U-18 World Cup 2019: The Netherlands misses Super Round despite win
On the offensive side, things went pretty well today as the Dutch scored ten runs. On the defensive side, however, things did not pan out as expected as China scored six runs. Despite the win, the Dutch miss the Super Round.
After a scoreless first inning, the Dutch offense took off in the second. With one out and the bases loaded, Max Kops tripled down the right field line to give the Dutch a 3-0 lead. A single through the right side by Tyriq Kemp drove in Kops for the 4-0 lead.
After China scored a run in the fourth, the Netherlands scored one in the fifth. But then, in the sixth, China got really close when it scored three unearned runs to make it 5-4. But in the bottom of the very same inning, the Dutch bounced back. With two outs, Jian Yi took over on the mound and he could not get out of the inning. He loaded the bases before Darryl Collins drove in two runs on a single through the right side. After Collins moved to second on a wild pitch to give the Dutch runners in scoring position, Ruendrick Piternella doubled to deep center field to add two more runs to the Dutch score.
Eventually, China scored two more runs and the Netherlands one to give the Dutch a 10-6 win. The Dutch collected ten hits of which four were extra-base hits (three doubles and a triple). The best hitter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was Darryl Collins, who went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI.
Of the six runs China scored, five were unearned.
Gio de Graauw pitched 5.1 innings for the win. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks as he struck out six. Naut Kragt pitched 2.2 innings in relief in which he gave up three unearned runs on four hits and two walks as he struck out one.
Arij Fransen pitched a perfect ninth inning.
As Australia surprisingly beat Canada, the Aussies, the Canucks, and the Dutch finished the opening round with a 3-2 record. But based on the Team Quality Balance, the Dutch drop out of the Super Round. The TQB is calculated this way: runs scored/inning played at bat-runs allowed/innings playing on defense. Based on this, the 11-0 defeat vs Canada has cost the Dutch dearly.