By PONY League
The Netherlands won the 2017 Colt World Series as they knocked off Upland, California in the championship game by the score of 6-0. Luuk ter Beek was excellent in his second start of the tournament, pitching 6 1/3 shutout innings in a brilliant performance.
The Netherlands got started right away in the bottom of the first as Tyler Boersma reached on an infield single with two outs. Darryl Collins added a single to left, and both runners came home on Ruendrick Piternella’s double to center, giving the Netherlands a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
The men in orange added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, with Piternella getting things started on a double to deep left field. Nolan Buegeling reached on a throwing error from second baseman Juan Garza, and Piternella came around to score when the throw went all the way to the fence behind first base, extending the Netherlands’ lead to 3-0. Leanardo Anasagasti singled to left, Mick Vos followed with a single to right, and Jeandro Tromp hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, which scored Beugeling and made the score 4-0.
The Netherlands found their bats yet again in the bottom of the sixth when Nolan Beugeling led off by reaching on an error by shortstop Joshua Sosa. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved over to third on Leanardo Anasagasti’s single to left, and scored when Shuruengelo Mingeli hit a sacrifice fly to center, stretching the lead to 5-0. Anasagasti advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third, giving Tyler Boersma an RBI chance after Jeandro Tromp walked and Denzel Bryson was hit by a pitch. Boersma came up with the goods as he drew a walk, bringing home Anasagasti and making the score 6-0 after the sixth.
Upland came to the plate in the top of the seventh needing six runs to keep their hopes alive. Luuk ter Beek was removed after retiring Robert Lopez for the first out and Jiorgeny Casimiri came in to try and finish the job. Casimiri was more than up to the task and sent down both Alfred Castaneda and Rafael Lopez to end the game and deliver the Netherlands their first ever Colt World Series championship. The Netherlands are also the first team from the European Zone to win the Colt World Series. Upland, California finishes as the runners-up in their first ever Colt World Series appearance.