{"id":35246,"date":"2017-03-14T08:19:46","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T14:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=35246"},"modified":"2017-03-14T08:19:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T14:19:46","slug":"team-israel-suffers-first-loss-in-world-baseball-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/team-israel-suffers-first-loss-in-world-baseball-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Israel suffers first loss in World Baseball Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

(JTA) — Israel’s surprising squad in the World Baseball Classic lost its first game in the tournament, dropping a rematch with the Netherlands, 12-2.<\/p>\n

Israel is now 1-1 in the second round of the 16-team quadrennial tournament and 4-1 overall. Israel likely must defeat powerhouse Japan on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals.<\/p>\n

Didi Gregorius, the New York Yankees’ shortstop, homered and drove in five runs to power the Netherlands. The game was called after eight innings due to the mercy rule stopping a contest with a team trailing by 10 runs after seven innings or 15 runs when at least five innings have been played.<\/p>\n

Israel was the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the showcase tournament, coming in at 41st in the world. But last week in the first round, the Israelis squeaked past third-ranked South Korea, 2-1, in extra innings, outscored fourth-ranked Taiwan, 15-7, and defeated ninth-ranked the Netherlands, 4-2, to finish first in Pool A with a 3-0 record.<\/p>\n

This is the first year that Israel has qualified for the tournament. In 2012, its inaugural WBC squad narrowly missed advancing past the qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Most of the players are American Jews, among them several former major leaguers. WBC rules state that players who are eligible for citizenship of a country may play on its team. Jews and their grandchildren, and the grandchildren\u2019s spouses, have the right to become Israeli citizens.<\/p>\n

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