The Netherlands defeated Cuba with a 7-6 victory at the 2013 World Baseball Classic as the two teams truly wanted to advance to the semifinals in San Francisco. It was the Netherland's late-inning heroics that had them finish off the No. 1 ranked Cuban team. Kalian Sams provided the heroics after a tough day in the outfield.
Sams drove in Andruw Jones with a sacrifice fly scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Netherlands completed the rally loading up the bases with one out. They took advantage of a infield miscue at third base and then with two consecutive hits, there was a Netherland player standing on each bag.
Sams drive to centerfield then ended another Cuban chance of winning the WBC and sent them packing before anybody expected them to.
Cuba and the Netherlands couldn't have made the game more interesting as this Game 7-like ball game brought everybody to the edge of their seats. The underdog, Netherlands, wouldn't give up as they confidently fought back as Cuba was trying to put this pesky team away over and over again.
The teams exchanged leads a couple of times as the Netherlands took charge of this game in the third inning scoring two runs and placing Cuba on the defense. However, the Cubans didn't flinch answering with two runs of their own in the following half inning. With Roger Bernedina unable to play, Sams couldn't handle balls hit to centerfield which led to Cuban runs, which tied the game at two.
The Netherlands then responded with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Sams made up with his error in the top of the frame by scoring the go-ahead run making the game 3-2.
As always, the Cubans rallied back in the top of the fifth as Yulieski Gurriel drove in two runs with a double knotting the score, 4-4. No runs were scored until the top of the eighth when Cuba scored two more runs taking a 6-4 lead.
The Netherland's shortstop, Andrelton Simmons, tied the game with a home run with a man on base. The score became 6-6 and the Netherlands once again had life.
The Netherlands were underdogs coming into the matchup, but even more so without Bernedina and without Yurendell de Caster, their clean up hitter after he was carted off the field following an injury running down first base.
The Netherlands will now face the defending champs, Japan in the the semifinals which will be played in AT&T Park in San Francisco.
