   Big loss Orange vs. Argentina
Nederlands
 AUCKLAND (New Zealand) -
The Dutch Men Softball Team on Monday suffered a big 11-1 loss against Argentina in a game that lasted only 3 1/2 innings and ended through the 10-run difference mercy-rule.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Dutch squad.
The game was the first to be played on Day 4 of the World Championship in New Zealand.
On Tuesday, the Orange squad continues the tournament against the Philippines.
Argentina struck right from the beginning, scoring three runs in the first at bat off of Dutch starter Arjan Baanen.
By the way, Argentina scored nine of its eleven runs with two outs.
...Osandrick Statia...
...scored the Dutch run...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the first inning, three runs were scored on only one basehit.
Lead-off hitter Fernando Petric D'Agostino walked and advanced on a sac-bunt.
He then beat the throw to third base on a grounder by Bruno Motroni and the bases got loaded when Manuel Godoy also walked.
A wild pitch enabled D'Agostino to open the score.
The other two runners advanced on a grounder, then scored when Francisco Sabate singled.
Last year, Sabate particpated with the Dutch clubteam Spikes in the European Super Cup Tournament in Prague (Czech Republic), where it won the bronze medal.
Argentina added two runs in the second inning on a single by Pablo Montero and a force play-grounder by Motroni.
The game got out of reach when Argentina rallied for six runs in the third inning to take a commanding 11-0 lead.
All runs in this at bat were scored with two outs.
Jeffry Visser, who started this inning in relief of Arjan Baanen, got a quick first out, but then walked Nicolas Bittor and gave up a single to Mauricio Caceres.
A strikeout followed for the second out, but then D'Agostino hit a triple to bring in the two runners.
A walk led to the next baserunner, then singles by Bruno Motroni, Manuel Godoy and Mariano Montero, plus a wild pitch in the middle, accounted for the next four runs to lift the lead to 11-0.
The Dutch offense produced only three basehits.
The first eight batters were retired in order by starting pitcher Juan Potolicchio, who struckout seven of them, including the first six in a row.
With two outs in the third inning, Marlon Comenencia singled, but then Potolicchio followed with his eighth strikeout.
In the fourth inning, Maximiliano Montero took over the pitching and was greeted with a lead-off single by Osandrick Statia.
He moved on a grounder by Glennsig Polonius and scored the lone Dutch run when Enrique Javier also singled.
But then Montero struckout the next two batters to secure the 10-run difference and end the game.
It was the biggest loss in four days for the Dutch Team, which now has given up 35 runs and scored only six themselves.
While it is not yet official and their still is a theoretical chance, the loss means that the Dutch Team is eliminated for the Play-Offs.
A tie for fourth place is a possibility, but in that case, the Dutch has lost from the teams it will share the fourth place with.
And in order to climb to the fourth spot, the Dutch Team has to win all three remaining games, including Canada and New Zealand, which were unbeaten before today and are the two favorites in this pool.
Other games today:
Game 26: Great Britain vs. Indonesia
Great Britain won its first game today after having lost the first three.
The British squad won 10-0 in 3 1/2 inning vs. Indonesia, which is now 0-4.
After a scoreless first at bat, the British scored four runs in the second inning.
James Darby led off with a homerun, then later in the inning, a 2-run single by Curt Taylor and a wild pitch made it 4-0.
A 6-run rally followed in the third inning.
Richard Haldane, who last year participated with the Dutch clubteam DVH in the European Super Cup Tournament in the Czech Republic, began the rally with a 2-run double.
Then Luke Peters followed with an RBI-single.
A passed ball, RBI-single by Darryl Herrmann and 2-run single by Darrin Newson then accounted for the next four runs to increase the lead to 10-0.
Game 27: USA vs. Czech Republic
The USA appeared to be en route to a big victory against the Czech Republic, as it led 7-0 after two innings.
But in the end, the Americans won only 10-7.
In the first inning, a 2-run double by Matt Palazzo, RBI-single by Dave Lohman and 2-run single by Todd Schultz off of starter Jonas Mach accounted for five runs.
Mach, who in 2008 pitched in two games in the Dutch big league for EHS, was then relieved by Alex Jetmar, who in 2009 threw two Dutch big league-games for Centrals.
Jetmar was welcomed with a runscoring single by Adam Lalonde that made it 6-0.
A double by Roman Foore made it 7-0 in the next at bat.
But in the top of the 3rd inning, the Czechs rallied for six runs to narrow the deficit to only 7-6.
After the lead-off hitter was hit by a pitch, David Mertl followed with a 2-run homerun, an error then led to the next run and Vaclav Svoboda also hit a 2-run homerun.
After a pitching change, a force play-grounder made it 7-6.
The USA took some more distance in the fourth inning when two runs were added thanks to a single by Derrick Zechman and a homerun by John Tan.
A lead-off homerun by Todd Schultz in the 5th inning made it 10-6.
In the top of the 6th, Petr Vacha also led off with a homerun, then the Czechs threaten again in the top of the 7th by getting two baserunners.
But no runs were added, so the Czechs lost their first game and the Americans won their first.
Game 28: the Philippines vs. Mexico
The Philippines, which was winless before today, gave Mexico a tough outing.
The team tied the score and even held the lead in the last at bat, but lost 8-6 in eight innings.
The Philippines opened the score in the second inning when Edmer Del Socorro doubled with two outs and scored on an illegal pitch.
Mexico answered with two runs in the third at bat when Gustavo Prishker hit a 2-out, 2-run homerun.
The Philippines came alongside in the fourth inning when Dario Bacarisas singled and Del Socorro followed with an RBI-triple.
Mexico re-gained the lead by scoring twice in the sixth inning.
With two outs, pinch-hitter Gabriel Melendez hit an RBI-double, then Jesus Cardona added an RBI-single to make it 4-2.
The Philippines then again underscored that it was a tough opponent today as it scored three runs with two outs to take the lead.
With one out, Anthony Santos walked, then Gel Mark Ilao singled with two outs.
The score was tied, as Orlando Binarao followed with a triple that brought in the two runners.
Jasper Cabrera followed with a double that gave the Philippines a 5-4 lead.
The Philippines was one out away from its first win when Mexico tied the score again in the top of the seventh.
Pinch-runner Alan Martinez, running for Gustavo Prishker, who had singled with one out, then scored on a 2-out single by Edgar Lopez to make it a 5-5 score.
In the bottom 7th, the Philippines get two baserunners when the lead-off hitter walks, advances on a sac-bunt and the next batter is walked intentionally.
The two are left as two outs follow, so the games goes into extra innings.
Mexico then decides the game in the top of the eighth.
A single by Jose Aguila moves tie-break runner Javier Platt to third base, who then scores when Jesus Cardona follows with another single.
After the two advance on a sac-bunt, a sac-fly by Ruben Delgadillo makes it 7-5.
A single by Gustavo Prishker then adds another run.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Philippines got two baserunners, one of them scoring on a wild pitch, but then a double play and flyout ended the marathon.
Game 29: Colombia vs. Japan
In the afternoon, Japan won comfortably vs. Colombia 9-2 to win its second game.
Japan trailed 2-1 after the first inning.
After Japan had taken an 1-0 lead, a 2-run homerun by Cesar Jimenez Velez Uribe made it 2-1 in Colombia's favor.
The next three innings remained scoreless, then Japan rallied for three runs in the fifth at bat, highlighted by a 2-run double by Hikaru Matsuda.
A 4-run rally followed in the sixth inning.
In this at bat, Yu Nishimori singled in two runs and Naoaki Kawada added an RBI-double.
The final run was scored in the seventh at bat.
Game 30: South Africa vs. Australia
Australia remained unbeaten by winning 9-1 in six innings vs. South Africa, which had only one basehit off of Andrew Kirkpatrick.
A triple by Jeff Goolagong gave Australia two runs in the first inning, then the lone South African single by Brandon Bouillon led to a run in the home of the first at bat.
Australia then added two runs in the second inning when Timothy Crome hit a 2-run homerun.
In the fourth, three runs were scored, including two on a single by Joel Southam.
A passed ball and an error lifted the lead to 9-1 in the fifth inning.
Game 31: Venezuela vs. Samoa
The game between the unbeaten teams of Venezuela and Samoa ended in a 4-3 win for the Venezuelans.
In the first inning, Venezuela scored three runs, thanks to RBI-singles by Rafael Flores and John Zambrano and a basesloaded walk for Frances Rojas.
Samoa then scored a run in the fourth inning and made it a 3-2 scored when Joshua Niu homered in the fifth inning.
Venezuela then scored an insurance run on an error in the home of the fifth.
Samoa made it an one-run score again in the sixth inning when Thomas Enoka led off with a homerun, but ended up short, losing their first game.
Game 32: New Zealand vs. Canada
New Zealand and Canada, which were both unbeaten, played an exiting game to close Day 4.
Canada came back from begind, then New Zealand tied the score in the seventh inning to force extra innings.
Canada then scored three runs to win 9-7.
Canada collected 17 basehits, at least one by each player in the line-up.
Brad Ezekiel and Brandon Horn both hit three basehits for Canada, while Brad Rona had three basehits for New Zealand.
Both teams used four pitchers.
New Zealand took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a groundout and a 2-run homerun by Rona.
Canada got one run back in the second inning on a sac-fly, but New Zealand got the run back in its fourth when Rona led off with his second homerun of the game.
Trailing 4-1, Canada came alongside in the fifth inning when Ryan Boland hit a 3-run homerun.
Canada then took the lead by scoring a run in the sixth and seventh inning on singkles by Bryan Abrey and Brandon Horn.
But with two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning, New Zealand tied the score when Donny Hale hit a 2-run homerun that made it 6-6.
In the eighth inning, Canada scored three runs to take a 9-6 lead.
With the tie-break runner on second base, Brad Ezekiel hit a 2-run homerun, then a single by Ryan Wolfe made it 9-6.
New Zealand could answer with only one more run on an error.
(March 4)
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