(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Fred Versluis)
   Netherlands Softball Team opens European Championship with shutout-win
Nederlands
 VILADECANS (Spain) -
The Netherlands Softball Team opened the 33rd edition of the European Championship on Sunday (July 24) with a 7-0 shutout-victory against Germany.
The game was played at Camp Municipal de Sófbol de Viladecans in Viladecans, a suburb of Barcelona.
The Championship is organized in Catalunya around Barcelona.
Other playing locations are Gavá, Sant Boi de Llobregat and Barcelona itself.
21 countries are participating in this years Championship.
They are divided into four Pools in the First Round, which ended on Monday-afternoon.
The eight best countries then advance to the Super Round in the new playing format that is being used for the first time.
The Netherlands Team used one inning to more or less decide the opening game.
The team rallied for five runs in the second at bat.
In four other innings, the team scored only twice combined, but the team managed to end the game via the mercy-rule in the fifth inning.
The Orange Team opened the score with one run in the bottom of the first inning off of starter Hannah Held, who pitches in the Dutch regular season for Sparks Haarlem.
She gave up a lead-off single to Britt Vonk, but with one out, she was forced out on a grounder by Damishah Charles.
After Jessie van Aalst walked, Charles scored on a single by Cindy van der Zanden.
...Brenda Beers...
...3 hits, 3 RBI's, 1 run scored...
(© Photo: Fred Versluis) |
The second inning was the most productive for the Netherlands.
The team collected four basehits and took more distance with a 5-run rally.
Dinet Oosting led off with a single and Charlotte Drijvers walked.
After the two had moved up a base via a sacrifice bunt by Annemiek Jansen, the bases got loaded when Britt Vonk walked.
Brenda Beers followed with a 2-run single, which also led to a pitching change.
American born-and-raised Kyrie Denny took over the German pitching.
She got a grounder from Damishah Charles, but everyone was safe and Vonk scored.
Two more runs were then added when Jessie van Aalst singled.
Next batter Cindy van der Zanden drove the ball into deep leftfield for a double.
But Van Aalst and Van der Zanden were left behind, as a strikeout and flyout ended the at bat.
Marjolein Merkx started for the Netherlands.
The righthander retired the first seven batters she faced, the final four with a strikeout.
With one out in the third, Merkx gave up her lone basehit, a single by >Fiona Brosch, but her pinch-runner Teresa Vanah was later caught stealing.
With two outs in the fourth, Merkx walked Lara Brockmeyer, but she stranded on first base.
With the Netherlands leading 6-0, Rebecca Soumeru took over the Orange-pitching in the top of the fifth.
With two outs, the veteran righthander gave up a single to her veteran colleague Claudia Volkmann (who was inserted as a pinch-hitter).
Volkmann's pinch-runner Lisa Delay then became the lone German runner in scoring position when a walk followed, but a grounder closed the at bat.
The Netherlands was held scoreless in the third and fourth inning.
With two outs in the third, Britt Vonk hit the ball into deep centerfield.
The speedy Vonk tried to make it a triple, but was eliminated at third base.
In the fourth, the Netherlands left runners behind on first and third base.
But in the bottom of the fifth, the mercy-rule run-difference was reached.
Dinet Oosting led off with a double and moved to third base when Annemiek Jansen reached on an error.
A force play was then created by walking Britt Vonk intentionally, but Brenda Beers followed with a walk-off single that made it a 7-0 score.
Beers was 3-for-4 and batted in three runs.
Playing for the Netherlands in this game were Britt Vonk (1B/SS), Brenda Beers (CF), Damishah Charles (SS), Lizzie Clarijs (3B), Jessie van Aalst (RF), Cindy van der Zanden (2B), Suka Van Gurp (2B), Laura Wissink (DP/C), Dinet Oosting (3B/OPO), Charlotte Drijvers (C), Mariëlle Vleugels (PH/1B), Annemiek Jansen (LF), Marjolein Merkx (SP) and Rebecca Soumeru (RP).
(July 24)
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664th international game of the Netherlands Women's Softball Team.