(Story & Photo by Marco Stoovelaar)
   Dutch Under-22 Team in final after 7th inning rally
Nederlands
 PARDUBICE (Czech Republic) -
The Netherlands Under-22 Softball Team has reached the all-deciding Final of the European Under-22 Championship in Pardubice.
But it didn't come easy, as the squad faced a 3-1 deficit with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning!
The Orange squad then rallied for three runs and won 4-3 on a 2-run, walk-off single by Laura Wissink.
The game started later, as the first semi-final between Slovakia and the Czech Republic lasted two hours and 40 minutes.
As the score was tied at 6-6 after seven innings, the game went into extra innings.
The Czechs scored then three runs in the top of the eighth inning.
Slovakia scored once in its tie-break inning.
With that, the Czech squad won the marathan with a 9-7 score to reach the 'backdoor-final', while Slovakia was eliminated.
Hereafter, the next semi-final between the Netherlands and Russia also offered a lot of suspense.
In the preliminary round, the Dutch Team dominated, scoring a lot of runs and producing a lot of basehits.
The squad ended all seven games its played via the mercry-rule.
However, in the semi-final, the Orange struggled and faced a decifit almost the entire game.
The suspense was building and while it appeared that the Dutch Team was facing its first loss, the turn-around came in the bottom of the seventh when three runs were scored with one out to win and reach the Final!
Russia opened the score in the first inning off of starter Lisa Hop on a wild pitch.
The Dutch Team then got into scoring position in its first at bat, but failed to score.
Wies Ligtvoet led off with a bunt-single, then stole second base with one out and moved on a grounder.
Hereafter, Laura Wissink was hit by a pitch.
After the latter had moved to second base, both runners were left behind.
...Laura Wissink...
...walk-off, 2-run single...
(© Ph: Marco Stoovelaar) |
The Orange squad came alongside in the bottom of the third inning.
Britt Remmers led off with a single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt with one out by Annemiek Jansen.
She then scored when Manoa Weijgertse followed with a single.
Laura Wissink then doubled and Isa Los walked to load the bases.
But all three runners were left behind when a line drive by Rachel van Veen was caught.
Russia re-took the lead immediately in the fourth inning.
Daria Semenova led off with a single, moved on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on a single by Irina Ilyashenko.
In the fourth Dutch at bat, Lizzie Clarijs led off with a single, but was later caught stealing, while two batters struckout.
After Russia had left two runners behind in the fifth, Annemiek Jansen walked with one out in the fifth Dutch at bat, but also stranded.
Both teams were retired in order in the sixth, then Russia added a run in the top of the seventh inning, which appeared to be decisive.
Maria Gudym led off with a single, advanced on two grounders and scored on a bunt-single by Yana Islamova to give Russia a 3-1 lead.
Hereafter, Dutch pitcher Lisa Hop closed the inning with a strikeout.
With that, the Dutch Team now had to erase two runs instead of one.
And they did!
With one out, the bases got loaded when Britt Remmers singled, an error was made on a force play-grounder by Wies Ligtvoet and a walk for Annemiek Jansen.
Hereafter, Manoa Weijgertse also walked to make it a 3-2 score.
Next batter Laura Wissink then went after the first pitch she saw and drove the ball into rightfield for a walk-off, 2-run single that made it 4-3 in favor of the Dutch squad!
Lisa Hop went the distance for the Dutch Team.
She struckout nine batters and gave up seven basehits.
(July 8)
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