(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen)
        WildCats Curaçao loses in 13th to Colombia in Caribbean Series
Nederlands
  CARACAS / MACUTO, La Guaira State (Venezuela) -
Day 4 of the 65th edition of the Serie del Caribe (Caribbean Baseball Series) in Venezuela was full of suspense.
All four games played on Sunday (February 5) were decided by one run, two of them in extra innings.
WildCats KJ74 was left empty-handed in its game against Vaqueros de Montería, the champion of the professional Liga Profesional de Béisbol Colombiano.
The Curaçao-team lost 6-5 in thirteen innings.
WildCats opened the event on Thursday with a 3-1 loss in ten innings against Agricultores, the representative of Cuba.
On Friday, the team nipped Cañeros de Los Mochis (Mexico) 2-1, then won only 1-0 on Saturday against Federales de Chiriquí (Panama).
The Mexicans nipped the Cubans 6-5 on Sunday while the Panamanian champion won 3-2 against Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rico).
In the evening, Leones del Caracas (Venezuela) won 3-2 in twelve innings against Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic).
After Day 4, Venezuela and Mexico now share first place with a 3-1 record.
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Curaçao and Panama all are 2-2.
They are ranked in that order based on the Team Quality Balance, meaning WildCats is currently in fifth place.
On Monday, the Curaçao-team meets the Puerto Rican champion.
In its fourth game, WildCats trailed 2-0, came back and led 4-2 after eight innings.
However, the Colombian opponent came alongside in the top of the ninth to force extra innings.
In the thirteenth inning, Colombia renewed its lead, then also added an important insurance run, as Curaçao was able to get one run back in the bottom of the thirteenth.
Curaçao used seven pitchers, Colombia used six.
...Shairon Martis was the starter for Curaçao...
...On the photo, he pitches for Amsterdam Pirates...
...with whom he won the Dutch title in 2021...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Shairon Martis started for WildCats, but left the mound in the top of the fifth with a 2-1 deficit.
The righthander, who this season will play in the Dutch big league for Curaçao Neptunus, struckout two batters, but walked four and also gave up four basehits.
Martis gave up a lead-off double to Gustavo Angel Campero in the top of the first inning.
After he had stolen third base, next batter Francisco Fernando Acuña walked.
With runners at the corners, a force play-grounder by Jordan David Díaz led to the elimination of Acuña, but enabled Campero to score.
Colombia left runners behind on first and second base in the second inning and was retired in the third, but added another run in the fourth at bat.
Jesus Adalberto Marriaga led off with a single, advanced on a grounder and scored on a 2-out single by Fabian Petruz.
Trailing 1-0, WildCats got a runner in the bottom of the first inning when Ray-Patrick Didder doubled with one out, but he stranded on second base.
In the next at bat, the team again got into scoring position.
Sharlon Schoop led off with an infield-hit off of starter Carlos Eduardo Quevedo and advanced on a throwing error.
Moments later, Schoop was eliminated on a grounder by Andrelton Simmons, who later was forced out at second base.
Now trailing 2-0, WildCats cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth.
With one out, Sharlon Schoop walked and was safe on a force play-grounder by Andrelton Simmons.
Schoop then scored when Sicnarf Loopstok followed with a single.
This season, Schoop and Loopstok are both on the roster of Dutch big leaguer Amsterdam Pirates.
Simmons moved to third base on the single by Loopstok, who himself ended up on second base.
Thererafter, Simmons was eliminated at the plate trying to score on a grounder by Juremi Profar.
Loopstok stranded on third base.
With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Shairon Martis walked the next two batters and was relieved by Ryan Huntington, who closed the at bat with a strikeout.
This season, Huntington will be a teammate of Martis at Neptunus.
Last year, Martis played for Amsterdam Pirates, while Huntington played for Twins Oosterhout.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, WildCats took over the lead by scoring twice.
With one out, Sharlon Schoop singled and scored when Andrelton Simmons followed with a homerun.
That ended the afternoon for Carlos Eduardo Quevedo, who was relieved by Kevin Andres Escorcia.
He was greeted with a single by Sicnarf Loopstok, who moved into scoring position via a wild pitch and advanced to third base on a grounder, but was left behind.
In the top of the seventh, Colombia got into scoring position again.
New pitcher Franklin Van Gurp walked the lead-off hitter, who stole second base.
Van Gurp followed with a strikeout, but then walked the next batter and was relieved by Edgar Ernesto Garcia.
The inning then ended when a line drive resulted in a double play.
After Curaçao was retired in order in the bottom of the seventh, Colombia came close to a run in the top of the eighth.
Lead-off hitter Jesus Adalberto Marriaga walked, stole second base and moved to third base on a following throwing error by the catcher.
He stranded on third base, as a strikeout, grounder and flyout followed.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, WildCats added another run.
With Sharlon Schoop (fielder's choice) on first base and one out, Andrelton Simmons walked.
Hugo Mario Beltran then took over the Colombian pitching.
He got a force play-grounder from Sicnarf Loopstok, which eliminated Simmons at second base.
Schoop advanced to third base and scored when a throwing error followed in an attempt to complete a double play at first base.
However, the 4-2 lead was erased by the Colombian champion in the top of the ninth inning.
New pitcher Wendell Floranus gave up a lead-off single, walked the next batter and saw the runners advance via a sacrifice bunt.
Both runners then scored when next batter Jordan David Díaz delivered a single into centerfield.
And with that, the score was 4-4.
...Andrelton Simmons homered and had 3 RBI's...
...On the photo, he plays for the Netherlands during...
...the 2017 World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
WildCats was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth and so, the game went into extra innings with the use of the international tie-break rule.
In the tenth inning, Colombia left its tie-break runner behind on second base, the Curaçao-runner stranded on third base.
In the eleventh inning, Cerilio Soleana became the new pitcher for Curaçao.
With a runner on second base and two outs, he issued an intentional walk, then closed with a strikeout.
Curaçao left runners behind on first and third base.
With pinch-runner Aldrich De Jongh as tie-break runner and one out, Sicnarf Loopstok was walked intentionally.
After Dudley Leonora had popped out, Loopstok was forced out at second base on a grounder by Edmond Americaan.
In the twelfth inning, the Colombian tie-break runner was caught stealing at third base.
Curaçao then came close to the winning run in its twelfth at bat off of new pitcher Carlos Mario Díaz.
Tie-break runner Edmon Americaan moved to third base on a grounder by Roger Bernadina, but a strikeout and pop-fly ended the at bat.
Colombia then struck in the top of the thirteenth inning.
Tie-break runner Jesus Adalberto Marriaga moved to third base on a single by Andres Santiago Angulo, who himself was eliminated trying to advance to second base.
Marriaga then scored on a following single by Pabel Leandro Manzanero to put Colombia ahead, 5-4.
After reaching first base, Manzanero was replaced by pinch-runner Brayan Buelvas, but he was pick-off first base moments later.
Now with two outs, Cerilio Soleana gave up a homerun to Fabian Petruz, which provided the team from Montería with an important additional run.
Juan Carlos Sulbaran took over the Curaçao-pitching, gave up a single, but closed with a strikeout.
In the bottom of the thirteenth inning, Curaçao came back immediately, but in the end was left empty-handed.
With tie-break runner Wladimir Balentien on second base, Jonathan Schoop was walked by new pitcher Yelmison De Jesus Peralta.
Balentien then moved to third base on a wild pitch, but that kept Schoop at first base.
With one out, Schoop was forced out at second base on a gounder by Andrelton Simmons, but Balentien was able to score.
With Simmons at first base, Peralta closed the game by striking out Sicnarf Loopstok.
Curaçao collected six basehits, including two by Sharlon Schoop and Sicnarf Loopstok.
Schoop scored three runs, Andrelton Simmons batted in three.
(February 6)
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