The walk by Chen Hung-Wen to Jurickson Profar improved the Netherlands to 2-0 in Pool A play in Seoul and lifted them to the next round in Tokyo.
A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth gave the Netherlands a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Taiwan on Wednesday that put them into the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
The walk by Chen Hung-Wen to Jurickson Profar improved the Netherlands to 2-0 in Pool A play in Seoul and lifted them to the next round in Tokyo.
Joining them into the second round were Israel, whose earlier wins over South Korea and Taiwan at Gocheok Sky Dome gave them a 2-0 record. The Netherlands and Israel play on Thursday to settle first place in the four-team pool.
Designated hitter Didi Gregorius, one of four major league infielders from Curacao on the Kingdom of the Netherlands team, contributed three doubles, including the game-tying hit in the eighth inning.
Japan also improved to 2-0 in Pool B action in Tokyo, using the long ball to post a tense 4-1 victory over Australia (0-1).
Sho Nakata's home run off Matt Williams broke a seventh-inning tie for the Japanese victory at the Tokyo Dome, a night after Japan had 14 hits in an 11-6 opening win over Cuba.
Allan de San Miguel homered in the second for a 1-0 Australian lead, which stood up behind some fine pitching by Tim Atherton until Japan tied it in the fifth.
Cuba (1-1) bounced back with a 6-0 victory against China (0-1) to remain on track for reaching the second round.
Former major league pitcher Bruce Chen helped keep Cuba scoreless through three innings but after he was removed the Cubans took advantage, sending nine batters to the plate in the fourth and scoring four runs.
Roel Santos' two-run triple was the biggest hit of the frame, coming right after 19-year-old Yoelquis Cespedes drove in the first run.
Cuba starter Bladimir Banos and three relievers held China to just one hit.
Australia play China on Thursday, and if they win it would set up a showdown against Cuba that could decide a round-two berth.
WBC action extends to North America on Thursday with defending champion Dominican Republic playing Canada in the Pool C opener, and Mexico hosting Italy to launch Pool D in Guadalajara.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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