 UVV opens season with win
Nederlands
 BUSSUM (Neth.) -
The opening game of the season between Mr. Cocker HCAW and UVV resumed on Friday-evening in the top of third inning with an 1-0 lead for the home team.
UVV turned the game around and went on to win 5-1 to give rookie Head Coach Ferenc Jongejan a win in his debut.
On Thursday-evening, the game was halted after two complete innings, due to problems with two of the lighttowers on the site in Bussum.
As a mechanic was not available, the game was stopped definitively and postponed to tonight.
According to the rules, when a game is stopped due to lightproblems, this is listed as 'a circumstance beyond one's control' and therefore the game has an 'adjourned status', meaning it will resume at the moment where it was stopped.
With this, the first basehit of the 2013 season now officially belongs to Ferd van Stekelenburg, who singled with two outs for UVV in the first inning.
Initially, Zerzinho Croes led off the game against Corendon Kinheim in Haarlem on Thursday-evening with a double for Vaessen Pioniers, which at that time was the first basehit of the new season.
But shortly thereafter, that game was halted by fog and was also re-scheduled for tonight.
However, the weather conditions played another major role, as it rained steadily today in the coastal area, resulting in the game of Kinheim vs. Pioniers to be cancelled.
The game has now been re-scheduled for next Tuesday.
The starting rotations remains intact, meaning Thursday's scheduled starters now will take the mound on Saturday.
After Van Stekelenburg had singled in the top of the first inning on Thursday-evening, HCAW opened the score moments later.
Jim Froberg led off with a single and moved on grounders by Jasper Keijzer and Jorin van Amstel.
Linoy Croes then walked and Froberg scored in a double-steal situation.
UVV was then retired in order in the top of the second inning, while HCAW two more baserunners.
Sergino Martis led off with a single and moved on sac-bunt by Arjan Elshof, then Dillon True walked with two outs.
A grounder ended the inning and also ended the game, as hereafter, the match-up was interrupted due to the problems with the lights.
The game was picked up in the third inning on Friday with two new (rookie) pitchers.
Tony Kreisel took over for HCAW's starter Sander Helmendach and American Chris Mezger replaced UVV's starter Jurjen van Zijl.
On Thursday, the two starters respectively threw 35 and 45 pitches.
In the top of the third inning, Kreisel began with two strikeouts, then gave up a single to Norbert Jongerius, but he was left behind.
In the next at bat, Kreisel gave up a lead-off homerun to Ferd van Stekelenburg that tied the score.
Mezger, who last season pitched in France for champion Rouen Huskies, retired the side in the bottom of the third inning.
In the fourth, he struckout three batters, but also gave up a 2-out single to Venezuelan/Italian Jesus Latte, who entered the game as pinch-hitter and hit a basehit in his first Dutch big league at bat.
After giving up the single, Mezger retired the next 10 batters in a row, including eight strikeouts (the first six in a row).
With his pitching, the righthander, who played four seasons for the Trojans, the team of the University of Southern California before coming to Europe, had a major role in tonight's win for UVV.
He gave up a lead-off single in the eighth to Dillon True, but then retired the next three batters, including two more strikeouts.
In total, Mezger struckout 13 batters in his Dutch big league-debut and became the winning pitcher.
UVV broke the 1-1 tie in the sixth inning off of new pitcher Gijs van Els.
Rossini Frolijk walked and Giovanni Samboe doubled with one out, then a single by Daan Cornelissen brought in Frolijk to give UVV the lead.
And outfield-error followed, enabling Samboe also to score.
Hereafter, Sedley Karel took over the pitching and gave up a sac-fly to Brennan Nijhof that made it 4-1.
UVV added a run in the ninth inning.
Brennan Nijhof and Andy Raaff began with singles.
With the runners on second and third base and facing new pitcher Leon Elshof, Norbert Jongerius hit into a double play, but then an error on a grounder by Dennis Ribbens made it 5-1.
| Mr. Cocker HCAW - UVV 1-5 |
| R | H | E |
| UVV | 000 | 103 | 001 | - | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| Mr. Cocker HCAW | 100 | 000 | 000 | - | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| pitchers UVV | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Jurjen van Zijl | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Mezger, W (1-0) | 6 | 13 | - | 2 | - | - |
| Duko Jansen | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| pitchers HCAW | inn. | SO | BB | H | R | ER |
| Sander Helmendach | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
| Tony Kreisel | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Gijs van Els, L (0-1) | 0.1 | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Sedley Karel | 1.2 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Marco Schel | 1 (*) | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | - |
| Leon Elshof | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| (*) - Schel pitched to two batters in the 9th inning |
| Homerun: UVV: Ferd van Stekelenburg (1)(solo,4th,off Kreisel). |
Umpires: HP-Henny Jansen, 1B-Efran Silvania, 3B-Olav Steijger.
Official Scorer-Fred Haak.
Play-by-Play-Feiko Drost.
Time-3:07 hr. |
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(April 12)
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