(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Roster Netherlands Team announced for French tournament
Nederlands
 NIEUWEGEIN (Neth.) -
Steve Janssen, Manager of the Netherlands Kingdom Team, has announced his group of players that will travel with the squad to France for participation in the France International Baseball Tournament - Yoshida Challenge.
The event begins on August 31, ends on September 4 and will be played in Sénart.
The tournament is part of the preparations for the upcoming European Championship, which will be played in Hoofddorp and Nieuw-Vennep (Neth.) and opens ion September 9.
After returning from France, the Orange squad will play one final exhibition game against France on Wednesday, September 7, starting at 7 PM at the site of Pickles UVV in Vleuten.
...Rob Cordemans returns in Orange...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Veteran righthanded pitcher Rob Cordemans has been added again to the pitching staff, while outfielders Kalian Sams and Randolph Oduber also have been added to the active roster.
Cordemans was sidelined almost the entire season with an injury.
He made his comeback last Monday-evening, starting for L&D Amsterdam Pirates, throwing two innings.
Oduber also has been sidelined several weeks with a hamstring-injury after he had joined Curaçao Neptunus in May.
Oduber returned to action at the end of July.
Sams has played professionally in Canada this season.
Both Cordemans and Oduber were in uniform with the National Team during the Baseball Week Haarlem in July, but then didn't play.
Both assisted the coaching staff during the event.
Besides Cordemans and Oduber, some other players also came back from injuries recently, being pitchers Kevin Kelly and Tom Stuifbergen and catcher Gianison Boekhoudt.
Not returning from the Baseball Week-roster are pitcher Jim Ploeger (HCAW), outfielder Remco Draijer (L&D Amsterdam Pirates) and infielder Stijn van der Meer (Curaçao Neptunus).
The latter recently made his professional debut in the organisation of the Houston Astros.
After completion of the tournament in France, the final roster will be set for the European Championship.
The roster can change depending on what professional Dutch players from the minor leagues become available.
In France, the Netherlands will play its first game coming Thursday (September 1) against Germany.
The next day, the Orange meets the International Stars, then closes the preliminary round on Saturday against host France.
On Sunday, September 4, the final will be played, preceeded by the bronze medal-game.
The tournament opens on Wednesday (August 31) with the match-up between Germany and France.
The roster for France looks as follows:
Pitchers (11):
Tom de Blok, Rob Cordemans (both L&D Amsterdam Pirates), Mike Bolsenbroek (Buchbinder Regensburg Legionäre, Germany), Bayron Cornelisse, Berry van Driel, Kevin Kelly, Diegomar Markwell, Loek van Mil, Orlando Yntema (all Curaçao Neptunus), Lars Huijer (Vaessen Pioniers) and Tom Stuifbergen (Kinheim).
Catchers (3):
Gianison Boekhoudt, Dashenko Ricardo (both Curaçao Neptunus) and Sander Paap (Kinheim).
Infielders (5):
Dwayne Kemp (Curaçao Neptunus), Dudley Leonora, Kevin Moesquit (both Kinheim), Nick Urbanus (L&D Amsterdam Pirates) and Yurendell de Caster (no team).
Outfielders (5):
Christian Diaz, Randolph Oduber (both Curaçao Neptunus), Christoper Garia (Vaessen Pioniers), Gilmer Lampe (L&D Amsterdam Pirates) and Kalian Sams (Capitales de Québec, Canada).
Coaching Staff:
Steve Janssen (Manager), Andruw Jones (Bench Coach), Wim Martinus (1B Coach), Ben Thijssen (3B Coach), Mike Hartley (Pitching Coach), Sidney de Jong (Hitting Coach).
Supporting Staff:
Pepijn van Ingen (Physical Therapist), Paul Venner (Strength & Conditioning Coach), David Bergman (Scout).
(August 25)
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