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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Fred Versluis & Grega Valancic / Softball Europe)
    Suka Van Gurp homers Netherlands Softball Team to EC-Final; Italy dethroned
Nederlands
 SANT BOI DE LLOBREGAT (Spain) -
The Netherlands Softball Team reached the Final of the European Championship on Thursday-evening (July 28) in a spectacular way.
Thanks to a walk-off homerun by Suka Van Gurp in the seventh inning, the Orange Team won 3-2 in a must-win game against Italy.
Besides that, Eva Voortman dominated as pitcher and threw a 2-hitter.
The Netherlands Team started the day with a 5-0 loss against Great Britain, which therefore remained unbeaten, while the Orange Team suffered its first loss.
In the evening, Great Britain shutout Spain 10-0 to become the first team to qualify for the Final.
Later in the evening, the Netherlands became the second finalist and that meant that reigning champion Italy was dethroned.
The Netherlands Team opened the event on Sunday with a 7-0 shutout-win against Germany in the First round.
On Monday, team opened the Second Round with a 7-0 win against the Czech Republic.
On Tuesday, the Netherlands first recorded a big 16-0 victory in 2½ inning against Poland and saw Jessie van Aalst throw a 3-inning No-Hitter.
In the late afternoon, the Netherlands played its next game against Greece and won 8-1 in five innings.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands closed the Second Round with two more victories to remain unbeaten.
The Orange Team first began with its fifth mercy-rule victory in a row, winning 12-0 in 3½ inning against Slovakia.
And in the afternoon, the Netherlands won 7-2 against hosting country Spain.
On Friday, the Netherlands closes the Final Round (Pool X) against Israel in Sant Boi, starting at 3:00 PM.
(July 28)
Other scores today:
Pool X (Final Round, 1st-6th place): Spain vs. Israel 7-0 (6 inn.); Czech Republic vs. Italy 1-13 (5 inn.); Czech Republic vs. Israel 9-7; Great Britain vs. Spain 10-0 (4 inn.).
Pool Y (7th-12th place): Slovakia vs. France 1-3; Ireland vs. Poland 4-3; Greece vs. Germany 3-2; Poland vs. France 0-7 (5 inn.); Germany vs. Slovakia 8-0 (4½ inn.); Greece vs. Ireland 6-5.
Pool G (13th-21st place): Croatia vs. Malta 15-0 (2½ inn.); Switzerland vs. Belgium 1-8 (6 inn.); Denmark vs. Türkiye 8-0 (4½ inn.); Ukraine vs. Malta 15-0 (2½ inn.); Switzerland vs. Finland 14-2 (3½ inn.); Türkiye vs. Belgium 4-23 (4 inn.); Austria vs. Croatia 0-3; Ukraine vs. Denmark 14-4 (4 inn.).
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Netherlands vs. Great Britain
The Netherlands Team suffered its first loss of the tournament, after ending up short 5-0 against Great Britain, which therefore is now the lone unbeaten team.
Although the British Team led only 1-0 after five innings, the Orange-offense was unable to do something back and was limited to only two basehits.
Great Britain then rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to take a decisive lead.
Great Britain opened the score in the top of the first inning off of Orange-starter Lisa Hop.
With two outs, the righthander gave up a comeback infield-hit to Katie Burge, then made a throwing error, which enabled the batter to advance to second base.
Hereafter, Kendyl Scott was hit by a pitch and Lauren Evans followed with a runscoring single.
The Netherlands faced Georgina Corrick, who already had won four games in the previous days.
Today, the righthander gave up only two basehits and struckout eleven batters, her highest total in the tournament.
Corrick raised her strikeout-total to 40 and had given up only seven basehits in 24 2/3 inning, while walking only two batters.
...Cindy van der Zanden...
...double...
(© Photo: Fred Versluis) |
The English-born Corrick was the pitching-ace for the University of South Florida since 2018.
In the past college-season, Corrick was 37-5 with a 0.51 ERA and 418 strikeouts in 274 1/3 inning.
Overall in her 5-year at USF, Corrick won 113 games, lost 32 and struckout 1,302 batters in 985 2/3 inning, giving up 554 basehits and walking 209 batters.
She recorded 55 shutouts and threw nine No-Hitters, including two Perfect Games.
Corrick, who was three months old when she move to the USA, where she then grew up, also participated with the British National Team in the World Championship in 2016 and 2018 in respectively Canada and Japan.
Trailing 1-0, the Netherlands came close to the tying run in the bottom of the second inning.
After the team was retired in order in the first inning, Cindy van der Zanden led off the second inning with a double.
With one out, she moved to third base on a grounder by Dinet Oosting, but was left behind, as Georgina Corrick closed with a strikeout.
She then retired the side in the third, fourth and fifth inning.
In the fifth, Corrick struckout the side.
In the meantime, Lisa Hop also did fine and limited Great Britain to only one run.
The righthander retired the side in the second inning (striking out two)
She gave up an one-out single in the third, but retired the next two batters.
In the fourth inning, Hop was supported with an inning-ending double play.
In the top of the fifth, Great Britain failed to take some more distance and left three runners behind.
Georgina Corrick led off with a single and with one out, the bases got loaded via a single and an error.
Next, Corrick was forced out at the plate on a grounder.
Three runners were then left behind when another grounder ended the at bat.
But in the top of the sixth inning, Great Britain struck with a 4-run rally to take a decisive lead.
Kendyl Scott led off with a walk, advanced on a passed ball and scored on a single by Lauren Evans.
After next batter Rebecca Faulkner also singled, Lisa Hop followed with a strikeout, but then got the bases loaded when she walked Amy Moore.
Some years ago, Moore played in the Dutch big league for Alcmaria Victrix with whom she won the Dutch Championship-title.
A pitching change followed.
Mariëlle Vleugels took over from Hop and began with a strikeout.
But thereafter, Tia Warsop connected for a baseclearing, 3-run triple.
When the throw back from the outfield went by the catcher, Warsop tried to score, but was eliminated at the plate.
That ended the at bat, but Great Britain now led 5-0.
With two out in the bottom of the sixth, Britt Vonk singled for the Netherlands to record only the second basehit of her team.
Vonk then stole second and third base, but Georgina Corrick closed with another strikeout.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Orange-offense was retired in order and that ended the game.
Playing for the Netherlands in this game were Britt Vonk (SS), Brenda Beers (CF), Jessie van Aalst (RF), Cindy van der Zanden (2B), Suka Van Gurp (2B), Mariëlle Vleugels (1B/RP), Dinet Oosting (C/1B), Laura Wissink (DP/C), Annemiek Jansen (LF), Damishah Charles (3B) and Lisa Hop (SP).
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| Netherlands - Great Britain 0-5 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | | R | H | E |
| Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| pitcher Great Britain | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Georgina Corrick, W (5-0) | 7 | 11 | - | 2 | - | - |
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| pitchers Netherlands | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Lisa Hop, L (1-1) | 5.1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
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| Mariëlle Vleugels | 1.2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
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Netherlands vs. Italy
The Netherlands faced a much-win situation when it faced Italy in what was the final game of Day 5 of the European Championship.
The game was played in Sant Boi de Llobregat and was preceeded by the game between Great Britain and Spain.
The British Team won 10-0 in four innings to become the first finalist.
That meant that the winner of the Netherlands vs. Italy game would become the second finalist.
Right from the beginning, the game was a classic thriller.
Although Eva Voortman dominated as pitcher, striking out eleven batters and giving up only two hits, Italy opened the score in the second inning, then tied the score in the fourth at bat.
The game was then decided in the bottom of the seventh when Suka Van Gurp led off with a walk-off homerun!
...An emotional Suka Van Gurp is greeted after her...
...walk-off homerun by winning pitcher Eva Voortman,...
...catcher Laura Wissink, bullpen catcher Lorraine Kieft...
...and pitcher Lisa Hop...
(© Photo: Grega Valancic / Softball Europe) |
Eva Voortman struckout the first four batters she faced, but then gave up an one-out homerun to Elisa Cecchetti in the second inning.
With two outs, the lefthander walked Sarah Edwards, but then closed with a strikeout.
The Netherlands immediately answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning off of starter Ilaria Cacciamani.
Dinet Oosting led off with a ground-rule double, then scored the tying run when next batter Laura Wissink singled.
The latter was forced out on a grounder by Annemiek Jansen, who then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
After Suka Van Gurp walked, Jansen scored from second base when a throwing error was made on a sacrifice bunt by Damishah Charles to put the Orange Team ahead, 2-1.
Because of the error, Van Gurp and Charles moved to third and second base, which led to a pitching change.
Alice Nicolini took over the pitching and got the bases loaded when Britt Vonk walked.
With three runners on base, Nicolini struckout the next two batters.
In the top of the third inning, Italy got another runner in scoring position.
Lead-off hitter Fabrizia Marrone reached on an error and moved via a sacrifice bunt, but thereafter, Eva Voortman followed with two strikeouts.
The Orange Team got three baserunners in the bottom of the third, but two of them were forced out at second base.
Italy came alongside in the top of the fourth inning.
With one out, Elisa Cecchetti hit a triple down the rightfield-line and then scored on a wild pitch.
A flyout into centerfield followed, then Voortman closed with a strikeout, but the score was now 2-2.
In the bottom of the fourth, it was the Netherlands that came into scoring position again.
With one out, Damishah Charles singled, then took off to second base when Britt Vonk flied out.
However, Charles had left first base too early and so, an appeal play followed and the inning ended.
In the fifth, the Orange-defense turned a double play, then Italy was retired in order in the sixth.
The Netherlands was retired in order in both the fifth and sixth inning.
Eva Voortman retired the side again in the top of the seventh inning.
She struckout two more batters to raise her total to eleven.
Moments later, she became the winning pitcher.
Suka Van Gurp led off for the Netherlands and with an 1-0 count, shortly before midnight, she drilled the next delivery from Alice Nicolini deep over the centerfield-fence for a walk-off homerun!
The Netherlands won 3-2 and qualified for the FINAL!
At the same moment, Italy was dethroned as European champion!
Playing for the Netherlands in this game were Britt Vonk (SS), Brenda Beers (CF), Jessie van Aalst (RF), Cindy van der Zanden (DP), Dinet Oosting (1B), Laura Wissink (C), Annemiek Jansen (LF), Suka Van Gurp (2B), Damishah Charles (3B) and Eva Voortman (P).
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | | R | H | E |
| Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| (no outs when winning run was scored in the seventh inning) |
| pitchers Italy | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Ilaria Cacciamani | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
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| Alice Nicolini, L (1-1) | 4.2 (*) | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
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| (*) - Nicolini pitched to one batter in the seventh inning |
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| pitcher Netherlands | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Eva Voortman, W (2-0) | 7 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
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| Homerun: Italy: Elisa Cecchetti (1)(2nd,solo,1 out,off Voortman); Netherlands: Suka Van Gurp (2)(7th,solo,0 outs,off Nicolini). |
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Copyright © 1997-2022 Marco Stoovelaar / Grand Slam * Stats & News.
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670th international game of the Netherlands Women's Softball Team.