- Team EBSM
The Kingdom Over Cuba
In the first game of the World Baseball Classic qualifying round, The Netherlands toppled Cuba 4-2. The A-pool competition is being held in Taichung Taiwan where both The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Italy will compete for a chance to move on to Miami.
This was a game where you didn’t leave your seat as the lineup cards scrolled south. The 7 and 9 hitters got Cuba on the board while, C Chadwick Tromp, hitting in the nine spot for The Kingdom, popped a two out two run single giving The Netherlands the lead 4-1 in the bottom of the 6th.
Tromp, along with 1B Didi Gregorius, went 1-3 to hit .333 on the day with a 2 RBI single, Didi driving in just one, but it was CF Roger Bernadina who topped the batting charts for The Kingdom going 2 for 4 with a run scored and a .667 average on the day.
Cuba’s bats are still getting used to the cooler climate of Taiwan. On their bench it was RF Yoelkis Gulbert, hitting in the 7 spot, and 2B Yadil Mujica, hitting from the bottom of the card, who teamed up to put Cuba on the board. Gulbert went 1 for 3 and scored both of Cuba’s runs off Mujica’s bat as he too went 1-3 on the day.
The Netherlands face Panama in their next WBC matchup on Wednesday while Cuba takes on Italy on Thursday.