   Dutch Team suffers second loss
Nederlands
 AUCKLAND (New Zealand) -
The Dutch Men Softball Team on Saturday suffered its second loss during the World Championship in New Zealand.
After losing 7-0 to Japan on the first day, the Dutch were beaten 11-4 today by Mexico in a game that ended in the sixth inning, due to the 7-run mercy rule.
...Tim Verbrugge scored 1st Dutch run...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar |
The Dutch Team opened the score in the first inning, but scored only once despite getting the bases loaded with no outs.
Tim Verbrugge led off the game with a single, then next batter Kenny Dame was hit by a pitch.
The bases got loaded when Dutch Team-rookie Eldrick Dijkhoff walked.
Next, Verbrugge scored when Mike den Braven also was hit by a pitch, but that was to be all in this at bat.
With the bases still loaded, Sergio Almeida was brought in to relief starting pitcher Oscar Martinez.
Enrique Javier then grounded into a force play with Dame being eliminated at home, but keeping the bases loaded.
The inning then ended with a double play.
Randy Lo-A-Tjong struckout, but the third strike was dropped.
Lo-A-Tjong was then thrown out at first base, but Dijkhoff then tried to score on the throw, but instead was thrown out also to end the inning.
The 1-0 was shortlived, as Mexico recovered quickly and answered with a 6-run rally to take a comfortable lead.
After a lead-off single and groundout, starting pitcher Jeffry Visser gave up three consecutive single, which brought in two runs.
Visser was then relieved by veteran pitcher Arjan Baanen, who was greeted with a single that loaded the bases.
Next, Jesus Medina connected well and hit a grand slam homerun to make it 6-1.
In the second inning, Osandrick Statia singled with two outs, but stranded.
The Dutch Team then scored two runs in the third inning.
Kenny Dame led off with a walk and advanced on two wild pitches.
With one out, Mike den Braven also walked.
Singles by Randy Lo-A-Tjong and Glennsig Polonius then accounted for the two runs.
The inning might have been more productive, but moments later Polonius interfered with the short stop on a grounder by Rien Smulders that ended the at bat.
The Dutch got runners again in the fourth and fifth inning, but didn't score then.
In the fourth, Kenny Dame singled with two outs and in the fifth, Enrique Javier doubled with one out, but both were left.
Mexico added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After two lead-off walks, Jeffry Visser re-entered the game as pitcher, replacing Jeroen Mulder, who had come in the pitch in the second inning as reliever for Arjan Baanen.
With one out, Mexico scored on an RBI-single and a force play-grounder to make it 8-3.
The Dutch had one run left in the sixth inning when Rien Smulders led off with a single, moved on a wild pitch and an error, then scored when another error was made on a grounder by Kenny Dame.
Two singles and a force play-grounder in the bottom of the sixth inning then accounted for three more Mexican runs to lift the lead to 11-4 and reach the 7-run difference to end the game.
Other games today:
Game 9: Australia vs. Indonesia
Australia began Day 2 of the World Championship with a 10-0 win against Indonesia.
In this regional match-up, Australia opened the score with three runs in the first at bat on an RBI-double by Zenon Winters and a 2-run single by Andrew Kirkpatrick.
The latter was the hero of the game, as he added an RBI-single to start a 5-run rally in the third inning.
Later in this at bat, Nick Norton contributed with a 2-run triple, while an error and a single by Michael Tanner lifted the lead to 8-0.
A 2-run single by Kirkpatrick ended the game in the bottom of the fourth due to the 10-run difference mercy-rule.
Australian starter Adam Humble struckout all six batters he faced, then Kirkpatrick took over the pitching in the third inning and struckout the next four hitters.
But then, the Perfect Game was broken when Iid Munadi singled, but he was the lone Indonesian baserunner.
Game 10: USA vs. Samoa
For the second day in a row, Samoa surprised the softball-world.
After opening on Friday with a 2-0 win vs. Great Britain, Samoa on Saturday won 3-2 vs. USA, which finished in fourth place four years ago.
The USA opened the score in the first inning on a force play-grounder with the bases loaded.
But in the third inning, Samoa answered with two runs.
Gerald Long led off with a single, then scored when an error followed a 2-out single by Gene Robinson, who later scored on a single by Tony Niu.
In the fourth, Samoa added a run on a grounder by Long to make it 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Joshua Johnson hit an one-out homerun to narrow the deficit to 3-2, but then a groundout and strikeout ended the game.
Game 11: South Africa vs. Czech Republic
The Czech Republic recorded another big win, this time beating South Africa 8-1 in a 5-inning game.
The score was opened in the second inning on an RBI-single by Karel Kadecka.
In the third inning, a 5-run rally followed with the runs being scored on a 2-run single by Vaclav Svoboda and a 3-run homerun by Lukas Holub.
A 2-out, 2-run homerun by Petr Vacha in the fourth inning lifted the lead to 8-0.
The lone South African run was scored in the home of the fourth on a single by Richard Claasen.
Game 12: New Zealand vs. Colombia
New Zealand on Saturday won 4-0 vs. Colombia on only two basehits, one of them being a homerun.
Pitchers Penese Iosefo (4 innings) and Jeremy Manley (3 innings) threw a combined No-Hitter.
In the first inning, Tyson Byrne walked with one out, stole second base and advanced on two consecutive errors to score the first run for New Zealand.
In the fourth at bat, a double by Ben Enoka and 2-run homerun by Patrick Shannon made it 4-0.
Starting pitcher Penese Iosefo struckout nine batters and walked two, before being relieved by Jeremy Manley in the fifth inning.
In 2009, Iosefo was Most Valuable Player, Best Pitcher and Homerun King of the Dutch big league men softball when he played in the Netherlands for Spikes.
game 13 - Venezuela vs. Great Britain
This game was a pitching duel between Joan Colombo (Venezuela) and James Darby (Great Britain).
Colombo struckout eight batters and gave up three hits in the five innings he pitched, while Darby struckout eleven and gave up only three hits going the distance for the British.
Colombo was relieved by Ramon Jones, who threw the final two innings and struckout five more batters.
The lone run was scored in the fourth inning.
Iran Paez led off with a single, but was caught stealing.
With two outs, Rafael Flores walked, then scored when John Zambrano followed with a double.
Game 14: Canada vs. the Philippines
Canada registered a big 10-0 win vs. the Philippines on 10 basehits.
Gelmart Ilao led off the game for the Philippines with a single and stole second base, but he would be their lone runner, as all following batters were retired in order.
Canada scored three runs in the first inning on an error and a 2-run single by Andy Skelton.
The 10-run difference was reached in the bottom of the fourth inning with a 7-run rally, highlighted by 2-run singles by Kevin Schellenberg and Jeff Ellsworth, followed by a 2-run double by Brad Ezekiel.
An RBI-single by pinch-hitter Ian Fehrman then ended the game.
Game 16: Japan vs. Argentina
Day 2 ended with Argentina defeating Japan 3-1 and that can be labeled as another surprise score.
Argentina got strong pitching from Lucas Mata, who went the distance, struckout 12 batters and gave up only four basehits.
Argentina opened the score in the second inning.
They got the bases loaded, then a force play at home accounted for the second out.
But an error on another force play-grounder by Gustavo Guerrinieri led to the opening run.
In the top of the 7th, Argentina added two runs when the Japanese defense committed two errors.
In the home of the 7th, Japan (which made four errors) scored its lone run on a double by Hikaru Matsuda.
(March 2)
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