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Updated: October 23, 2010
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Grand Slam/Marco Stoovelaar

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Compiled and Copyright © 1997-2010 by Marco Stoovelaar


Fifth Division: Eight champions
Nederlands
WAGENINGEN / KROMMENIE / VOORSCHOTEN / ROTTERDAM / RIDDERKERK / BREDA / BEEK (Neth.) - In the Fifth Division, there are eight different pools this season. Just as in the Second, Third and Fourth Division, alls pools are regionally aligned. In total 61 different teams (including one from Belgium) played in this Division this season.

The champions of the eight pools will promote to the Fourth Division. All champions, including two from the same club, are known. Teams in last place cannot relegate, as the Fifth Division is the lowest division in Dutch baseball.

With this review, all eight baseball leagues this season in Dutch baseball have now been covered. But this extensive coverage isn't over yet, as more is to come. Coming soon are the same recaps from the several softball-divisions, as well as a look back to the youth divisions.



Fifth Division A

WAGENINGEN - Eight teams played in this pool, which were all coming from the center of the country. The teams played a 21-game schedule.

When we go back to Sunday, September 19, there were two contenders for the championship in this pool: Matchmakers from Wageningen and De Knickerbockers from Soest. A third team, De Panters from Tiel, was also in contention for a long time, but in this phase of the season, this team was eliminated.

On September 19, league-leader Matchmakers suffered a big 21-8 loss in an away-game vs. last placed UVV-5, building up the tension for first place. A week later, September 26, both Matchmakers and De Knickerbockers had three games left, with the latter still having the chance to move into first place. On this day, Matchmakers defeated De Panters 14-7 at home, while De Knickerbockers won 15-9 vs. UVV-4 at Utrecht, making a tie for first place still possible.

The next week, the decision fell. On Saturday-morning, October 2, Matchmakers registered a comfortable 14-1 win vs. Domstad Dodgers-5 at Utrecht to claim the title. In the afternoon, De Knickerbockers had to play at home vs. Quick Amersfoort-2 and of course knew the result of the Matchmakers-game when they started their own game. So, their result didn't matter anymore and De Knickerbockers lost 6-3.

On Sunday, October 10, De Knickersbockers closed their season with a 4-3 win at home vs. De Panters. In the listing, the game between Matchmakers and Wombats-2 isn't listed and also isn't scheduled, meaning the season in this pool has ended.

Matchmakers, which was coached by Hans Beijleveld, closed the season with a 17-3 record and finished four points ahead of De Knickerbockers. Matchmakers, led by teamcaptain Maarten van den Berg, scored 231 runs, but the league was led by De Panters, who scored 288 and finished in third place, seven points behind the champion. UVV-5 finished in last place.

(photo copyright Matchmakers)



Fifth Division B

KROMMENIE - The Fifth Division B-pool was compiled with eight teams coming from Amsterdam, Haarlem and the southern part of the province of Noord-Holland. The teams played a 21-game schedule.

On Friday, September 17, league-leader Cromtigers-2 from Krommenie was eight points ahead of DSS-4. At this moment, Cromtigers had four games remaining, but DSS had still five to play, meaning the team from Haarlem still had a chance of moving into first place. In the evening of this day, Cromtigers played an 1-1 tie at Santpoort vs. Terrasvogels-3, while DSS won 13-3 on the road vs. Quick Amsterdam-4 two days later.

A win from Cromtigers in the next week or loss by DSS would decide the championship. And that's what happened. On Saturday, September 25, DSS-4 lost in Bovenkarspel at The Beagles (sorry, the final score is not listed), meaning Cromtigers was the champion. The team from Krommenie could have celebrated the championship the next day at home during their own game, but then opponent Quick Amsterdam-4 didn't show up, meaning two points were subtracted from the season-total of the latter and a re-scheduling of the game. By the way, DSS also played today and again lost, this time 13-6 to Quick Amersfoort-3.

While is had rained on September 26 and the field was wet, Cromtigers worked hard to make the field playable and just when the team started its preparations, they were informed that the opponent wouldn't show up, as Quick already was in Krommenie the day before, but then the game wasn't scheduled. Instead, Cromtigers played a game against its junior-squad and then celebrated its championship after all. Oh, one of the umpires for this game was big league softball-umpire Arjan de Wever. One of the players of Cromtigers-2 is Rocco Bruyn, who was the scoreboard operator during several Haarlem Baseball Weeks some years ago.

Five games are still being listed as not played, including three by The Beagles. The lone team that played all its 21 games is OVVO-2, which finished in third place. Cromtigers finished the season with a 16-2-2 record, seven points ahead of DSS-4. Quick Amsterdam-4 finished in last place.

(photo copyright Foto Jan van Poorten Krommenie)



Fifth Division C

KROMMENIE - Ten teams from the Haarlem-region and southern part of Noord-Holland formed this pool, who all played an 18-game schedule.

On Saturday, September 18, Santpoort-based Terrasvogels-4 was the league-leader only two points ahead of Cromtigers-3, whom they faced in this date at Krommenie. The game ended in a 12-11 win for Cromtigers, which therefore moved into a tie for first place.

The next week, on Sunday, September 26, Cromtigers took over first place by winning 18-3 at home vs. Hoofddorp Pioniers-6. Both Cromtigers and Terrasvogels then both had only one game left, which would decide the championship.

On Saturday, October 2, Cromtigers-3 played a 3-3 tie at home vs. Olympia Haarlem-3 and that was enough for the Krommenie-based team. With the one point they earned from this tie, they became unreachable for Terrasvogels and therefore captured the championship in this pool. The next day, Terrasvogels-4 won 16-4 at home vs. RCH-3 to finish in second place and ending up one point short.

On the roster of Cromtigers-3 are Martin van der Weide, who played in the Dutch big league for Amsterdam Pirates, Edwin Ripken, who played for Thamen in the Dutch men softball big league, and Erik Brussel, who was an Assistant Coach of DSC '74 in the women softball big league some years ago.

Cromtigers finished with a 15-2-1 record and scored 252 runs, while second placed Terrasvogels led the league with 276 runs scored. Hoofddorp Pioniers-7 ended up in last place, winning only one game and giving up 273 runs. Their clubmates from Hoofddorp Pioniers-6, who finished in eighth place, gave up the most runs in this league, 291.

Two games are remaining in this league, but there aren't scheduled anymore.

(photo copyright Foto Jan van Poorten Krommenie)



Fifth Division D

VOORSCHOTEN - Only five teams played in this pool, all from the region of The Hague. All teams played a 16-game schedule. A sixth team, Wassenaar-3 had withdrawn from this pool.

When the second half of the season started on Saturday, July 31, all teams in this pool still had the chance to finish the season as champion. But at the end of the day, the first team was eliminated. On this day, league-leader Adegeest-3 from Voorschoten won 15-5 at HitManics-2, meaning the team from Delft was eliminated for the title. A week later, on Sunday, August 8, Adegeest shutout Blue Birds-4 25-0 in an away-game, resulting in this team (which also is from Delft) also being eliminated.

And so, there were three teams left for the title, but Adegeest also eliminated the last two teams themselves. On Sunday, August 15, Adegeest won 11-4 at home vs. Storks-4 and with this became unreachable for Catch (from Leidschendam) and Storks (The Hague). It also meant that Adegeest had eliminated all other four teams in this pool in a 2-week period.

After this weekend, 13 more games were played in this pool, including three by Adegeest, which it all won.

Adegeest, which outscored their opponents 210-54, finished the season with a 14-1 record with the lone loss coming on May 30, when Blue Birds defeated them 9-8.

HitManics-2 finished in last place. Two games are still scheduled to be played, including a rainout of Adegeest on October 2, but these games are not scheduled anymore.

(photo copyright Adegeest)



Fifth Division E

ROTTERDAM - Eight teams from the Rotterdam-area formed the Fifth Division E and all played a 21-game schedule this season.

When we go back to Saturday, September 25, there are four teams still in the race for the championship. That includes fourth placed Schiedam-2, whose two scheduled games this weekend are canceled because of rain and therefore can only sit and wait what happens. On Sunday, September 26, third placed Blue Stars (which is the lone 'first' team in this pool) wins 4-3 at home vs. Neptunus-3 to remain in the title race. Also today, Schiedam sees its home game vs. league-leader Saints-2 from Rotterdam rain out, after the game from the day before vs. Hellevoet Athletics-2 also was canceled. Because of today's cancelation, Blue Stars is only two points behind Saints and only one behind second placed Vlaardingen Holy-2.

A week later, on Sunday, October 3, Blue Stars plays a 9-9 tie vs. Vlaardingen Holy-2 in its last game. As the Numansdorp-based Blue Stars earn only one point from this tie, they are eliminated for the championship, while Holy moves into a tie of first place with the one point they earned today. It also meant that third placed Blue Stars was eliminated earlier than fourth placed Schiedam!

Then, on Sunday, October 10, leader Saints-2 had to play a double-header at home vs. Hellevoet Athletics-2. In the morning, Saints shuts out the Athletics 10-0, meaning Schiedam is also eliminated, which by the way, wins 18-8 in the afternoon vs. Neptunus-3. Now, only Vlaardingen Holy-2 is the lone team left that can spoil the season for Saints. But the decision then fells in game two of the double-header with the Saints winning 11-1 to capture the title and the championship.

The championship team from Rotterdam-North (Hillegersberg) finished the season with an 18-1-1 record and outscored their opponents 287-74. Saints lost its only game on August 15 vs. Blue Stars, 8-5. Saints opened the season with a 4-4 tie vs. Blue Stars, which finished in third place. The Orioles-3 from Rotterdam ended in last place.

On Sunday, October 17, Saints won big 25-4 vs. The Islanders-2 to end their season. There are three games remaining in this pool, but none of them are scheduled.

(photo copyright Saints)



Fifth Division F

RIDDERKERK - Seven teams from the south of the Zuid-Holland province compiled this pool and played an 18-game schedule.

On Sunday, September 19, Ridderkerk Rowdies-3 (from Ridderkerk), Spikes-2 (from Spijkenisse) and The Braves-3 (from Gouda) were the three teams left over in the race for the title in this pool. On this day, the top-3 won, as the Rowdies won 16-6 at Zwijndrecht-4, Spikes shutout The Hawks-3 from Dordrecht 16-0 and Braves nipped Euro Stars-3 from Capelle a/d IJssel 8-7. With this, Spikes still can moves passed the Rowdies, but The Braves can only end up in a tie for first place.

On Thursday-evening, September 23, Spikes wins big vs. Zwijndrecht, 23-1 to remain in the race. The next evening, the Rowdies win 11-3 at Euro Stars, meaning The Braves are eliminated.

On Sunday, September 26, Ridderkerk Rowdies-3, which was coached by Clifford Phelipa, wins big vs. Zwijndrecht-4, 23-7 to become unreachable and capture the championship title.

In the next two weeks, Spikes and The Braves add two more victories, while Ridderkerk's remaining game rains out on October 3. And so, as the game will not be made up again, Ridderkerk Rowdies ends its season with a 15-2 record, scoring 235 runs. Euro Stars-3 finishes in last place.

On Sunday, October 17, the last game in this pool was played with Spikes-2 winning 22-1 vs. Saints-3 to finish in second place, only two points behind the Rowdies. One remaining game is not re-scheduled.

(photo copyright Ridderkerk Rowdies)



Fifth Division G

BREDA - The Fifth Division G was compiled this season from 10 teams coming from the province of Noord-Brabant. Only two of these teams, were so-called 'first' teams, being Uden Red Sox from Uden and Meppers Eersel from Eersel. All teams played an 18-game schedule.

On Sunday, August 15, three of the ten teams in this pool remained to be in the championship race. Jeka led the league and was followed by Tilburg-2 and Starlights-2. The latter was seven points behind, but still could finish one point ahead of Jeka of course by winning all their remaining games, while Jeka had to be losing all their games. Well, that didn't happen, as Jeka today won 11-4 vs. Tilburg and therefore eliminated Starlights.

By the way, the naming of this Jeka-team is somewhat unclear. Originally, this was to be Jeka-3 with the first team playing in the First Division and the second playing in the Third Division. However, the second team was withdrawn from their pool, meaning the third squad in reality became the new second team. In the official listings, this team is mentioned as Jeka-2, while the club stick with the original name Jeka-3.

On Sunday, August 22, Jeka took more distance by winning 20-4 at home vs. Meppers Eersel. Tilburg also won 20-6 vs. Ducks-2 from Boxtel, but because of the win by Jeka could only end up in a tie for first place.

The decision the fell on Sunday, September 5. Tilburg won its game 22-4 vs. Roef!-2 from Moergestel, but Jeka, which started their game 30 minutes later than Tilburg, went on to win big (19-2) at Nuenen-4 to win the title.

On Sunday, September 26, Jeka closes the season with a 7-1 win vs. Wizards of Boz-2 from Bergen op Zoom. Jeka, which was led by playing coaches Peter van Houwelingen and Ruben van Bochove, finished with a 16-2 record, six points ahead of Tilburg, which ended up in second place. Nuenen-4 finished in last place, winning only one of their 18 games played.

In this pool, there is one game left, but that isn't scheduled anymore.

(photo copyright Jeka)



Fifth Division H

BEEK - Four teams from the province of Limburg and one from Belgium made up the Fifth Division H. A sixth team, Sunville Tigers from Zonhoven (also in Belgium) withdraw from this league. All teams played a 16-game schedule.

On Sunday, August 29, Cheetahs from Beek shared first place with Indians-2 from Weert, with the latter having played one game more, but the two had the same amount of points (team get two points for a win, one for a tie, none for a loss). Both teams won their game today. Cheetahs won only 3-2 at Heerlen vs. Parkstad-2, with whom they have a working agreement, as a joined team of these two clubs played in the Third Division, playing as Raptors, and won the championship title. Indians won big 35-0 vs. The Pancakes, who are from Ham in Belgium.

OK, some facts. Ham is a small, but historical place in Belgium, located some 60 km northwest of Limburg-capital Maastricht. Ham, which was mentioned for the first in the year 785 as being a fief (part of the political medieval feudalism-system), has several historical sightings.

On Sunday, September 5, both leaders won again. Cheetahs outscored The Pancakes in Belgium, 28-1, while Indians won 16-3 at Maastricht-2. Two weeks later, on Sunday, September 19, Cheetahs won 10-8 at Indians-2 to become the lone league-leader, but Indians still had a chance to become the champion.

On Sunday, September 26, the decision fell when Cheetahs had to play a double-header vs. Maastricht-2. In the morning, Cheetahs went on to win their first game 12-7. At almost the same time, Indians-2 was losing 6-5 to Parkstad-2, meaning Cheetahs was the champion. Cheetahs finished the day by also winning the second game of their double-header, 11-7.

Cheetahs closed the season with a 15-1 record and outscoring their opponents 236-80. Indians-2, which finished in second place, scored 251 runs, while giving up 80. The Pancakes ended in last place with an 0-15 record and gave up 453 runs, while scoring only 38.

There is one game left, but that isn't re-scheduled.



(October 24)

Previous report Rookie League (September 28)
Previous report First Division (September 28)
Previous report Second Division (September 28)
Previous report Third Division (September 29)
Update First, Second, Third Division (October 4)
Previous report Fourth Division (October 8)
Update First, Second, Third, Fourth Division (October 12)
Championship Game First Division (October 20)

Coming up: a lookback to the Youth Baseball Championships and the different Softball Divisions


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