A juvenile team Kingdom of the Netherlands beat Cuba in a surprisingly easy way. The Dutch pitching limited the Cubans to one run and seven hits in a 6-1 victory as the Dutch outhit them 12-7.
After Gianison Boekhoudt doubled home Stijn van der Meer from second base, Cuba tied the game in the bottom of the first when Humberto Bravo scored from second base on a single up the middle, hit by Osvaldo Vazquez. Cuba came close to score a run when Vazquez reached third base when Edilse Silva singled through the right side. But a 1-3 groundout by Leonel Segura ended the opportunity for the Cubans to take the lead.
In the third inning, Nick Peels hit a leadoff single to center field. Nick advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt laid down by Christopher Garia. Stijn van der Meer drew a walk before Gianison Boekhoudt singled home Nick Peels from second base to give the Dutch a 2-1 lead.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands extended the lead with three more runs in the next two innings. After Nick Urbanus singled in the fourth inning, he advanced to third on a wild pitch by Dariel Gongora. When Max Draijer singled to left center field, Nick Urbanus scored the third run for the Dutch.
With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Nick Urbanus drove in Dwayne Kemp on a groundout to first base. Once again, Max Draijer drove in a run when he singled to left field and thus allowed Boekhoudt to score.
In the meantime, Lars Huijer was masterful in seven innings in which he gave up a run on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Youngster Jeremyh Angela pitched one perfect inning in which he struck out two. Kevin Heijstek pitched a shutout inning in the ninth but gave up a hit.
Eventually, the Dutch scored an insurance run in the ninth. After Christopher Garia got on base on a single, he stole second and advanced to third on Stijn van der Meer’s single to right field. Garia scored on Dwayne Kemp’s 4-6-3 groundout.
Best hitter for team Kingdom of the Netherlands was Gianison Boekhoudt. He went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.
Japan beat Chinese Taipei 2-1
Thanks to this win, the Dutch are now 2-1 and trail Cuba by a game in the standings and share second place with Japan.
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