  Nick Urbanus, Rodney Daal make professional debut
Nederlands
  SURPRISE / PEORIA, Arizona (USA) -
Dutch infielder Nick Urbanus and catcher Rodney Daal made their professional debut on Monday-evening in the opening games of the Arizona League, a Rookie League with a 56-game schedule.
Urbanus played with the AZL Rangers against the AZL Royals and Daal with the AZL Padres vs. AZL Mariners.
At Surprise, on Opening Day of the Arizona League, Nick Urbanus batted second for the Rangers, was the short stop and went 0-for-5.
In his first at bat in the first inning, after lead-off hitter Jordan Akins had walked, Urbanus flied out to leftfield.
Hereafter, the next two batters were hit by a pitch to load the bases, then a passed ball and two singles resulted in three runs.
Another hit batter followed, but then a strikeout and groundout ended the productive first at bat.
In the second inning, Urbanus again was the second batter, as the team had batted around in the previous at bat.
This time, he grounded out.
His next at bat came in the fourth inning with the Rangers leading 4-2.
After the first two batters reached base (walk, error), Urbanus was called out on strikes.
Hereafter, two wild pitches and a walk followed and the Rangers went on to add two runs.
In the fifth at bat, with the bases loaded and two outs, Urbanus flied out to leftfield to end the inning.
His last at bat in his debut-game came in the eighth inning when het led off and flied out.
Defensively, Urbanus had two assists, but also made an error in the sixth inning that led to a run.
The Rangers won 8-7, but were outhit 13-6.
Last season, Urbanus was the starting short stop for L&D Amsterdam Pirates, played in all 42 games and reached the Holland Series with his team.
He batted .236 (37-for-157), scored 17 runs and had 19 RBI's.
In January of this year, Urbanus won the Ron Fraser Award for Most Promising Youth Player.
At Peoria, Rodney Daal was the starting catcher for the AZL Padres, batted sixth and went 0-for-4 with a walk.
In his first at bat, Daal led off the second inning and then grounded out.
In the third inning, with the Padres trailing 2-1, Daal got his second plate appearance.
The inning began with a walk and single, then an error led to the tying run, but then two batters were struckout.
A double then gave the Padres a 3-2 lead, followed by a walk.
With runners on first and second base, Daal came to bat.
The two runners then advanced on a passed ball and next on a wild pitch, which increased the lead to 4-2, but then the inning ended when Daal struckout.
In the top of the 5th inning, with the Padres leading 6-4, Daal flied out, then the Mariners rallied for four runs in the home of the fifth to take an 8-6 lead.
In the seventh inning, Daal reached base for the first time.
With a runner on third base and two outs, Daal walked, then stole second base, but a grounder ended the inning.
Rodney Daal's final at bat in this game came in the top of the 8th inning that started with the Mariners leading 10-6.
With one out and a runner on first base, a run was scored on a double by Alberth Martinez, who then scored himself on a grounder.
Next, a single by Yoan Alcantara and double by Corey Adamson led to another run and made it 10-9.
With two outs and a runner in scoring position, Daal came to bat, but he struck out to end the inning.
The Padres lost 10-9.
Defensively, Daal had six putouts, but also had a throwing error, following a stolen base in the seventh inning.
Last season, Daal made his debut in the Dutch big league, appearing in four games for Mr. Cocker HCAW.
Before traveling to the States, Daal played in 12 games this season, hitting .235 (8-for-34), scored four runs and had five RBI's.
(June 20)
|
