The first game of the Premier12 Tournament began today at Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico, as Panama takes on the Netherlands as Group A begins play. Jamie Barria gets the nod for Panama as he faces off against Shairon Martis, pitching for the Netherlands.
In the second inning, Jose Ramos opened up the scoring for Panama, crushing a two-run home run to score Carlos Quiroz for Panama to go up 2-0. In the bottom half of the inning, Netherlands got on the board from an RBI single from Sharlon Schoop, and Denzel Richardson hit a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2.
Panama tacked on two more runs in the third inning, with Luis Castillo adding an RBI after grounding out to score Ruben Tejada. Carlos Quiroz extended Panama’s lead by adding an RBI double, going up 4-2. They would add three more runs in the fourth inning, loading up the bases and walking Tejada, followed by a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that allowed Johan Camargo to score for Panama to extend their lead to 7-2.
They scored three more runs at the bottom of the sixth with Netherlands trailing 7-3, inching closer to Panama’s lead. Sharlon Schoop picked up his third hit of the game and a big one with a solo home run over the left-field wall to lead off the inning. Panama would go to their bullpen, and with two runners on base, Dwayne Kemp picked up a pinch-hit RBI single, which was then followed by Ray-Patrick Didder grounding into a 6-4-3 double play, but Denzel Richardson was able to score on the play for The Netherlands to make the score 7-6.
In the bottom seventh, Jonathan Schoop would lead off the inning with a walk. After recording one out, Abdiel Mendoza would come into the game for Panama. Schoop would start on third with two outs in the inning. Mendoza fired a wild pitch, and Jonathan was able to score on the wild pitch while his brother Sharlon at-bat waved him home to tie the ballgame up at 7-7. Ray-Patrick Didder was able to line a ball into shallow left field in the bottom eights, as Eugene Helder scored with ease as the Netherlands would take their first lead of the game at 8-7.
Top of the ninth, Juancarlos Sulbaran looked to come in to shut the door for The Netherlands, but the first batter of the inning, Ruben Tejada, took the second pitch he saw for a solo home run to tie the game at 8-8. Sulbaran was able to escape the inning by retiring the next three batters he would face. Alberto Baldonado would come in for Panama in the bottom half, looking to keep the game deadlocked. He would start the inning, throwing four straight balls to walk to Jonathan Schoop; Baldonado would then strike out the next two batters in, Hendrik Clementina and Sharlon Schoop, for this game to head into extra innings.
Extra innings in the Premier12 are different, as the innings begin with runners placed on first and second base. Sulbaran would remain on the mound to begin the tenth inning, walking the first batter he would face, which now means the bases loaded. Sulbaran escaped the bases-loaded jam, getting a flyout, a strikeout, and a groundout.
Alberto Baldonado would remain in the game in the bottom of the tenth, as Delano Salassa was able to reach first, beating out the throw to first-base after the ball deflected off the pitcher’s glove. Baldonado was able to strike out the next two batters of the inning. The next batter was Ray-Patrick Didder, and on an 0-2 count, he was able to poke a shallow fly-ball to right-center field as Hendrik Clementina was able to score; the Netherlands would walk off the first game of the Premier12 tournament, winning the game 9-8. The Netherlands has won their first game in the Premier12 since 2015, after an 0-3 exit in the 2019 Premier12.
Panama’s next matchup is tomorrow. They will host Venezuela and play at Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico, at 2 PM EST. The Netherlands will face the United States at 6 PM EST at Coloso del Pacifico in Tepic, Mexico.
All Premier12 games can be streamed with a subscription to DAZN.
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