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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar) Storks wins and promotes; Returns to big league after 38 years Nederlands THE HAGUE (Neth.) - With a 5-2 victory on home soil, Storks won against Onze Gezellen on Sunday (September 17) to become the final team to reach the top-4 of the Promotion/Relegation Pool. The first game between the two teams rained out on Saturday and will be made up on Tuesday-evening in Haarlem. Onze Gezellen still had a theoretical chance to finish in the top-4. To do so, it had to win twice against Storks. It then would have end up in a tie with Storks when Pickles UVV would have lost against DSS. Another scenario was that a 3-way tie would have been created in case OG won twice and UVV won its game, resulting in a tie between OG, Storks and UVV. Tiebreaker-games then would have decided the final ranking. However, with the loss, Onze Gezellen was eliminated. Also because of the win by Storks, UVV relegated from the big league. Next season, Storks will play at the highest level again after 38 years! Storks last played in the Dutch big league in 1979 after having promoted the year before. The stay was short, as it relegated after only one season, winning nine of its 36 games. In that year, Amstel Tijgers won the Dutch championship-title, while Sparta also relegated, but the Rotterdam-based team returned to the big league some years later. Earlier, Storks had relegated from the highest division in 1975, which also happened after an one-year stay after having promoted in the previous year. In 1973, Storks also had relegated, which then ended a longer and more successful stay in the big league that began halfway the sixties. In these years, several wellknown players (including Netherlands Team-players) played for Storks, including (in alphabetical order) Roy Blijden, Ton Bodaan, Rudi Dom, Roy van den Dungen Gronovius, Lou Halkema, Ton de Jager, Fokke Jelsma, Hudson John, Roy Mulder, Win Remmerswaal, Herbert Ramlal, Ron Renooy and Frank van Rest. Today, Storks broke an 1-1 tie in the fifth inning by scoring three runs. The team collected 13 basehits. All nine starting players hit at least one. Quinlan de Windt, Boudewijn van Elswijk (two doubles), Niels Weis and Philip Brandl all had two hits. Milan Lammerts homered for Onze Gezellen, which had five hits off of two pitchers. (September 17) Complete schedule

Before the game, Onze Gezellen knew it had only a slim chance to force a tiebreaker-game, as it not only had to win today, but also the make-up game coming Tuesday. ,,But we will do our best and want to make make it our opponent difficult. You never know what can happen and we might surprise. And when we have a chance, we will surely take it'', Onze Gezellen's Head Coach Leo Naaktgeboren stated before the game. Coming Tuesday will be Naaktgeboren's final game as Head Coach, as he already announced earlier that he would retire after the season. Naaktgeboren will be succeeded by Frank Koot, who is his Assistant Coach. Onze Gezellen took an 1-0 lead in the first inning off of starting pitcher Jurrian Koks and it could have been a 2-0 score. Martijn van Diemen led off with a single, but he was picked off first base moments later by catcher Jurriaan van Dijk. Moments later, Milan Lammerts homered to put OG ahead. With two outs, Tom Vreeken singled, but Koks then closed with a strikeout. The righthander would strikeout eight batters. Storks left a runner behind on second base in its first at bat, but then came alongside in the second inning. With two outs, Philip Brandl doubled off of starter Tim van Leuven, moved on an infield-hit by Giovanny Perez, then scored on a single by Tijani Dunlop. But hereafter, two runners stranded on second and third base. In the fourth inning, Storks again left a runner behind on second base, but then rallied for three runs in the fifth to break the 1-1 tie and turn the game its way. Quinlan de Windt led off with a bunt-single, then Jurriaan van Dijk walked. Both scored when Boudewijn van Elswijk followed with a 2-run double. With one out, Niels Weis delivered a runscoring single to make it a 4-1 score. The inning ended when Gino Gil lined into a double play. Onze Gezellen cut the deficit in half in the top of the sixth inning, scoring an unearned run. With one out, Milan Lammerts walked and Hugo Koehorst singled. The latter was forced out on a grounder by Tom Vreeken, but in an attempt to complete a double play, a throwing error followed, enabling Lammerts to score. In the bottom of the sixth, Storks got close to adding a run off of new pitcher Rob Dreijer. Philip Brandl, who currently is the leading hitter for Storks, led off with a single, moved on a sacrifice bunt and a grounder, but stranded on third base. The home team then did add an insurance run in the seventh. With one out, Boudewijn van Elswijk hit his second double in the game and went on to score on a 2-out single by Niels Weis to make it a 5-2 score. With one out in the top of the eighth inning, Martin Kram took over the pitching for Storks and struckout the next two batters. In the ninth, he walked Jelle Kroft with two outs, but a grounder then ended the game. And that started the celebrations, as Storks promoted and will return into the highest division next season after a 38-year absence.

Storks - Onze Gezellen 5-2 R H E Onze Gezellen 100 001 000 - 2 5 0 Storks 010 030 10X - 5 13 1 pitchers Onze Gezellen inn. SO BB H R ER Tim van Leuven, L (0-4) 5 1 1 9 4 4 Rob Dreijer 2 - - 4 1 1 Jelle Kroft 1 - - - - - pitchers Storks inn. SO BB H R ER Jurrian Koks, W (2-2) 7.1 8 1 5 2 1 Martin Kram, SV (1) 1.2 2 1 - - - Homerun: Onze Gezellen: Milan Lammerts (1)(1st,solo,off Koks). Box Score Play-by-Play Standings Prom/Rel. Pool Final Standings Season Scores Schedule Team Rosters Umpires: HP-Peter de Haan, 1B-Roy van de Wateringen. Official Scorer-Francis Speters. Play-by-Play Scorer-Norbert van Oosterhout. Public Address Announcer-. Scoreboard Operator-. Starting Time-2:30 PM. Time Played-2:10 hrs. Site-Sportpark 'Kijkduin', Den Haag. Game Notes: Storks promotes to the big league; Onze Gezellen eliminated. Weather conditions at game time: Partly cloudy, 15,9° C (60,6° F); wind direction west; wind speed 13 kmh (8,1 mph); wind force 3 Bft; humidity 69%.

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