The game didn't start well for Kinheim.
In the announced starting rotation for this series, righthander Tom Stuifbergen was named to start tonight's game.
However, minutes before the game was to start and the starting line-ups were announced to the spectators, it became clear that he wouldn't start.
During pre-game warming-up, Stuifbergen sustained a back injury and was unable to pitch.
It was decided to move David Bergman, who was scheduled to start Saturday's game, to tonight's game.
Due to the injury, Bergman, who also is the team's Pitching Coach, got all the time he needed to prepare, as is the rule in case of an injury.
And so, the game went underway 16 minutes later than scheduled.
Whether or not it has to do with the late replacement or that Bergman wasn't prepared yet, Pioniers struck with five hits and two runs in the opening at bat.
The bases got loaded quickly, as Daniel Fernandes, Dirk van 't Klooster and Danny Rombley all led off the game with a single.
Hereafter, it appeared that Kinheim would escape the inning unharmed, as next batter Vince Rooi grounded to third.
The Kinheim-defense turned a triple play, which ended up to be a runscoring double play!
After fielding the ball, third baseman Mervin Gario stepped on his base to force out Van 't Klooster (the runner from second base).
Gario then threw the ball to catcher Dashenko Ricardo, where Fernandes approached to score.
Moments later, Ricardo threw the ball to first baseman Jeffrey Arends, where batter Rooi was eliminated to complete the triple play.
But it wasn't a triple play, as Ricardo made a crucial mistake.
After receiving the ball from Gario, he stepped on the plate to force out Fernandes, then threw the ball to first base.
However, when Van 't Klooster was forced out on third base, the force for Fernandes was removed and therefore had to be tagged.
As that didn't happen, Home Plate Umpire Stenar van Groningen Schinkel made the safe-signal and so, Fernandes had scored.
Some reactions followed, but the ruling in this is very simple.
Instead of having turned a triple play, there were now two outs, there was a runner on second base and Kinheim trailed 1-0.
Hereafter, Mark-Jan Moorman singled to bring in Rombley and make it a 2-0 score.
Another single by Quintin De Cuba followed, but Pioniers then stranded two runners when a force out ended the at bat.
In the bottom of the first inning, Mervin Gario and Phil Ortez singled with one out off of rookie Nick Keur, who was a surprise starter for Pioniers.
He was then supported with a double play to end the inning.
In the second and third inning, Bergman saw Pioniers get into scoring position again.
In the second, with two outs, Daniel Fernandes singled and an error followed on a grounder by Dirk van 't Klooster, but they stranded.
In the third, Pioniers got the bases loaded when Vince Rooi led off with a double, Mark-Jan Moorman walked and Quintin De Cuba singled.
Hereafter, Bergman struckout the next two batters and a foul-out ended the inning, meaning three runners were left behind.
In the fourth, Pioniers added two more runs on four basehits.
Fernandes and Van 't Klooster led off with a single, then moved on a flyout.
With two outs, Moorman followed with a 2-run single to lift the lead to 4-0.
Pioniers scored another run in the top of the sixth inning.
With one out, Rooi doubled, advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on a 2-out single by Kevin Dirksen.
In the eighth, with Bergman still pitching for Kinheim, Pioniers scored its next run.
Lead-off hitter Moorman reached on an error and moved on a single by De Cuba.
A force play-grounder by Dirksen followed and moments later, Moorman scored on a bunt-single by Glenn Bakker.
Kinheim was silenced by Nick Keur, who had a fine outing.
In the second inning, Kinheim got a runner on third base with two outs, but then Keur struckout Jasper Keijzer.
In the third, with two outs, Keur gave up singles to Mervin Gario and Phil Ortez, but also were left behind, as he this time ended the at bat by striking out Dashenko Ricardo.
Keur then retired the side in the fourth and saw Kinheim get into scoring position again in the fifth.
With two outs, Kevin Moesquit doubled and Mervin Gario walked.
The two advanced on a double-steal, but a flyout ended the inning.
After having retired the side again in the sixth, Keur walked lead-off hitter Niels van Weert in the seventh.
That marked the end for the rookie, who was relieved by veteran Elton Koeiman.
Van Weert was then forced out on a bunt by Jasper Keijzer.
Another force out and a pick-off ended the at bat to keep the 5-0 lead intact.
Trailing 6-0, Kinheim scored its first run in the bottom of the eighth off of Koeiman.
Moesquit led off with a double, then moved on an one-out single by Ortez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ricardo.
In the top of the ninth inning, Pioniers got the run back.
With one out, Danny Rombley singled and scored on a following double by Vince Rooi.
In the bottom of the ninth, leading 7-1, Sedley Karel took over for Koeiman, but Kinheim then rallied for three runs.
Niels van Weert led off with a walk and moved on a grounder, then scored on a pinch-hit single by Calvin Martinus.
Hereafter, Kevin Moesquit and Mervin Gario also singled to load the bases.
A force play-grounder by Phil Ortez ended in an error, resulting in two more runs.
But hereafter, the game ended when Dashenko Ricardo grounded into a double play.
As Kinheim faced a 5-0 deficit after six innings, it was decided that David Bergman would go the distance.
This to save other pitchers for the upcoming games on Saturday and Sunday, especially since Tom Stuifbergen would be unavailable due to his injury.
It was to become a long evening for Bergman, who threw 160 pitches and gave up 20 basehits!
Daniel Fernandes and Quintin De Cuba both had four hits for Pioniers, while Vince Rooi hit three doubles.
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Kinheim ends up losing in opener vs. Pioniers
HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Corendon Kinheim opened its final series in the Play-Offs vs. Vaessen Pioniers on Fridayy-evening (August 28) with a 7-4 loss.
Despite the loss, Kinheim has a good chance of reaching the Holland Series, due to winning the previous series against Curaçao Neptunus and L&D Amsterdam Pirates.