia in Group D.
Spain begins the event in Group B and meets Ukraine in its first game, which will be played in Avigliana.
Last Tuesday, the roster of the Netherlands Team was announced for the European Championship.
Four new (younger) players were added, as it was decided to move up some younger players after the Orange Team had missed qualification for the Olympic Games.
In June, the Netherlands was eliminated for the Games in the Baseball Final Qualifier in Mexico.
The four debuting players on the Orange-roster are pitcher Jayden Gonesh, infielder Junior Martina and outfielders Julian Rip and Jiandido Tromp.
All four played in Thursday's game and with that they made both their National Team-debut as well as the International Game-debut.
Although this was an exhibition game, the Netherlands inserted an additional batter in the fifth and Spain didn't bat in its eighth and ninth inning, this is an official game, as it was played between two National Teams.
...Sharlon Schoop...
...homerun...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The Orange Team opened the score in the first inning when Sharlon Schoop homered with two outs.
Shairon Martis started for the Netherlands and struckout all three batters he faced in the lone inning he threw.
Kaj Timmermans took over the Netherlands-pitching in the bottom of the second inning.
He got a baserunner, was supported with a double play, but then gave up a homerun that tied the score.
The Netherlands re-took the lead in the top of the third inning.
Dwayne Kemp led off with a single, then Ray-Patrick Didder walked.
With one out, Kemp moved to third base after Sharlon Schoop had flied out, then Didder's pinch-runner Julian Rip stole second base.
Kemp then scored on a grounder by Denzel Richardson and Rip went on to score when Juremi Profar reached on an error.
Spain got one run back in the bottom of the third inning off of debuting Jaydon Gonesh, who gave up a runscoring double with two outs.
In the fourth, the Netherlands took more distance by adding two unearned runs.
With one out, Dashenko Ricardo singled, then an error was made on a grounder by John Polonius.
Dwayne Kemp (who was 3-for-5) followed with a runscoring single and Polonius later scored on a wild pitch.
After Gonesh had retired the side in the fourth (two strikeouts), Aaron de Groot became the fourth Dutch pitch in the fifth.
With two outs, he gave up the third Spanish run on a double and a single.
He was supported with a double play in the sixth.
Mike Groen closed the game by pitching the seventh inning, which was the final at bat for the Spanish Team.
Due to pitch-counts, the availability of pitchers for Friday's game and the starting rotation for the Championship on the Dutch side, Spain didn't get to bat in the eighth and ninth inning.
The Netherlands was held scoreless in the fifth through eighth inning, but left a runner in scoring position in each of these at bats.
With two outs in the fifth,Jiandido Tromp doubled, but was left behind.
In the sixth, Sicnarf Loopstok and John Polonius led off with walks, but they strand on second and third base.
With two outs in the seventh, it was Juremi Profar who doubled then was left behind on second base.
And in the eighth, Loopstok was hit by a pitch with one out and Kemp singled with two outs, but a strikeout closed the at bat.
In the top of the ninth, the Orange Team added two runs.
Sharlon Schoop and Denzel Richardson both singled and they scored on an one-out double by Juremi Profar.
Hereafter, the game ended with two outs.
The following players came into action today:
Dwayne Kemp (DH, 3-for-5), Ray-Patrick Didder (CF, 0-for-1), Julian Rip (PR-CF, 0-for-3), Sharlon Schoop (2B, extra DH, 2-for-4), Denzel Richardson (RF, 1-for-5), Calten Daal (Additional Batter, 2B, 0-for-3), Juremi Profar (1B, 2-for-5), Jiandido Tromp (LF, 2-for-5), Junior Martina (3B, 0-for-4), Dashenko Ricardo (C, 1-for-2), Sicnarf Loopstok (C, 0-for-0), John Polonius (SS, 0-for-3) and pitchers Shairon Martis, Kaj Timmermans, Jayden Gonesh, Aaron de Groot and Mike Groen.
(September 9)
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Junior Martina, Jiandido Tromp, Julian Rip and Jayden Gonesh make their debut in the Netherlands National Team; They also play in their first official international game.