Third Defeat for Netherlands without any Run in 26 Innings

by Pim van Nes

After two shutout losses in the Olympic games versus Taiwan and USA, also today’s game versus Japan was blown into the Chinese night for the Netherlands. Four scattered hits turned out to be insufficient to bring Eenhoorn’s squad on the scoreboard in the third consecutive game of the tournament. Japan opened the game with a three-hit rally off Alexander Smit in the first inning (4-0) and ensures the win with another three-hit rally off Diegomar Markwell in the eighth: 6-0.

With seven Hoofdklasse players (Duursma, Kingsale, De Jong, Engelhardt, Rombley, Klooster and Sluijter) and three players from professional baseball (Adriana in Mexico, De Caster and Smit from USA), the Netherlands tried to escape from the last position in present standings next to USA (defeated twice in three games). The first Dutch hit, however, was produced only in the fifth inning after having trailed 4-0 since the first inning. Bryan Engelhardt singled and tried to score 4-1 when Dirk van’t Klooster was attempting to reach second base after having singled to left field. The Japanese infield had a good eye on the situation and eliminated the runner before home plate rather than the one between first and second.

The Dutch illusions were cancelled already in the bottom of the first inning with four runs scored by the first four batters of the lineup. A walk for second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and hits by center fielder Norichika Aoki, DH Masahiko Morino and first baseman Takahiro Arai (triple) brought the 3-0 on the scoreboard and a sacrifice fly to left field by left fielder Atsunori Inaba completed the Japanese quartet. The four remained intact until the eighth inning, thanks to a strong comeback by Dutch starter Alexander Smit.

The left-handed pitcher from the Sarasota Reds closed the bad first inning and opened the second with a strikeout. Smit kept the Japanese from home plate during 5 2/3 innings. After the 4-0 in the first, he withdrew five batters at a row, conceded a double and continued his performance with ten outs interrupted by third base De Caster’s error. Two singles did not harm his position in the fifth inning, but he was relieved in the sixth after a two-out walk.

Markwell started his defense with another two walks, but kept control until a one-out homerun by left fielder Takahiko Sato in the eighth inning. Two hits and one run later (6-0), Michiel van Kampen was called from the bullpen to make the third out in that inning: a strikeout for Morino.

Winning pitcher for Japan was starter Toshiya Sugiuchi, in fact as from his first pitch in the game. In the first four innings he faced only 13 Dutch batters, including a walk for Sharnol Adriana. The two Dutch singles in the fifth spoiled his no-hitter, but kept the number of batters faced as low as 24 in seven innings, striking out six. The other two hits conceded by Sugiuchi were a leadoff single by Jeroen Sluijter in the sixth and a two-out double by Yurendell De Caster in the seventh inning.

Japan – Netherlands 6-0

NED 000 000 000  0  4 1
JPN 400 000 02X  6 10 0

Box score

Pim van Nes
Baseball writer for
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