Netherlands wins in Harlem. Photo: Daniele Combi.
In a match worthy of a championship final, Hosts Netherlands beat Curacao 6-1 and they took the title in the thirtieth edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week tournament.
It is the fifth time Europeans have been crowned in these competitionsafter they did it in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2016. This time they succeeded after dethroning the Japanese, monarchs of the last edition, in the semifinals.
The Tulipanes rebellion could be described as what happened at the Pim Mulier stadium in the lower part of the fifth period, when they scored five goals in total after being dominated at will by right-hander Ruderly Manuel, who fled to the collapse in the midst of the bombardment .
A five-hit shootout in that inning after two outs decided the game.
A cellophane double for veteran Rogear Bernardina who broke the cellophane and brought home two runners, a rocket booster from Juremi Profar and another linking two bases that broke from Denzel Richardson’s wrists – those latter two against deliveries from aide Faysel Gregorio – were too much for the caribbean.
Right-hander Shairon Martis took revenge on some Insulars who had already passed him in the qualifying stages, holding them all the way to the point where she only conceded two hits while dishing out five strikeouts.
In the first challenge of the day, the US team took the bronze medal by beating Japan with a result of 5-1, in a challenge in which he once again proved the quality of his pitchers.
Just a couple of hits saw the northern triad of pitchers climb in the box to round out the work of an impressive side who had just four earned runs in seven games played, arguably the best of the tournament.
Lefty Carter Holton took the credit by playing 2.1 spotless innings during which he bitterly liquidated three rivalsand right-hander Kosei Shoji was defeated in a 1.2-inning opening in which he scored two goals.
The Americans, who started this game like the Asians with the lowest offensive averages of the tournament, managed to hit seven in the first three innings of the duel to build their runs, more than enough to win.
Cuban-American Yohandy Morales once again excelled with the wood on a perfect day of 3-3 with a double included and a couple of trailers. Waiter Jacob Wilson also served two teammates with a quadruple double.
