Dutch deal blow to Chinese Taipei

In the pandemonium in Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung team Kingdom of the Netherlands kept their cool and stayed at the right side of the score as they beat Chinese Taipei 7-4. The Dutch win didn’t come easy but they delivered at the right times in the game.

In the top of the first inning the Dutch took a 1-0 lead as Curt Smith just missed a grand slam homerun and was caught out for the sac fly on which Randolph Oduber managed to score the opening run. But in that first inning, it seemed that the Dutch could not cash in with runners in scoring position once more, as they had shown in the practice games. With one out, and runners on first and second, they could not score anymore runs.
Where Curt Smith just missed a homerun in the top of the first, Dai-Kang Yang hit a solo shot to tie the game at one.
But in the next inning team Kingdom of the Netherlands took a lead again as Kalian Sams stretched a lead off single into a lead off double. Sams advanced to third on a single hit by Carlton Daal before Randolph Oduber hit another sac fly for the Dutch to drive in Kalian Sams. Then Yurendell de Caster drove in two runs with a blast to right field that cleared the fencesto give the Dutch a 4-1 lead.

For two innings, Diegomar Markwell was practically unhittable, but in the bottom of the third with one out and a runner on first, Markwell was hit on the lower part of his pitching arm by a line drive hit by Dai-Kang Yang. The ball caromed to second baseman Carlton Daal who caught it for the second out. The Taiwanese baserunner was so confused that he was an easy third out when Daal tagged him.

In the bottom of the fourth Chinese Taipei cut the Dutch lead in half as catcher Hung-Yu Lin hit a double that drove in one run. Eventually Diegomar Markwell was pulled with a bruised arm and replaced by Tom Stuifbergen, who got out of the inning without any further damage. But Stuifbergen would be damaged as he tweaked his right ankle and needed to leave the game in the fifth. Shairon Martis stepped in and got out of the inning for team Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Taiwanese bullpen kept the Dutch hitters in check until the ninth inning as their own hitters inched closer by scoring another run in the sixth.

But in the ninth the Dutch stepped on it to score a few insurance runs. Four hits resulted in three more runs. Andruw Jones led off the ninth with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Dwayne Kemp. Then Wladimire Balentien doubled on a line drive to left field to put runners on third and second. Curt Smith then singled through the middle of the infield to drive in Dwayne Kemp and to put runners on the corners. A sac fly by Shawn Zarraga to left center field drove in Wladimir Balentien to give the Dutch a 5-3 lead, followed by a single by Kalian Sams to add another run to the Dutch total. With runners on the corners. Another sac fly, this time hit by Gianison Boekhoudt, drove in the seventh run for the Dutch.

The one run that Chinese Taipei scored in the bottom of the ninth didn’t hurt the Dutch anymore as Loek van Mil closed out the game for the save.

Shairon Martis earned the win after 2.2 innings.

Kalian Sams was the best hitter for team Kingdom of the Netherlands as he went 4 for 5 with two doubles.