TORONTO (AFP) — Stunning Netherlands pulled one of the great shockers in baseball history on Tuesday, advancing to the second round of the World Baseball Classic by eliminating a Dominican Republic all-star squad.
The 11-inning thriller was not decided until Dominican first baseman Willy Aybar dropped a hard-hit ball from Yurendell de Caster and Gene Kingsale - a goat turned hero in a flash - scored for a 2-1 Dutch victory in Puerto Rico.
"It's a miracle. That's all I can tell you," Dutch manager Rod Delmonico said. "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 Caribbean team of elite Major League Baseball millionaires fell victim to a fairy tale side, half from Dutch Antilles, for the second time in as many tries. The Dutch beat the Dominicans 3-2 in their opener.
"When you think you've seen it all, you find out you're wrong. We've seen something that we never imagined," Dominican manager Felipe Alou said.
"We are a baseball power. We did not prove it. The effort was there. The results didn't occur. Stuff happens."
Netherlands joined United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Japan, South Korea and Cuba in the second round. The Dominicans, semi-finalists in 2006, are done.
"This is not the end," Alou said. "The Republic of Baseball will avenge some of the stuff that happened. I believe after this loss, Dominican players are going to think deeply and say, 'We have to win the Classic.' That's my hope."
A fielding error by Kingsale gave the Dominicans a 1-0 lead in the 11th but the Dutch batted last and Sidney de Jong doubled, moved up on a ground out and equalized when Kingsale hit a redeeming single.
Kingsale moved to third on a throwing error by Dominican pitcher Carlos Marmol and scored off the de Caster grounder botched by Aybar, who played for World Series loser Tampa Bay last year.
"It was the biggest at-bat in my career," de Caster said. "I had to make a good contact and I did."
The Dutch will join Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the US stars at Miami in a second-round group starting Saturday. Pairings will be decided Wednesday by seeding games US-Venezuela at Toronto and Dutch-Puerto Rico at San Juan.
Defending champion Japan, 2008 Olympic champion South Korea and dynasty Cuba will be joined in a round-two group starting Sunday in San Diego by the winner Wednesday between Australia and host Mexico in a rematch of a 17-7 Aussie win.
"If we keep playing the way we have, everything will be fine," Australia manager Jon Deeble said.
"We've proven we can match baseball with anybody in the world. We knew that before. Our country has great players. We don't get respect from everybody. It's about time that changed."
The Aussies were only four outs from advancement before Cuban pinch-hitter Yosbany Peraza belted a two-run homer for a 5-4 Cuba victory as the Communist island's squad bids for a 39th consecutive international tournament final.
"This team is ready to take on whoever," Cuba manager Higinio Velez said. "The team spirit never fell. They had certainty in their heart. Moments like those, we've lived them before."
Venezuela routed Italy 10-1 at Toronto to advance in the only game where form held.
Alou's squad lost third baseman Alex Rodriguez to a hip injury just before the start but warned future Dutch foes about overconfidence.
"We had a couple of plays in the last inning that were not 'big league' but they played baseball that was practically perfect against us," Alou said. "It should serve well for future teams to play better and maybe get prepared better mentally.
"They are the underdog. They have no pressure. They're not going to have it either. They are going to keep on playing loose baseball. I don't know what they are going to do in Miami but I'm going to be pulling for them."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
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