The Israeli team are appearing in the competition, organised by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), for the first time after coming through qualifying and surprisingly won all three of matches in the opening round.

A shock 4-1 win over Cuba saw their second round campaign begin in fine style, but they were unable to continue their fine run today against the Netherlands.

The Dutch, who are the current European champions, were looking to get back on track after suffering defeat to hosts Japan yesterday.

Didi Gregorius proved key in the early stages of the contest for the Netherlands, with his efforts helping them to establish a 6-0 lead after three innings.

The Netherlands, keen to avenge their first round loss to Israel, kept the pressure on their opponents and extended their advantage to 10-0.

Although Israel clawed back two runs, Gregorius struck once more to restore 10-run margin between the teams in the eighth end.

This resulted in the mercy rule being enforced, giving the Netherlands their first win in the second round.

Israel’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals have taken a major hit after the defeat, with their second round campaign ending with a clash against two-time winners Japan on Wednesday (March 15).

The Netherlands will face Cuba on the same day.

Cuba and Japan are due to clash in the second round tomorrow.

In the Americas, Venezuela overcame Italy 4-3 to secure the final qualifier from the first round of the competition.

Both teams finished with one win and two defeats in Pool A, meaning a tiebreaker was required to settle the remaining spot.

Mexico had also ended with the same record, but were eliminated due to conceding an average of 1.12 runs per innings, whereas Venezuela and Italy conceded 1.11 and 1.05 respectively.

An appeal by the Mexican team proved unsuccessful.

Venezuela will now join Puerto Rico, the United States and defending champions Dominican Republic in the second round, with the teams playing in Pool F.