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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar) Netherlands closes Preliminary Round European Championship in 2nd place Nederlands HAVLÍČKŮV BROD / KOSTELEC NAD ORLICÍ (Czech Rep.) - The Netherlands Men Softball Team closed the Preliminary Round of the European Championship in the Czech Republic on Wednesday (June 27) in second place in Pool B. The Netherlands won four of the five games played in the Preliminary Round. The only loss came against Denmark, which remained unbeaten in this Pool. The event went underway on Monday (June 25), then was bothered by rain on Tuesday, resulting in some postponements and cancellations. The second day ended with a late game between host Czech Republic and Great Britain. That game started at 10:30 PM and ended at 1 AM! The cancelled games were re-scheduled for Wednesday, which was another rainy day. On Wednesday, 14 games were eventually played with the last one starting at 10:35 PM in the evening and ending 10 minutes after midnight. Also on Wednesday, Sweden and Slovakia played a long and exhausting game. It took four hours and five minutes (!) to complete their seven innings. Slovakia won 31-21 on 20 basehits. Sweden recorded only two basehits, but scored 21 runs. Four Slovakian pitchers walked 26 hitters, hit five and combined on 19 wild pitches. Three Swedish pitchers walked 16 and threw nine wild pitches. Swedish starter Karl Hjelm threw 179 pitches, gave up 15 basehits and 27 runs. Denmark played four instead of five games, as its game against Slovakia rained out on Wednesday. It will not be made up, as it was no influence anymore for the final ranking and the split into the top-6 and bottom-6. Israel finished in third place behind Denmark and the Netherlands in Pool B to qualify for the top-6 (Pool C). Host Czech Republic remained unbeaten and won five games to win Pool A. The Czechs were followed in the ranking by Great Britain and Belgium to advance to Pool C. (June 25-27)

Netherlands vs. Slovakia In its opening game on Monday at Havlíčkův Brod, the Netherlands won 9-0 against Slovakia on only four basehits. Two Slovakian pitchers walked 13 batters. Three Dutch pitchers gave up only one basehit. The Orange squad opened the score with two runs in the second inning on one basehit. With the bases loaded and one out, the first run was scored when Anthony Beaumont walked. With two outs, Jeff Delfina also walked to bring in the second run. Three runners were left behind when a flyout ended the at bat. Three runs were added in the third inning on one basehit. With one out, the bases got loaded, then a run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Idel Raap. Later, walks for Quincy Jones and Jeff Delfina accounted for the following runs. The Netherlands also scored three runs in the fourth at bat. This time without hitting a basehit! Again, the bases got loaded quickly, then two runs were scored when Lars Ham and Idel Raap walked. A sacrifice fly by Anthony Beaumont increased the lead to 8-0. The ninth run was scored in the fourth on a double by Lars Ham.

Netherlands vs. Sweden On Tuesday, at Kostelec nad Orlicí, the Netherlands also recorded a convincing 10-1 victory against Sweden. It was Sweden that opened the score in the top of the first inning off of starter Enio Kwas. Rickard Astrom led off with what would be the lone basehit for Sweden and went on to score on a wild pitch. The lead was brief, as the Orange scored twice in its first at bat on singles by Eldrick Dijkhoff and Emeron Lourens. Four Dutch runs were added in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Jeff Delfina delivered a 3-run triple and scored himself on a following single by Glennsig Polonius. After being retired in order in the third at bat, the Netherlands again scored four runs in the fourth. First, Idel Raap led off with a homerun. With one out and two runners on base, pinch-hitter Lars Ham delivered a runscoring single, followed by a 2-run double by Emeron Lourens. In the afternoon, the crucial game against Denmark went underway, but was interrupted by rain in the top of the second inning. The Danish squad scored three runs in the first inning. In the second inning, there were two outs and Idel Raap was on first base after a walk, when the game was halted. The remainder was re-scheduled for Wednesday-morning at 10 AM.

Netherlands vs. Denmark On Wednesday-morning, at Kostelec nad Orlicí, it was the Netherlands that suffered a big shutout-loss, as Denmark recorded a 15-0 win in three innings. The game resumed with a 3-0 lead for Denmark in the top of the second inning and Idel Raap on first base. He then stole second base and moved to third base on a single by Anthony Beaumont, which was the lone Dutch basehit in this game. The two runners stranded when a grounder ended the at bat. In the bottom of the second inning, Denmark struck with eleven runs on six basehits. The long inning was highlighted by a 3-run homerun by Valdermar Terkelsen, a 2-run homerun by Frederik Terkelsen and a grand slam homerun by Martin Simonsen. Denmark scored one more run in the third inning.

Netherlands vs. Croatia In the afternoon, also at Kostelec nad Orlicí, the Netherlands nipped Croatia, 9-8. The Orange squad led 7-2 after two innings, but was unable to take more distance, while Croatia not only narrowed the deficit, but took the lead. Trailing 7-3, Croatia scored three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take an 8-7 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, the Netherlands came alongside, thanks to a single by Quincy Jones. The Netherlands re-took the lead in he sixth on a single by Enio Kwas and this time, the team hold onto the minimal lead. Trailing 2-0, the Netherlands had scored three runs in the first inning. With the bases loaded, the first run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Kwas, then two runs were added on an error and a wild pitch. In the second inning, a 4-run rally followed. Ron Dix led off with a triple and scored on a sac-fly by Jeff Delfina. A single by Kwas, sac-fly by Glennsig Polonius and an error increased the lead to 7-2.

Netherlands vs. Israel The Dutch squad closed the third day with a 10-0 shutout-win against Israel. Jeroen Mulder went the distance, struckout eleven batters and gave up only one basehit. The Netherlands opened the score with two runs in the first inning, thanks to a 2-run double by Enrique Javier. Jeff Delfina added a runscoring double in the second inning, then Anthony Beaumont doubled in another run in the third at bat. A 5-run rally followed in the fourth inning. A fielder's choice and a sac-fly by Ron Dix made it a 7-0 score. Moments later, Beaumont lifted the lead to 10-0 with a 3-run homerun.

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