The World Baseball Classic is not perfect, but sometimes the competition hits all the right notes and delivers the thrilling moments that make it feel almost like October in March.
A game of ebbs and flows, big hits, defensive gems and clutch pitching ended with Japan on top after Sho Nakata's tiebreaking two-run single in the top of the 11th inning helped give the Japanese an 8-6 win over the Netherlands in a game that began Sunday night and didn't end until nearly Monday morning at Tokyo Dome in the second round of the WBC.
Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo could barely find the words to describe it.