(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
   Netherlands Team loses last exhibition-game in Arizona
Nederlands
 SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (USA) -
The Netherlands Team played its final of four exhibition games in Arizona on Monday (February 27).
After having lost the first two games against Hanwha Eagles (4-1, 15-4), the Orange Team came from behind in the third game and won 7-5 against LG Twins.
Today, the team lost 7-2 against Kiwoom Heroes.
The Netherlands Team will close its training-camp in Arizona on Tuesday and then will fly to Taiwan on Wednesday.
Joining the team then will be the players who have been in Major League Spring Training, being pitcher Derek West, catcher Chadwick Tromp, infielders Xander Bogaerts and Jonathan Schoop and outfielder Richie Palacios.
In Taiwan, the team has more exhibition games are scheduled to prepare for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which opens on March 8.
All players who were on the Orange-roster in Arizona, including the nine additional players, have come into action in the four exhibition games, except for pitcher Jaydenn Estanista, who has not played yet.
Although Tom de Blok and Dylan Farley also didn't pitch in one of the exhibition games, they did pitch in an intrasquad game.
Like Hanwha Eagles and LG Twins, today's opponent Kiwoom Heroes is another team from the KBO League, the highest professional league in South Korea.
Last season, Kiwoom Heroes finished in third place with an 80-62 record to qualify for the so-called Semi Play-Off.
In that best-of-five series, the team played against KT Wiz, which had finished in fourth place and won the Wild Card Game against fifth placed Kia Tigers.
Kiwoom Heroes defeated KT Wiz 3-2 in the best-of-five to advance to the Play-Off against LG Twins.
The team also won this series (3-1) to qualify for the best-of-seven Korean Series in which it met SSG Landers, the winner of the regular season.
This time, Kiwoom Heroes ended up empty-handed, losing the final, 4-2.
In today's game, the Netherlands faced an early 6-0 deficit after three at bats.
Kiwoom Heroes scored all these runs off of starter Shairon Martis, but three of them were unearned, due to two errors.
The righthander gave up a lead-off triple in the first inning.
Martis struckout the next batter, but a following grounder led to the next run.
The Korean vice-champion added two runs in the second inning.
Again, Martis gave up a lead-off single, this time a bloop-hit just over the infield.
After the runner had advanced on a wild pitch, he scored on another bloop-basehit.
With one out, an error by third baseman Andrelton Simmons then accounted for the next run.
Kiwoom Heroes increased the lead to 6-0 in the top of the third inning by scoring three runs, two of which were unearned.
Martis began with a strikeout, but followed with a walk.
An error by short stop Ray-Patrick Didder then led to the next runner.
Both runners scored on a double and with two outs, a single accounted for the third run in the at bat.
The Netherlands was retired in order in the first two innings, then scored in the third at bat.
Andrelton Simmons led off with a single and scored when next batter Sharlon Schoop drove the ball over the fence for a homerun.
With two outs, a single was recorded by Jurickson Profar, who played in his first exhibition game.
But he stranded on first base.
In the top of the fourth, Eric Mendez Matos became the new Orange-pitcher.
He began with a walk, then got a flyout and closed with two strikeouts.
...Sharlon Schoop...
...homerun...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
In the bottom of the fourth, there were two Dutch basehits, but only three batters, as two of them were eliminated on the bases.
Wladimir Balentien led off with a single, but then Roger Bernadina grounded into a double play.
Now with two outs, Zander Wiel singled, but he was eliminated at second base when he tried to stretch it into a double.
Franklin Van Gurp pitched the fifth inning for the Netherlands and struckout the side.
In its fifth at bat, the Orange Team got one baserunner when Andrelton Simmons singled with one out, but he stranded on first base.
Kiwoom Heroes added a run in the top of the sixth, which was the lone run to be scored by both teams since the fourth inning.
With one out, new pitcher Antwone Kelly walked a batter.
An infield-hit was then followed by an error by first baseman Didi Gregorius, which led to runners at the corners.
After a stolen base, the bases got loaded via a walk, then another walk brought in the seventh Korean run.
That also ended the inning, as Kelly had reached his pitch-count.
After the Netherlands-offense was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, Scott Prins became the new Dutch pitcher in the top of the seventh.
With two outs, he walked a batter, then a single led to runners on first and third base.
But the inning then ended with a nice diving catch from leftfielder Jurickson Profar.
Three Orange-batters were retired in order again in the bottom of the seventh.
Thereafter, new Dutch pitcher Wendell Floranus got one more baserunner with one out in the top of the eighth, but two flyouts followed.
And that also ended the game.
A game in which the Netherlands didn't get much chances to do some scoring.
The following players came into action for the Netherlands:
Jurickson Profar (LF, 1-for-3), Didi Gregorius (1B, 0-for-3), Wladimir Balentien (DH, 1-for-3), Roger Bernadina (CF, 0-for-3), Zander Wiel (Extra DH, 1-for-3), Josh Palacios (RF, 0-for-2), Andrelton Simmons (3B, 2-for-2), Sharlon Schoop (2B, 1-for-2), Ray-Patrick Didder (SS, 0-for-2), John Polonius (SS, 0-for-0), Sicnarf Loopstok (C, 0-for-2), Dashenko Ricardo (C, 0-for-0) and pitchers Shairon Martis, Eric Mendez Matos, Franklin Van Gurp, Antwone Kelly, Scott Prins and Wendell Floranus.
(February 28)
Related Articles:
 Netherlands Team wins first exhibition-game via homerun-comeback. (February 25)
Netherlands Team suffers big loss in second exhibition-game in Arizona. (February 21)
Netherlands Team opens exhibition-series in Arizona with loss. (February 19)
Roster Netherlands Team announced for World Baseball Classic. (February 10)
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Fourth exhibition game as part of preparations for World Baseball Classic.