Bridgewater Youth Soccer Association

News Detail

10

Aug, 2017

Netherlands wins Colt World Series

After five days of play at the Colt World Series from Loeb Stadium in Lafayette, Indiana, the championship game Wednesday night featured two undefeated teams who had put on sensational showings earlier in the tournament: European Zone Champion Netherlands and West Zone Champion Upland, California. For Netherlands, reaching the championship game was already a historical feat in and of itself. No PONY European Zone Champion had ever reached the championship game in any PONY World Series event. So a victory meant eternal glory for the Zone's trailblazers. On the other side was juggernaut Upland, California, who was representing the state with the most Colt World Series titles of all-time (22) and looked formidable in its three previous wins.

Championship Game recap: Netherlands 6 Upland, California 0

Netherlands starter Luuk ter Beek stole the show in the championship game and pitched one for the ages. He tossed 6.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, while striking out two and receiving great defensive support from his teammates. Jiorgeny Casimiri finished the ball game and only had to throw three pitches to record two outs to close out the game by way of a 6-0 final score.

The Netherlands set the tone early by scoring first in the bottom of the first inning, when 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 European Zone Champions added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, with Piternella got things started with 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 woke up 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 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 through for the Dutch, 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 its hopes alive. 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 its first-ever Colt World Series championship in the team's first Colt World Series appearance.

Piternella and Anasagasti both led the team at the plate with two hits each, as Piternella also recorded a RBI.

The Netherlands is also the first team from PONY's European Zone to win a PONY World Series event. Upland finishes as the tournament finalist in its first-ever Colt World Series appearance.

STATS (Netherlands-Upland): LINK

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