The preliminary round at the Honkbalweek Haarlem 2018 at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands ended on Thursday with two games. Italy used great pitching to down Germany 3-1 in a defense oriented game. Chinese Taipei blew by Cuba 12-2. Germany and Cuba will meet on Friday morning in a matchup between the fifth and sixth place teams after the first round. Japan and Chinese Taipei face each other in the afternoon with the winner advancing to the final. In the evening the rivalry between Italy and the Netherlands adds another chapter.
Chinese Taipei 203 421 0 12 13 1 Cuba 002 000 0 2 7 1
Chinese Taipei needed only seven innings to dispatch Cuba 12-2 due to mercy rule. CT took a quick lead and was up 9-2 after four innings. Yi Teng Lin hit a home run, doubled, scored three times and drove in three. Chih Jung Cheng pitched six innings of strong relief following an early exit of Chinese Taipei’s starter Chin Chi Lee. Dachel Duquesne got charged with the loss, allowing three hits, two runs and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
Germany 100 000 000 1 2 0 Italy 102 000 00X 3 10 0
In the evening game Luis Lugo and Andrea Pizziconi combined to keep Germany to two hits, a run and a walk in nine innings, while striking out 14 batters, leading Italy to a 3-1 win. Germany scored in the first on a RBI single by Simon Gühring. Italy tied it on a home steal in the same frame and took the lead on RBI singles by Alessandro Vaglio and Alex Sambucci. Markus Solbach issued three runs on six hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
All information about the Honkbalweek Haarlem can be found at www.honkbalweek.nl. A simple live stream is available at YouTube.