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You are here: Home Health & Fitness Fitness & Sports Baseball: Dutch advance with "miracle" ouster...

13/03/2009Baseball: Dutch advance with "miracle" ouster of Dominicans

The Netherlands pulled off a "miracle" World Baseball Classic upset Tuesday, 11 March, with a 2-1 ouster of Dominican Republic to reach the second round of the elite global tournament.

The 11-inning thriller was not decided until Dominican first baseman Willy Aybar botched a hard-hit ball from Yurendell de Caster and Gene Kingsale -- a goat turned hero within 15 minutes -- scored the deciding run from third base.


"It's a miracle. That's all I can tell you," Dutch manager Rod Delmonico said. "Our guys came together as a team and miraculously we won.


"It's not because we're better than they are. They're one of the best teams in the world. We just played hard and it happened."


A fairy tale European side with half a team from the Dutch Antilles ousted a superstar Dominican lineup to join powerhouses United States, Puerto Rico and Venezuela in a group that opens second-round play Saturday in Miami.
"When you think you've seen it all, you find out you're wrong," Dominican manager Felipe Alou said. "We've seen something that we never imagined. So that means that the quality of baseball is growing.

Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
Yurendell de Caster #2 of the Netherlands is mobbed by his teammates after driving in the the winning run on an error by Willy Aybar #16 of the Dominican Republic in the eleventh inning during the 2009 World Baseball Classic Pool D match at Hiram Bithorn Stadium March 10, 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"Of course we're disappointed. We've been called the Republic of Baseball."
The Dutch stunned the Dominicans 3-2 in their opener, battled Puerto Rico to the finish before dropping a 3-1 heartbreaker on Monday and then repeated their upset feat to advance in the double-elimination event.

"It's unbelievable. There are no words for it," Dutch hurler Tom Stuifbergen said. "We had to believe to do it. We just always said we could, but it's almost impossible. We just did it. It's just amazing."

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