Olympia Haarlem win The Cup indoor softball tournament in Netherlands
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<p>A walk-off single by the Netherlands National Team member Lisa Hop gave Olympia Haarlem a 1-0 win over ROEF! in the final of The Cup, a traditional women's softball indoor tournament held in Schiedam, a city located in the Rotterdam metropolitan area in the Netherlands. Neptune, who won the two previous editions of The Cup, finished in third place.</p>
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<p>The final turned into a pitching duel between internationals Hop and Marjolein Merkx for ROEF!. The game was decided in the last at bat of the tournament. With a runner on third base, Hop connected a single to left field to plate Franka van Dijk with the championship-winning run.</p>
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<p>It was the first tournament of the year in the Netherlands, and served as a preparation for the Softball Hoofdklasse 2024, which is slated to begin on 13 April. </p>
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<p>The Netherlands national team, No. 8 in the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="WBSC/KONAMI Women's Softball World Ranking (opens in a new tab)" href="https://rankings.wbsc.org/list/softball/women" target="_blank">WBSC/KONAMI Women's Softball World Ranking</a></span></strong>, will have a busy summer in 2024, with the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-womens-softball-world-cup-finals/home" target="_blank">WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals</a></span></strong> in Castions di Strada, Italy, between 15 and 21 July; and the <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="European Championship (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/22-nations-to-participate-in-womens-softball-european-championship-2024" target="_blank">European Championship</a></span></strong>, which will be hosted in Utrecht from 1-7 September.</p>
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