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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar) Onze Gezellen wins first game; Crucial loss for UVV Nederlands HAARLEM (Neth.) - Onze Gezellen came from behind twice on Sunday (September 10) and went on to win 5-4 against Pickles UVV in the Promotion/Relegation Pool. The first game between the two teams rained out on Saturday and will be made up on Tuesday-evening in Vleuten. With the win, Onze Gezellen broke a 6-game losing streak, as it was the team's first win in this pool. On the other hand, the loss was very costly for UVV, which now has lost its last five games. Both teams still have theoretical chances to finish in fourth place. With that, UVV would prolong its stay in the highest league. However, with today's loss, the team's spot in the big league in getting more and more in jeopardy. Coming weekend, UVV closes this pool with a 2-game series against DSS, which is one of the two leaders. Onze Gezellen then meets Storks, which is another contender for fourth place. In case two or more teams end up in a tie, a tiebreak-game (or games) will be played to decide the ranking. Onze Gezellen trailed 3-0 and 4-3, but came back both times, deciding the game with two runs in the seventh inning. UVV outhit OG 11-9, including a homerun by Berend Ruben, who batted in four runs. Nils Mica homered for Onze Gezellen. ,,We played a very good game today'', Onze Gezellen Head Coach Leo Naaktgeboren said afterwards. ,,I had a feeling early in the game that we could win today, we made no errors and made the plays we needed. Therefore, I used my second starter in relief and it all worked out fine. Of course, looking to UVV, it is no fun losing a game, but for us, we finally showed that we can play very well and win games'', said Naaktgeboren, who will step down after this season. In the seventh inning, Naaktgeboren inserted Raymond Rutte, who was the scheduled starter for Tuesday's make-up game. Instead, righthander Tim van Leuven will now start that game. (September 10) Complete schedule

Initially, UVV was off to a good start, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Jelle Blaauw led off the game with a double off of starter Ronald Oosterwijk. The righthander then struckout Rick Kuipers, but the third strike ended in a passed ball, resulting in runners at the corners. Hereafter, Berend Ruben drilled the ball over the leftfield-fence for a 3-run homerun to give UVV an early lead. However, the team failed to take more distance in the remainder of the game. With a 3-0 lead, next batter Sergino Martis was hit by a pitch, but Rodney Daal then grounded into a double play. UVV got another baserunner when Randy Daal singled, but he was forced out. Onze Gezellen got one run back in its first at bat off of starter Timo van Ancum. With one out, Milan Lammerts reached on an error and stole second base. The home team got the bases loaded when Hugo Koehorst and Tom Vreeken walked. Joffrey Heus followed with a force play-grounder, but that also brought in Lammerts. UVV got into scoring position again in the third when Sergino Martis (with one out) and Randy Daal (with two outs) both singled, but Ronald Oosterwijk then closed with a strikeout. Oosterwijk gave up a lead-off double to Jordan Illis in the fourth, but then picked him off second base moments later. Onze Gezellen was productive in its second and third inning, but failed to score and left five runners behind. With two outs in the second, Nils Mica doubled for the home team, then Martijn van Diemen reached on an error and Milan Lammerts singled. The three runners were left behind when Timo van Ancum closed with a strikeout. In the third, lead-off hitter Tom Vreeken struckout, but reached on a wild pitch. With one out, Dennis Blom singled, but this time, Van Ancum struckout the next two batters. But in the bottom of the fourth inning, Onze Gezellen did score and came alongside. First, Nils Mica led off with a homerun. With two outs, Hugo Koehorst reached on an outfield-error, then scored the tying run on a single by Tom Vreeken. UVV got another scoring opportunity in the fifth. With two outs, Sergino Martis singled and Rodney Daal doubled, but the two stranded on second and third base. The team was then retired in order in the sixth. The UVV-defense turned a double play in the fifth inning, while Van Ancum picked off a runner on first base in the sixth at bat, but the score was still tied at 3-3. UVV broke the tie in the top of the seventh inning, but again left runners behind on second and third base. Jelle Blaauw and Rick Kuipers began with singles, then Berend Ruben followed with a runscoring single to give UVV a 4-3 lead. That led to a pitching change. As Onze Gezellen Head Coach Leo Naaktgeboren had a feeling he could win today, he brought in Raymond Rutte, one of his starting pitchers and the announced starter for Tuesday's make-up game. Kuipers and Ruben advanced on a sacrifice bunt, but Rutte then struckout the next batter, which was followed by an inning-ending grounder. In the next two innings, Rutte retired six of the seven batters he faced, giving up no basehits and in the end, he became the winning pitcher. With a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kevin van Veen took over the pitching for UVV. He ran into problems and gave up three hits, which turned the game the way of Onze Gezellen, as the team scored twice. With one out, the bases got loaded when Tom Vreeken singled, Joffrey Heus walked and Dennis Blom also singled. Vreeken then scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Jenk Lemmink and the home team took the lead when Ted Koehorst followed with a runscoring single. After Raymond Rutte retired the side (two strikeouts) in the eighth inning, he walked Berend Ruben with two outs in the top of the ninth. Rutte then closed the inning and the game with another strikeout to secure the first win of Onze Gezellen.

Onze Gezellen - Pickles UVV 5-4 R H E Pickles UVV 300 000 100 - 4 11 3 Onze Gezellen 100 200 20X - 5 9 0 pitchers UVV inn. SO BB H R ER Timo van Ancum 6 6 4 5 3 1 Kevin van Veen, BS (2), L (0-3) 2 1 1 4 2 2 pitchers Onze Gezellen inn. SO BB H R ER Ronald Oosterwijk 6 (*) 3 1 11 4 3 Raymond Rutte, W (1-3) 3 4 1 - - - (*) - Oosterwijk pitched to three batters in the seventh inning Homeruns: UVV: Berend Ruben (1)(1st,3-run,off Oosterwijk); Onze Gezellen: Nils Mica (1)(4th,solo,off Van Ancum). Box Score Play-by-Play Standings Prom/Rel. Pool Final Standings Season Scores Schedule Team Rosters Umpires: HP-Efrem Silvania, 1B-Henri van Heijningen, 3B-André Ficken. Official Scorer-Brendy De Smet. Play-by-Play Scorer-Huub Nelissen. Public Address Announcer-Monique Dreijer. Scoreboard Operator-. Starting Time-2:00 PM. Time Played-2:33 hrs. Site-Van der Aart Sportpark, Haarlem. Game Notes: Weather conditions at game time: Cloudy, 17° C (62,6° F); wind direction south-southwest; wind speed 35 kmh (21,7 mph); wind force 5 Bft; humidity 71%.

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