Neptunus completes sweep to win title! Nederlands HOOFDDORP (Neth.) -
DOOR Neptunus is the 92nd baseball-champion of the Netherlands.
On Saturday, in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Holland Series, the Rotterdam-squad initially failed to hold onto a 3-0 lead, as opponent Vaessen Pioniers came alongside and forced extra innings.
In the tenth, Neptunus re-took the lead and won 4-3 to complete a 4-game sweep to win the Dutch championship.
Last year, Neptunus was swept itself in the final by Corendon Kinheim.
And so, this is the second consecutive sweep to end the Dutch baseball-season in the big league.
For Neptunus, this is the club's 14th championship-title, 13 of which were won after the introduction of the Holland Series in 1987.
Neptunus captured its first championship in 1981 and its last before this year was in 2010.
From 1999-2005, Neptunus won the title for a record seven consecutive years.
With its fourteenth title, Neptunus extended its own overall record.
For Pioniers, this was the fifth time in a row that it lost a Holland Series.
For the team, this also was its last game to be played at Sportpark Toolenburg, as it moves to a new complex next season.
Benjamin Dille was named Most Valuable Player of the Series.
He also was the Series MVP in 2009.
VIDEOS
...Coverage Dutch TV of championship-game... (NOS Studio Sport, September 21)
...Interview with Raily Legito... (NOS Studio Sport, September 21)
...Interview with Head Coach Evert-Jan 't Hoen... (NOS Studio Sport, September 21)
Neptunus started the game well and took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning off of Eddie Aucoin.
Gianison Boekhoudt led off the game with a single, then advanced when Benjamin Dille also singled.
After the two had moved on a wild pitch, Boekhoudt scored the first run when Raily Legito hit the third consecutive single.
Next, Dille scored on a sacrifice fly by Dwayne Kemp, then the inning when Kalian Sams grounded into a double play.
Neptunus added a run in the second inning.
Gyenuar Lopez led off with a single, moved on grounders by Rafaël Jozefa and Adrian Anthony, then scored on a single by Shaldimar Daantji to make it 3-0.
But hereafter, Neptunus was held scoreless in the next seven innings.
The Rotterdam-team hit only two basehits and reached base only twice, while three players were ruled out on interference.
In the third, Legito was hit by a pitch with one out and stole second base, then Sams walked with two outs, but a force out ended the inning.
In the fourth, Anthony walked with one out and stranded.
In the fifth, lead-off hitter Dille reached on an error, then Legito lined into a double play.
Aucoin then retired the side in the sixth and gave up his first basehit in five innings when Daantji doubled with one out, but this at bat ended with a rare double play.
In a hit-and-run-situation, Daantji took off shortly before next hitter Boekhoudt made contact, but he popped up the ball to short stop Vince Rooi.
Daantji turned to go back to second base, but then interfered with Rooi, who attempted to catch the ball.
As a result, Boekhoudt was ruled out due to the interference by Daantji, who himself also was ruled out for interfering, as he would have returned too late to second base, resulting in a very rare double play.
Orlando Yntema started for Neptunus.
The righthander walked Danny Rombley and Vince Rooi with two outs in the first inning, but both were left behind.
In the second at bat, he gave up a lead-off single to Mark Duursma, but then Kevin Dirksen grounded into a double play.
Trailing 3-0, Pioniers got one run back in the third inning.
Michael Pluijmers led off with a walk, moved on a passed ball and a grounder by Zerzinho Croes, then scored on a grounder by Phil Ortez.
Yntema then retired the side in the fourth and fifth inning, but then gave up another run in the sixth at bat.
With two outs, he walked Phil Ortez, then gave up singles to Danny Rombley and Vince Rooi to load the bases.
In this situation, Pioniers scored only one run, which was scored on a sacrifice fly by Mark-Jan Moorman.
Rombley and Rooi also advanced, but stranded as Yntema ended the scoring threat by striking out Mark Duursma.
In the eighth inning, Dennis Buring took over the pitching for Eddie Aucoin.
He gave up a lead-off single to Benjamin Dille, but then retired the next three batters, who all flied out.
Yntema retired the side in the seventh, but then gave up a lead-off single to Zerzinho Croes in the eighth.
Croes advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Phil Ortez, which led to the departure of Yntema.
Brendan Wise took over and ended the inning with two grounders.
In the top of the ninth, Bayron Cornelisse became the third pitcher for Pioniers and walked Gyenuar Lopez.
But then, Neptunus again acted against the rules.
While Lopez took off from first base, batter Rafaël Jozefa interfered with catcher Mark Duursma and was called out.
Lopez therefore stayed at first base and was forced out on a following grounder by Adrian Anthony, then Shaldimar Daantji struckout.
In the bottom of the ninth, Mark-Jan Moorman led off with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Mark Duursma.
Next, Brendan Wise struckout Kevin Dirksen, but the third strike ended in a wild pitch, which brought Moorman to third base.
Veteran Dè Flanegin then grounded to third, resulting in a force out at second base, but enabled Moorman to score the tying run.
Wise, who was credited with a Blown Save, then got Michael Pluijmers to groundout, but Pioniers had come alongside and force extra innings.
In the top of the tenth inning, Neptunus re-took the lead immediately.
With this, Neptunus underscored what it did best this season, coming back almost immediately after trailing or the opponent came alongside.
Gianison Boekhoudt led off with a walk and moved on a sac-bunt by Benjamin Dille.
He then scored when Raily Legito drilled the ball into centerfield for a runscoring double, making it 4-3.
Legito was then force out and Kalian Sams singled, but a flyout then ended the inning.
In the bottom of the tenth, Brendan Wise returned to the mound and walked Phil Ortez with one out and faced powerhitters Danny Rombley and Vince Rooi.
But the Australian struckout Rombley and Rooi popped up to short stop Dwayne Kemp to end the game, the Holland Series and the Dutch big league-season.
For the record...
...It is the third time that two consecutive Holland Series end in a sweep.
In 1990-1991, Amsterdam Pirates and Neptunus won the title via a sweep and in 2007-2008, Kinheim and Amsterdam Pirates did the same.
...With this sweep, Neptunus becomes the first team to register a sweep three times in the season's final.
Before today, Neptunus was tied with two with Amsterdam Pirates and Kinheim.
In 1991 and 2002, Neptunus swept HCAW 3-0.
...It marks the second time that a team that was swept one year wins the championship the next via a sweep.
The first time that this happened also was done by Neptunus.
The team was swept in 1990 by Amsterdam Pirates (3-0), then swept HCAW-Tijgers (3-0) the following year.
...For Pioniers, it is the second time it was swept in the Holland Series.
The first time was in 2007, when it was swept by Kinheim (3-0).
...This is the 19th of the 26 Holland Series in history that is won by the team that also won the opening game of the Series.
...This is the first Series with two extra-inning games.
...It marks the second time that two consecutive Holland Series are won by teams, which are led by rookie Head Coaches, who make their debut in the Dutch big league.
Evert-Jan 't Hoen did it did year with Neptunus, while Hans Lemmink won the title last year with Kinheim.
The first time this happened was in 1991 by Charles Urbanus (with Neptunus) and in 1992 by Robert Niggebrugge (with ADO).
(September 21)
MORE VIDEOS
...Interview Head Coach Evert-Jan 't Hoen... (RTV Rijnmond, September 21)
...Reaction by short stop Dwayne Kemp... (RTV Rijnmond, September 21)
...Interview with outfielder Kalian Sams... (RTV Rijnmond, September 21)
...Interview with pitcher Orlando Yntema... (RTV Rijnmond, September 21)
...Interview with MVP Benjamin Dille... (RTV Rijnmond, September 21)
Neptunus completes sweep to win title!
HOOFDDORP (Neth.) -
DOOR Neptunus is the 92nd baseball-champion of the Netherlands.
On Saturday, in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Holland Series, the Rotterdam-squad initially failed to hold onto a 3-0 lead, as opponent Vaessen Pioniers came alongside and forced extra innings.
In the tenth, Neptunus re-took the lead and won 4-3 to complete a 4-game sweep to win the Dutch championship.
Neptunus added a run in the second inning.
Gyenuar Lopez led off with a single, moved on grounders by Rafaël Jozefa and Adrian Anthony, then scored on a single by Shaldimar Daantji to make it 3-0.