Netherlands sweep Czechia in four-game women's softball friendly series
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<p>World No. 8 Netherlads visited No. 9 Czechia for a series of friendly games and the European Champions swept the host in four games. Both teams played together to tune up for the upcoming international competition this summer.</p>
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<p>Netherlands topped Czechia, 6-2, in the series opener in Prague on Monday. The day after, the European Champions took an early lead with a four-run first inning en route to a 9-2, five inning win.</p>
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<p>The final two games were played on Wednesday, with the Netherlands grabbing two close games by 4-2 and 8-7, the latter in a nine-inning thriller.</p>
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<p>The Netherlands will face a busy schedule this summer, with the <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> in Castions di Strada, Italy, from 15-21 July; and the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="European Championship (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wbsceurope.org/en/events/2024-womens-softball-european-championship/home" target="_blank">European Championship</a> between 1 and 9 September, in Utrecht. </p>
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<p>The Netherlands advanced to the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals as second place in <a href="https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2023-xvii-womens-softball-world-cup-group-b/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Group B (opens in a new tab)">Group B</a> last year, and will open the Finals In Group B along with No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Puerto Rico and No. 10 Australia.</p>
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<p><em>Photo: Aneta Šimůnková - Czech Softball</em></p>
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