 Neptunus, The Hawks win make-up games
Nederlands
  ROTTERDAM / THE HAGUE (Neth.) -
DOOR Neptunus and Mampaey The Hawks both won their make-up game tonight (Monday, August 11) to complete their regular season.
Neptunus won 7-3 at home vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, while The Hawks won 13-3 at ADO Lakers.
With these results, Neptunus finished in first place in the second half of the season, just as they won the first half.
The Hawks moved past ADO Lakers into seventh place, but will remain in eighth and last place in the overall standings.
Winning the first and second half of the season had resulted in an automatic championship 26 years ago.
In 1987, a new competition format was introduced.
The season was split into two halfs and the winners would qualify for the Holland Series.
That ended in a final between Amsterdam Pirates and Neptunus with the first team winning the then best-of-three.
The next year, 1988, the same format was used, but this time, it didn't result in a Holland Series.
Haarlem Nicols won both the first and second half and was declared Dutch champion.
And so, the format was changed again in 1989 with the introduction of the Play-Offs.
That was used until last season.
This year, another set-up was introduced.
The two best teams of the first half would qualify for the Play-Offs, as did the two best teams of the second half.
In case they were the same teams, the teams in third and fourth place also qualified.
But despite the new format, the same four teams qualified for the Play-Offs who did so in the previous seven seasons.
On Tuesday-evening, the regular season ends with the make-up game between UVV and Corendon Kinheim in Vleuten.
Next Thursday, the Play-Offs and Play-Downs open.
Neptunus set the tone tonight in the first inning.
Stijn van der Meer led off with his first career-homerun in the big league, then Gianison Boekhoudt added a 2-run homerun later in the at bat.
Two runs were added in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Mourik Huijser and a single by Raily Legito.
A 2-run double by Adrian Anthony accounted for the final two runs in the sixth inning.
HCAW scored its first run in the fifth on a double by Jasper Keijzer, then added two runs in the ninth on a double by Jim Froberg and a grounder by Sergino Martis.
At The Hague, The Hawks trailed 2-0 when it rallied for nine runs in the fifth inning.
In the at bat, six basehits were registered.
The Hawks collected ten basehits, including three by Gregory Trinidad.
Winning pitcher Kevin van Veen went the distance for The Hawks and struckout four batters.
It was his first win of the season.
On April 17, which was Opening Day, Van Veen pitched in relief in the first game and then was the losing pitcher, which was his lone other decision this season.
(August 11)
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