Who is Team Netherlands?

Similar to Israel, Team Netherlands draws heavily from players outside the European Netherlands— primarily from Curaçao and Aruba, two Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The roster is very top-loaded, led by stars like Ozzie Albies, Xander Bogaerts, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Kenley Jansen. Outside of that core, the overall depth is fairly similar to Team Israel: a few MLB players surrounded by less experienced players. When the stars carry the offense and bullpen, the Netherlands can compete with stronger teams, but when they don’t, the lack of depth becomes apparent.

Starting for Israel was Carlos Lequerica (High-A), and it was a rough opening. He walked Druw Jones to begin the game and then allowed a single to Ceddanne Rafaela. With runners on the corners, Xander Bogaerts hit a ground ball to Spencer Horwitz, who flipped to second, trying to start a double play… but both runners beat the throws, allowing the Netherlands to take a 1–0 lead. A double steal moved both runners into scoring position, and Didi Gregorius followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2–0.

Israel cut the lead in the second after Noah Mendlinger drew a walk and Jake Gelof doubled to bring him home. After the RBI double, Shairon Martis replaced Ryjeteri Merite. It was the 20th anniversary of the first no-hitter in World Baseball Classic history, thrown by Martis in 2006 in a mercy-rule shortened game against Panama. That game was what ours vs. Puerto Rico in 2023 was compared to.

Harrison Cohen (AAA) then replaced Lequerica and was dominant, striking out five of the six batters he faced, including the entire side in the second. In the top of the third, Harrison Bader singled, but Druw Jones ended the inning with a diving catch after initially misjudging the ball and running backward.

Following Cohen’s strong outing, Charlie Beilenson (AA) took over. He threw a 1-2-3 inning but ran into trouble in his second frame after a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, and a sac fly moved Sharlon Schoop to third. Similar to the Nicaragua game, Josh Mallitz (AA) was brought in to escape the jam… and he did just that.

Israel finally broke the game open in the sixth after the Netherlands brought in Kevin Kelly. Horwitz started the rally with a single, and pinch-hitter Garrett Stubbs reached on a fielding error by Schoop to put runners on the corners. RJ Schreck tied the game with an RBI single to right. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position, but the Netherlands briefly slowed the rally when Schoop threw Stubbs out at home on a fielder’s choice. Israel kept the inning alive, though: Mendlinger walked, and Gelof followed with a two-run single to left to give Israel a 4–2 lead. Matt Mervis then ripped a two-run double, scoring Mendlinger and Gelof. Israel scored five runs in the inning (its most in a single frame since 2017 vs. Chinese Taipei) to take a 6–2 lead.

Matt Bowman, Zack Leban (Indy ball), and Tommy Kahnle combined for two scoreless innings before Ben Simon came in looking for redemption after the Venezuela game. Simon made things tense: he walked the leadoff hitter, struck out the next, walked another, struck out the next, and then walked another to load the bases with two outs. With Rafaela at the plate, Simon got him to chase a 1–2 pitch in the dirt to end the game and secure the win.

Israel finished the tournament 2–2 and exceeded expectations, finishing third in the pool!

Box Score Final: Israel 6, Netherlands 2 Date: March 10, 2026 Venue: loanDepot park

Line Score Israel             — 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 — 6 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors Netherlands — 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error

Horwitz (2B–1B): 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Bader (DH): 2 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Stubbs, G (PH–DH): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Schreck (CF): 4 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Levenson (LF): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Carrigg (SS): 4 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Mendlinger (RF): 2 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K Gelof (3B): 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Mervis (1B): 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Halter (PR–2B): 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Stubbs, C (C): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Totals — 35 AB, 6 R, 8 H, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K

Jones, D (RF): 1 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 4 BB, 1 K Rafaela (CF): 5 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Bogaerts (SS): 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Albies (2B): 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Gregorius (3B): 3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Clementina (DH): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K Schoop, S (1B): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Selassa (PH): 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Tromp (C): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Didder (LF): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Croes (PH–LF): 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Totals — 28 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 2 RBI, 8 BB, 10 K

Lequerica: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Cohen: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Beilenson: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K Mallitz (W, 1–0): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K Bowman: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Leban: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Kahnle: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Simon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Totals — 9.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 10 K

Merite: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Martis (H, 1): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Kelly, K (L, 0–1) (BS, 1): 0.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Huijer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K West: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Totals — 9.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Batting Doubles — Gelof (1, Merite); Mervis (2, Huijer, West) Total Bases — Bader; Gelof 3; Horwitz; Mendlinger; Mervis 4; Schreck RBIs — Gelof (3); Mervis (2); Schreck (1) Two-out RBIs — Mervis (2); Gelof (3) Runners left in scoring position with two outs — Stubbs, C; Mervis Sacrifice — Stubbs, C Team RISP — 3-for-8 Team LOB — 5

Fielding Double Plays — Horwitz–Carrigg–Mervis

Netherlands Game Notes

Batting Total Bases — Bogaerts (2); Rafaela RBIs — Bogaerts (1); Gregorius (1) Runners left in scoring position with two outs — Rafaela (3); Gregorius; Clementina; Croes Sacrifice — Tromp Sacrifice Fly — Gregorius GIDP — Albies Team RISP — 0-for-11 Team LOB — 9

Baserunning Stolen Bases — Rafaela; Bogaerts

Fielding Error — Schoop, S (fielding)

Pitch Timer Violations — Kelly, K (pitcher)

Umpires HP — Shane Livensparger 1B — Quinn Wolcott 2B — Marek Vicar 3B — Michael Ulloa

Weather — 72°F, roof closed Wind — None First Pitch — 7:08 PM Game Time — 2:57 Attendance — 13,565

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)