Another Nail Biter Victory For Dutch U23 Team

In the battle of unbeaten teams in Group A, the Dutch U23 team barely stayed at the right side of the score as they clinched a walk off victory against Great-Britain.

In another true pitching duel, British pitcher Matteo Sollecito no-hit the Dutch in the first six innings. His opponent, Naut Kragt, limited the British to two hits. The British got their base hits in the third (Donovan Crook) and in the seventh inning (Michael Flaherty).

As mentioned before, the Dutch were no-hit in the first six frames but finally got through in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Jair van Borkulo drew a walk and advanced to second on Makesiondon Kelkboom’s single through the left side. Eventually, Sem Kuijper was the game winner for the Dutch, as he singled to left field and drove in Van Borkulo for the walk off win.

A bitter loss for Matteo Sollecito after a superb outing in which he allowed two hits, walked four, and struck out six in 6.1 innings as he gave up the game-ending run to the Dutch.
Naut Kragt took the win after a complete game gem, in which he allowed two hits, walked three and struck out five.

Best hitter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was Makesiondon Kelkboom, who went 1 for 2. Sem Kuijper went 1 for 3 with an RBI.

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