In preparation of the European Softball Championship, that starts on Sunday September 1st, Team Kingdom of the Netherlands and Czechia played a tune up game in Utrecht. The Dutch prevailed as their pitching was simply dominant.

Eva Voortman, returning from an injury that kept her out of competition for nearly the entire 2024 season, pitched the first inning and looked a bit shaky. She walked lead-off hitter Kavanova, who later scored the only run for the Czechs on the RBI single off the bat of Ceskova-Kolaci.

Voortman went on to pitch two 1-2-3-innings and left the game after three innings with the score tied at 1. Team Kingdom of the Netherlands tied the game in the second inning when Laura Wissink (lead-off double) came around to score on an infield error on a ball hit by right fielder Isa Los.

Isa Los drove in two more runs in the third inning with a triple off pitcher Anna Zoulova. She drove in Sterre den Duijn and Annemiek Jansen to take a 3-1 lead. This lead was save in the hands of relievers Jessie van Aalst (2 IP) and Lisa Hop (2 IP) who didn’t allow another hit in the remainder of the game.

Team Kingdom of the Netherlands won this final tune up for the Softball Euros and will face Spain on Sunday September 1st in the first game of the tournament. The game will be played in Utrecht on Sportpark De Paperclip, home of UVV. Tickets are still available via this link.