Netherlands shut out Germany twice to complete six-game series sweep

Netherlands shut out Germany twice to complete six-game series sweep
21/09/2020
Infielder Britt Vonk became the most-capped Dutch player in history with 159 games wearing the Netherland National Team jersey.

The Netherlands completed a six-game sweep of Germany with a pair of shutouts in Enschede, in the final two matches of the WBSC-sanctioned friendly series. The orange team beat their neighbours by scores of 7-0 and 10-0 to close out the international head-to-heads .

The Netherlands scored in eight of their nine offensive innings, ending the day with 17 runs on 22 hits.

The first game of the day lasted six innings. After a scoreless first inning, the home team scored in each of the next five innings to end the game early, with a 7-0 win. Riangela Flanegin batted in Onaïsha Franka with the walk off run in the bottom of the sixth frame. Rebecca Soumeru pitched four innings to earn the win. Claudia Volkmann and Hannah Held pitched for Germany.

In the last game of the series, Marjolein Merkx pitched a two-hit, four-inning shut out to claim the win for the host team. The Netherlands ran off multiple-run innings to finish the game, 10-0, in four innings. The Netherlands' Laura Wissink hit the only homer of the day.

The six-game series, sanctioned by the WBSC, between the Netherlands and Germany, started on 12 July in Wesseling, Germany, with the orange squad taking the first two games, 12-2 and 9-1. In the second leg of the series the European champions blanked Germany, 7-0 and 10-0, in Enschede.

Germany and the Netherlands -- world No. 32 and 9 respectively -- will participate in next year's European Women's Softball Championship, scheduled for 4-10 July in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. 

Vonk becomes Netherlands’ most-capped player in history

Britt Vonk became the Netherlands National Women’s Softball Team most-capped player in history with 159 games played. She made her debut on 29 May 2008, in a game against the Philadelphia Force at Bicentennial Park in Allentown (Pennsylvania). She has now passed Sandra Gouverneur, who played 158 times between 1995 and 2008 and retired from international competition after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the only tournament where Vonk and Gouverneur played together.

Vonk was honored on the field by KNBSB board member Petra Arends with a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the milestone.

Vonk played for the Netherlands at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, starting five games at second base and one as the designated player. At 17, she was the youngest player on the Dutch Olympic softball roster.

In addition, she has played five WBSC Women’s Softball World Championships, including Surrey 2016 where the Netherlands finished in fourth place, the nation’s best position ever in a global competition.

Photo: Sascha Schneider