Netherlands 050 000 020 7 9 5 Eckerd College 011 001 200 5 8 5
The Netherlands defeated a team of the Eckerd College on Monday evening by a score of 7-5. A two-run single by Bryan Engelhardt decided the outcome in the top of the eighth. The friendly encounter was a charity game with all the proceeds going to the families of three deceased police officers of the St. Petersburg police, who died during duty in January and February.
The Dutch team had taken a fast 5-0 lead through a big rally in the second, when Bas de Jong, Jason Halman, Michael Pluijmers, Michael Duursma and Shaldimar Daantji took advantage of three errors to cross the plate. But the Tritons came back and tied the contest in the bottom of the seventh, also with the help of two errors. Overall both teams combined to commit ten errors in the game.
Manager Brian Farley chose Kevin Miner, Jurjen van Zijl, Nick Veltkamp, Orlando Yntema, Leon Boyd and Nick Stuifbergen to share the work load on the mound. Yntema picked up the win in relief. Van Zijl, Boyd and Stuifbergen had scoreless outings. The Netherlands will return to the field on Wednesday afternoon, facing the Tampa Bay Rays at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg.