All six teams got into the action at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands, on the second day of play in the city’s baseball week. Each of the the three matchups was a nail-biter, with Taiwan needing extra innings to dispatch Curaçao, and the International Globetrotters pipping Baseball Czech by a single run despite a Marek Krejčiřík solo shot in the second. In the nightcap, old rivals Italy and the Netherlands squared off in yet another pitching duel, with the two teams battling not only each other, but thunder and lightning, which ended the game one inning early.
Curaçao 2 – Taiwan 3 (10)
Taiwan jumped to a 2-0 lead in the third after Min-Sih Chen followed an error with a two-run jack. In the eighth, Donovan Anthonia got Curaçao on the board with a solo shot. An inning later, Raysheandall Michel led off the inning with a double before Ericson Leonora tied the game up with a bouncer through the infield. After a thunderstorm delay, reliever Cheng-Hao Wang struck out two and induced a fielder’s choice at home in extras, before Taiwan used back-to-back bunts to plate Tung-Han Lu.
Czech Republic 3 – Globetrotters 4
Baseball Czech took a two-run lead in the second on the Krejčiřík round-tripper, with the Globetrotters getting on the scoreboard after Juan Angel Morão engineered the team’s first run in the bottom half. After Cory Everett advanced him to second, he stole third; then, when Everett took off, Morão swiped home. Everett attempted to tie the game in the fourth with a deep drive to the right field corner, but after retrieving the ball, Max Prejda fired home to Jakub Winkler to prevent the inside-the-park home run.
Krejčiřík scored on a wild pitch in the fifth, but Brandon Biggane scampered home on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame to keep the Globetrotters within one. Czech Republic kept the pressure on into the ninth, retiring the first two batters. However, Philip Monteith worked a walk and Tyler Hill moved him to third with a two-bagger, allowing him to score on a wild pitch. José Andres Paula then walked off the all-stars with a game-winning single.
Netherlands 0 – Italy 2 (8)
Koen Postelmans and Matteo Bocchi both pitched gems in the nightcap, with Marnix Ruben erasing a potential Italian run by throwing out Miguel Fabrizio at home in the second. Nathanael Batista then did the same for the Azzurri, firing home from left field as Dwayne Kemp attempted to score. Italy final broke the deadlock in the sixth, when Ruben, Shervyen Newton, and Darryl Collins knocked out Postelmans with back-to-back-to-back singles. Former big leaguer Robel García greeted reliever Gillian Wernet with a two-run single. Marco Artitzu struck out the side in the seventh for Italy, and that was all before the storms closed in for good.
Our coverage of Honkbal Week Haarlem includes: Introduction [link], Day 1 [link]. The wrap for Day 2, in Dutch, is here [link]. Box scores are available here [link].
Results
June 26
Globetrotters 1 – Netherlands 6
June 27
Curaçao 2 – Taiwan 3 (10)
Czech Republic 3 – Globetrotters 4
Netherlands 0 – Italy 2 (8)
June 28
Italy – Globetrotters
Netherlands – Taiwan
Curaçao – Czech Republic
Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Italy | 1-0 | 2 | 0 |
| Taiwan | 1-0 | 3 | 2 |
| Netherlands | 1-1 | 6 | 3 |
| International Globetrotters | 1-1 | 5 | 9 |
| Curaçao | 0-1 | 2 | 3 |
| Czech Republic | 0-1 | 3 | 4 |