The game
started with a pitcher’s duel between young talent Titus von Kapff from Germany
and former Major Leaguer Shairon Martis for the Netherlands. Germany struck
first and scored in the fourth inning for a 1-0 lead. Eric Brenk reached on a
seldom throwing error from Didi Gregorius and moved to second and third on a
walk and a double play ball. He then scored on a two-out RBI single by Simon
Bäumer.
Meanwhile
the powerful Dutch offense needed until the sixth inning to get anything on the
scoreboard. Juremi Profar tied the game leading off the frame with a solo home
run. Sicnarf Loopstock then followed with a double, got to third on a throwing
error and scored on a wild pitch to put the Netherlands ahead 2-1. A solo home
run by Dashenko Ricardo made it 3-1 with a solo home run later in the same
inning.
But
everyone who thought that the Netherlands now ran away with the win got
disappointed. Germany came back with a solo home run by Shawn Larry in the
seventh and tied the game on a sac fly by David Dinski in the top of the ninth
plating pinch runner Cody Schultz, who had replaced Larry who had led off the
inning with a double.
The game went into extra innings. With the tiebreaker runner on second Germany was able to score when Alexander Schmidt scored on a RBI single by Yannic Walther to get a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the tenth Delano Selasso grounded out, but then Dashenko Ricardo stepped to the plate and hit a two-run walk-off home run on the first pitch of the relieving Mark Harrison to end the game 5-4 in favor of the celebrating Dutch players.
All games can be followed by live streaming on www.baseballeurope.tv and live play by play through www.wbsceurope.org.
Photo by Grega Valancic
