(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 All four games rain-out on Opening Night Dutch Major League
Nederlands
    BUSSUM / HEEMSTEDE / HOOFDDORP / ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
Due to inclement weather, all four scheduled games were cancelled on Thursday-evening (April 6), Opening Night of the new season in the Dutch Major League ('Hoofdklasse').
The four games are all re-scheduled for Friyday-evening.
The teams then will meet again on Saturday and Sunday.
The first game that was cancelled today was the match-up between Curaçao Neptunus and DSS/Kinheim in Rotterdam.
Due to the rainy weather-circumstances and the field-conditions, that game already was postponed in the early afternoon.
Some two hours later, the game between reigning champion HCAW and Amsterdam Pirates in Bussum also was cancelled.
Around 4:30 PM, it was announced that the game between Hoofddorp Pioniers and Quick Amersfoort in Hoofddorp also would not be played.
And around 6:30 PM, it was confirmed that the last remaining game between RCH Memorie Sieraden and UVV in Heemstede also was cancelled due to the weather and the conditions of the playing field.
Since last Thursday, it has rained frequently and so, today's rain again was too much for the fields.
The last time that this many games rained out on Opening Night was in 2021 when three of the four games were cancelled.
As the league this season again has nine teams, one of them will be off each round.
In the Opening Series, Twins Oosterhout is the team that has no games scheduled.
As mentioned, the four games now will be played on Friday-evening (April 7).
A 50 percent chance of (light) rain is predicted for Friday.
Due to the re-scheduling of games from tonight to Friday, two opening-games in the First Division also were re-scheduled.
HCAW-2 was to play at home in Bussum against DSS/Kinheim-2, while Omron Pioniers was to host Amsterdam Pirates-2 at home in Hoofddorp.
These two games have now been moved to coming Tuesday-evening (April 11).
On Wednesday, the probable starting pitchers were announced for the Opening Series.
It is expected that most starting pitchers who were named for tonight's games also will be the starters on Friday-evening.
On Thursday-evening, DSS/Kinheim and HCAW announced that they had changed their rotation for the first two games.
On Friday, UVV announced a change in starters.
RHP Nick Boxelaar, who was to be the starter in Saturday's game, now will be the starter on Friday-evening for DSS/Kinheim.
RHP Martijn Schoonderwoerd, tonight's announced starter, will start in Game 2 on Saturday.
The starter for Sunday's Game 3 remains unchanged, that will be RHP Donny Breek.
HCAW is doing the same.
Saturday-starter RHP Kaj Timmermans now will start on Friday-evening and tonight's announced starter RHP Lars Huijer takes the mound on Saturday.
RHP Dennis Burgersdijk will remain the Game 3-starter.
Rookie RHP Allard Helms will be the starter for UVV on Friday.
He was to start Game 3 on Sunday, but LHP Aaron Isenia, who was to start on Thursday then will take the mound.
Hoofddorp Pioniers, Amsterdam Pirates and Quick Amersfoort confirmed that they will go with the rotation as announced.
That means that RHP Sem Lauf (Pioniers), RHP Sven van de Sanden (Pirates) and RHP Jack Wagner (Quick) also will be the starters on Friday-evening.
(April 6)
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