While it had been mostly cloudy throughout the day, the game went underway under a clear sky, but it was cool from the beginning.
There were strong winds, which blew into the third base dug-out, making it even cooler.
As the temperatures dropped, there also was some drizzling rain in the fourth and seventh inning, making it an unpleasant evening to be at the field.
Shortly after the game ended in the seventh inning, it started to rain heavier, which was expected.
The team of Twins was not complete tonight, which underscored that this was a game just for-the-record.
There were only some eleven or twelve players and due to some late arrivals, the starting line-up was handed in shortly before the game started.
Twins played without a designated hitter, meaning its pitchers had to bat for themselves.
DSS was led again tonight by Acting Head Coach Nick Stuifbergen, who filled in the last two weeks for Jerry Breek.
The latter arrived home earlier today from Canada, where he attended the World Under-18 Championship, as his son Donny Breek (one of the DSS-starters) was a member of the Netherlands Under-18 Team.
Breek was at the field tonight, but Stuifbergen still handled the game.
Tom Stuifbergen made his first start of the season for DSS and had his longest outing.
The righthander began the season with an injury and made only one appearance during the regular season.
Tonight, he pitched in his third game in the Promotion/Relegation Pool and threw three fine innings.
Stuifbergen struckout five batters and gave up four hits, but his team trailed 2-1 when he left the mound.
Jan Evertse had a good start for Twins.
The rookie, who got stronger and better throughout the season, also struckout five batters in the five innings he pitched.
But he was left in the game one inning too long.
...Odion Gouverneur...
...3 hits, double, 3 RBI's, 2 runs...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
DSS opened the score in the first inning when Omar Williams homered with two outs.
In the second inning, Jan Evertse began with two strikeouts.
He then gave up a single to Mitchel Dautzenberg and hit Levine Gabriëls with a pitch, but closed with another strikeout.
In the third, Evertse also hit Odion Gouverneur with a pitch.
He stole second base, but the righthander again closed with a strikeout.
In the meantime, Twins had taken a 2-1 lead off of Tom Stuifbergen.
The righthander retired the side in the first inning (two strikeouts), but then gave up the tying run in a rare situation in the second at bat.
Melvin Perdue led off for Twins with a single and moved on a wild pitch.
With one out, Mick Molenaar also singled, which gave Twins runners on first and third base.
Hereafter, Tair Vrutaal hit the ball into short centerfield for what appeared to become a sacrifice fly.
Instead, centerfielder Odion Gouverneur dropped the ball for the first error in this situation.
When nothing more should have happened, this would have become a sacrifice fly-error.
However, the situation continued.
Molenaar, the runner at first base, was not halfway during this catch-attempt and had to speed up towards second base when the ball was dropped.
Gouverneur picked up the ball in time and threw it to short stop Mitchel Dautzenberg, who then also dropped the ball (which was the second error), while Molenaar had not reached second base yet.
Pitcher Tom Stuifbergen, who covered the play, picked up the ball and eliminated Molenaar, before he reached second base.
In the meantime, Perdue had scored from third base.
Both errors were erased, as Molenaar was forced out on second base (8-6-1), meaning Vrutaal reached first base on a fielder's choice and was credited with a run batted in as Perdue scored.
In the top of the third inning, Twins took a 2-1 lead.
Jan Evertse led off with his first at bat of the season.
He made good contact on the second delivery of Stuifbergen and drove the ball into deep leftfield.
It appeared to have homerun-distance, but the ball ended up just in front of the fence for a double!
Moments later, Evertse scored on a triple down the rightfield-line by next batter Bob van der Meer, who later stranded on third base.
After DSS left a runner behind in scoring position in its third at bat, Twins failed to take some more distance in the top of the fourth off of new pitcher Tim Halderman.
Nick Peels led off with a single and moved on a wild pitch.
Mick Molenaar then walked and while Halderman struckout the next batter, Peels advanced on a passed ball.
After Molenaar had stole second base, the righthander walked rookie Dave Janssen to load the bases.
That brought Jan Evertse into the batter's box for his second at bat.
This time, he struckout and the three runners stranded when a grounder ended the inning.
...Tino van Erk...
...walk-off, 2-run double...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
As a pitcher, Evertse had thrown three fine innings, but then ran into problems in the bottom of the fourth.
Instead of bringing in a reliever, Evertse was left in and DSS turned the game around.
He walked lead-off hitter Djewi Appelman, hit Sven van de Sanden with a pitch and got the bases loaded when he also walked Mitchel Dautzenberg.
A sacrifice fly by Levine Gabriëls then brought in the tying run.
Evertse followed with a strikeout, but then gave up back-to-back runscoring doubles to Kevin Nieveld (two runs) and Odion Gouverneur (one run) that gave DSS a 5-2 lead.
Evertse returned to the mound in the fifth, recovered and threw another solid inning, despite giving up two more basehits.
Twins was unable to add more runs in the remainder of the game.
In the fifth, lead-off hitter Bram Grooten reached on an error, but later stranded on third base when pitcher Tim Halderman caught a line drive and turned it into an inning-ending double play.
Halderman retired the side in the sixth, which began with a nice fielding play from short stop Mitchel Dautzenberg.
In the seventh, the team left runners behind on first and second base.
DSS added three runs in the bottom of the sixth off of new pitcher Daisuke Yamashita.
With one out, the Japanese righthander gave up a single to Odion Gouverneur.
With two outs, he got the bases loaded when he walked Tino van Erk and Djewi Appelman.
The three runners all scored when rookie Daniel Heiligers followed with a baseclearing double.
In the seventh inning, DSS reached the 10-run difference.
With one out, rookie Barry Beugeling reached on an infield-hit, then moved to third base when an error was made on a force play-grounder by Kevin Nieveld.
The two runners scored on a following single by Odion Gouverneur and a walk for Omar Williams accounted for the next baserunner.
The game ended when Tino van Erk drove the ball into left-centerfield for a walk-off double that made it a 12-2 score.
|
DSS wins big in first loss Twins
HAARLEM (Neth.) -
DSS briefly trailed, but recorded a big 12-2 mercy-rule victory in a make-up game on Tuesday-evening (September 12) against De Glaskoning Twins.
With the win, DSS handed Twins its first loss in the Promotion/Relegation Pool.
Last Sunday, it was DSS that suffered its first loss, losing 9-3 to Twins.
Tonight's game was initially scheduled for last Saturday, but then was canceled due to field-conditions after heavy rain.
Nick Stuifbergen Acting Head Coach of DSS, filling in for Head Coach Jerry Breek.