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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen) Netherlands wins convincingly vs. Czechs on Day 2 European Championship Nederlands TORINO / AVIGLIANA / SETTIMO TORINESE (Italy) - The Netherlands Baseball Team recorded a convincing 11-1 win against the Czech Republic on Monday-evening (September 13) in its second game of the 36th edition of the European Championship. The Orange Team opened the Championship on Sunday with an 11-0 shutout-victory against Slovakia in what was the first international baseball-game between the two countries. The Netherlands plays it next game on Tuesday-afternoon (3:00 PM) against Sweden in what is the final game for both teams in the Preliminary Round. The last time that the Netherlands and the Czech Republic met was during the Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier in Italy in 2019. The Orange Team then won 4-1. The last time before that was a few weeks earlier during the European Championship in Germany. The first game of the Orange Team against Great Britain was suspended due to rain and the next day, the Netherlands met the Czechs, who recorded an 8-6 victory. Trailing 1-0, the Czechs struck from the fourth inning on and led 5-1 halfway the fifth inning. The Netherlands came back, but never was able to turn the game around in its favor. Nevertheless, the Netherlands went on to reach the Final and capture the title. Tonight, the Netherlands scored in six of its nine at bats against the Czech Republic. The team collected 13 basehits, including three by Ray-Patrick Didder, who missed the triple to hit for-the-cycle, but batted in four runs. With the win, the Netherlands set is next step towards the Quarter Finals. To do so, the team needs to win on Tuesday against Sweden, but a 3-way tie is theoretically still possible in Group D. In the unlikely case that Sweden should win against the Netherlands and the Czech win against Slovakia, the first three teams would end up in a tie. The score of the Netherlands vs. Sweden game then would be decisive to determine the final ranking via the Team Quality Balance, as the head-to-head results would create a new tie. When the Netherlands wins against Sweden, it will close Group D in first place and then will play on Thursday-evening against the second-best team of Group C. That will be either Israel, Great Britain or Russia. On Tuesday-morning, Israel and Great Britain meet and Russia meets France. When Israel wins, it will be the winner in Group C and Russia then will finish in second place when it also wins. When Great Britain wins and Russia wins, there will be a 3-way tie. However, a 3-way tie is also possible when France would win against Russia. In that case, France also could end up in second place when it records a big win. ...Veteran German Umpire... ...Jens Waider was at... ...1st Base in the... ...Greece vs. Austria game... (© Photo: Henk Seppen) On Sunday, the first day of the event ended with a walk-off balk which gave Israel 2-1 win in the tenth inning against Russia in Group C. Today, in the morning/afternoon, Greece and Austria played an exciting game in Group A, which took three hours and 56 minutes. Greece led 2-1 after six innings, then Austria scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth inning to take what appeared to be a comfortable 7-2 lead, six outs away from the win. Philipp Eckel homered in the seventh inning. However, Greece then also scored three runs in its eighth at bat (basesloaded hit batter and 2-run single), then came alongside in the ninth on an one-out 2-run single by Antonio Torres-Skerrett to force extra innings. In the tenth inning, Austria re-took the lead via a 5-run rally. With the bases loaded, a run was scored on a single by Felix Zimmerle, then two runs were added when a batter was hit by a pitch. Moritz Scheicher then added a 2-run single to put Austria ahead 12-7. Greece answered with a 5-run rally of its own! With one out, Max Gouoren delivered a runscoring single. A single by Alejandro Demitrius Torres-Skerrett then loaded the bases. With two outs, Dimitrios Kourtis drove the ball into leftfield for a grand slam homerun to make it a 12-12 score! After a scoreless eleventh inning, Austria took the lead for the third time on a passed ball with two outs in the twelfth (13-12). But again, Greece came back and scored twice in its twelfth at bat to win 14-13. With two tie-break runners on base, an error following a sacrifice bunt led to the tying run. With the bases loaded, two force outs were made at the plate. But with the bases still loaded, an outfield-error on a hit by Ari Sechopoulos led to the winning run. Greece collected 17 basehits, Austria 14. ...Mike Piazza is interviewed by Grand... ...Slam-webmaster Marco Stoovelaar... (© Photo: Henk Seppen) In the evening, Italy won also won its second game. The team opened the Championship on Sunday with a 13-3 win in seven innings against Greece. Tonight, Italy won 14-3 against Belgium, also in seven innings. In this game, former Major League-player Mike Piazza made his managerial debut for Italy, wearing his familiar uniform number 31. The former catcher, who was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016, was absent during the first game, as he was in New York in the weekend. Before the game between New York Mets (the club Piazza played for in 2001) and New York Yankees on Saturday-evening, Piazza participated in the on-field ceremony on the 20-year remembrance of the attacks on the Twin Towers (World Trade Center) in New York on September 11, 2001. Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre, who were the Managers of the two teams in 2001, threw out the cremonial first pitches. On September 21, 2001, the first professional sporting event was held again in New York, which was a game of the Mets at Shea Stadium against Atlanta Braves. In that game, Piazza hit a 2-run homerun, which became a memorable moment. Since 2006, Piazza is involved in Italian baseball. In that year, the catcher played for the Italian Baseball Team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. In following years, he then was the Hitting Coach of the Italian Team during the Classic in 2009 and 2013, as well as during the European Championship in 2010 and 2012, which were both won by Italy. In November 2019, Piazza was named Manager of Team Italy. (September 13) Other scores Day 2: Group A: Greece vs. Austria 14-13 (12 inn.); Belgium vs. Italy 3-14 (7 inn.). Group B: Ukraine vs. Croatia 3-9; Germany vs. Spain 2-15 (7 inn.). Group C: Russia vs. Great Britain 7-6; France vs. Israel 0-10. Group D: Slovakia vs. Sweden 0-11 (7 inn.). Related Articles: Netherlands opens European Championship with shutout-win vs. Slovakia. (September 12) Roster-change Netherlands Team: Raf Cocu replaces Franklin Van Gurp. (September 10) Netherlands Team shuts out Sweden in exhibition game. (September 10) Netherlands Team wins exhibition game against Spain. (September 9) Roster Netherlands Team announced for European Championship. (September 7)

...Shairon Martis threw four strong innings... (© Photo: Henk Seppen) The Netherlands opened the score quickly with a run in the top of the first inning off of Czech starter Marek Minařík, who began by striking out Jiandido Tromp. With one out, Roger Bernadina walked, then scored on a following double by Ray-Patrick Didder. Hereafter, Minařík closed by striking out Juremi Profar and Sharlon Schoop. Orange-starter Shairon Martis retired the side in the bottom of the first inning, striking out two batters. The Netherlands appeared to add another run in the top of the second inning when Sicnarf Loopstok hit the ball over the fence. With one out, the catcher drove the ball down the leftfield-line, which appeared to be followed by a double-call. Austrian Home Plate Umpire Oswald Tscharf appeared to give the fair signal, but Spanish 3B Umpire Cuauhtémoc Suárez Hernández immediately signaled foul ball. Before Loopstok had reached second base, Orange Manager Evert-Jan 't Hoen already had crossed the first base-line. He then crossed Loopstok when he reached third base to go into a discussion with Suárez, while the runner continued his walk towards the plate. The three umpires got together, but the call of the field (foul ball) was upheld. That led to another brief discussion between 't Hoen and Tscharf, but Loopstok had to return to the batter's box and now had an 0-2 count. Two pitches later, he grounded out. Junior Martina then walked, but stranded on first base. The Czechs got into scoring position for the first time in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Martin Mužík hit a comeback-grounder towards Shairon Martis and reached on an infield-hit and he advanced to second base when Martis followed with a throwing error. Mužík moved to third base on a grounder, but was left behind. The Czechs changed pitchers in the top of the third inning, as Filip Čapka took the mound, but he gave up two runs. With one out, he walked Roger Bernadina and Ray-Patrick Didder singled. A throwing error by Čapka during a pick-off attempt enabled Bernadina and Didder to advance and they both scored when Sharlon Schoop singled after Juremi Profar had lined out. The Orange Team got runners at the corners when Dwayne Kemp also singled, but he was then forced out on a grounder by Sicnarf Loopstok, which ended the at bat. After Shairon Martis had retired the side (two strikeouts) again in the bottom of the third, the Netherlands scored three more runs in the top of the fourth. Junior Martina led off with a walk and with one out, Jiandido Tromp also got a free pass. With two outs, Ray-Patrick Didder hit the ball into deep centerfield for a 3-run homerun. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Czechs also got on the board when veteran Matěj Hejma led off with a homerun off of Martis. Hereafter, the righthander retired the next three batters, adding two more strikeouts. Czech Manager Mike Griffin inserted his third pitcher in the top of the fifth inning when Tomáš Duffek took over. He gave up the seventh Orange-run. With one out, Dwayne Kemp singled, moved to third base on a double by Sicnarf Loopstok and scored when a grounder by Junior Martina ended in an error. A double play closed the at bat. The Netherlands also changed pitchers in the bottom of the fifth. With a 7-1 lead, Aaron de Groot took over from Shairon Martis, who had struckout six batters and gave up two runs in the four innings he pitched. The righthander got three flyouts. The Netherlands got another runner in scoring position in the top of the sixth inning when veteran Roger Bernadina doubled, but two flyouts followed. With a 7-1 lead, it had now also had become a bullpen-game for the Netherlands, as another reliever was inserted in the bottom of the sixth inning. Juan Carlos Sulbaran took over and struckout the first two batters. He then gave up a single to Matěj Hejma, which was his second basehit and the third for the Czechs. He stranded, as veteran Jakub Malík flied out on the next delivery by Sulbaran. ...Ray-Patrick Didder... ...3 hits, 4 RBI's... ...double, homerun... (© Photo: EC 2021) The Orange Team continued its scoring in the top of the seventh. Sharlon Schoop led off with a double and with one out, Sicnarf Loopstok was hit by a pitch. Schoop then scored on a single by Junior Martina, which led to another pitching change. Viktor Večerka took over and he saw Loopstok advance to third base on a pop-fly into shallow rightfield by John Polonius. The bases then got loaded when Jiandido Tromp walked. Večerka then also walked Roger Bernadina, which led to the next run. Hereafter, the three runners were awarded the next base when a balk was called and with that, Martina scored the third run in the at bat. In the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Kelly became the fourth Orange-pitcher. The righthander retired the side, striking out the first two batters. The Orange Team was unable to reach a mercy-rule run-difference, as the team was held scoreless in the top of the eighth by new pitcher David Mergans. Kevin Kelly returned to the mound for the Netherlands in the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a lead-off single, then got two outs and was relieved by Wendell Floranus, who got an inning-ending grounder. In the top of the ninth, the Netherlands did reach a 10-run difference. Junior Martina and John Polonius led off with singles and after pinch-hitter Julian Rip had struckout, pinch-hitter Denzel Richardson delivered a runscoring single. Hereafter, the bases got loaded when Ray-Patrick Didder walked. Jiří Vavruša then took over the pitching, but no more runs were added, as a line drive by Juremi Profar ended in an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the ninth, Wendell Floranus retired the side to close the game. Kevin Kelly was credited with the win, as he was the most effective of the four relievers. Starter Shairon Martis could not be credtited with the win, as he didn't throw the required five complete innings. The following players came into action for the Netherlands: Jiandido Tromp (LF, 0-for-3), Julian Rip (PH/LF, 0-for-1), Roger Bernadina (CF, 1-for-2), Denzel Richardson (PH/RF, 1-for-1), Ray-Patrick Didder (RF/CF, 3-for-5), Juremi Profar (1B, 0-for-6), Sharlon Schoop (2B, 2-for-4), Calten Daal (PH/2B, 0-for-1), Dwayne Kemp (DH, 2-for-4), Sicnarf Loopstok (C, 1-for-4), Junior Martina (3B, 2-for-3), John Polonius (SS, 1-for-5) and pitchers Shairon Martis, Aaron de Groot, Juan Carlos Sulbaran, Kevin Kelly and Wendell Floranus.

Czech Republic - Netherlands 1-11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Netherlands 1 0 2 3 1 0 3 0 1 - 11 13 1 Czech Republic 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 2 pitchers Netherlands inn. SO BB H R ER Shairon Martis 4 6 - 2 1 1 Aaron de Groot 1 - - - - - Juan Carlos Sulbaran 1 2 - 1 - - Kevin Kelly, W (1-0) 1.2 3 - 1 - - Wendell Floranus 1.1 1 - - - - (Kelly credited with the win based on Rule 9.17 b) pitchers Czech Republic inn. SO BB H R ER Marek Minařík, L (0-1) 2 3 2 1 1 1 Filip Čapka 2 1 3 4 5 5 Tomáš Duffek 2.1 - - 5 4 3 Viktor Večerka 0.2 - 2 - - - David Mergans 1.1 1 1 3 1 1 Jiří Vavruša 0.2 - - - - - Homerun: Netherlands: Ray-Patrick Didder (1)(4th,3-run,2 outs,off Čapka); Czech Rep.: Hejma (1)(4th,solo,0 outs,off Martis). Box Score Play-by-Play Umpires: HP-Oswald Tscharf (Austria), 1B-Marco Taurelli (Italy), 3B-Cuauhtémoc Suárez Hernández (Spain). Official Scorer: Fabio Zaccaria (Italy). Play-by-Play Scorer: Eleonora Vietti (Italy). Technical Commissioner: Frantisek Bunta (Slovakia). Starting Time-8:30 PM. Time Played-2:47 hrs. Site-Campo da Baseball, Impianto Sportivo Comunale Giovanni Paolo II, Avigliana (Italy) (site Avigliana Bees Baseball Club). Game Notes: 15th international game of the Netherlands against the Czech Republic. 13th victory of the Netherlands against the Czech Republic. Weather conditions at game time: Clear, 26° C (78,8° F); wind direction north; wind speed 8 kmh (4,9 mph); wind force 2 Bft; humidity 63%.

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