(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
  Loek van Mil returns to mound in Australia for Brisbane
Nederlands
 GEELONG, Victoria (Australia) -
Dutch pitcher Loek van Mil has made his comeback on the mound in the Australian Baseball League.
In the final series of the regular season, the 34-year old Van Mil pitched on Thursday (January 17) and Saturday (January 19) for Brisbane Bandits against Geelong-Korea.
...Loek van Mil is back in action...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
After having played for Adelaide Bite in the previous three seasons, Van Mil this season was on the roster of reigning champion Brisbane.
In the first weeks of the season, Van Mil pitched in five games and threw six innings.
He was 1-0 and earned three saves.
But then, the news came that on December 8, Van Mil was hospitalized in critical condition.
It was then reported that he had ''serious head injuries he sustained in an accident unrelated to baseball''.
While playing with Brisbane in Canberra for a 4-game series against Canberra Cavalry.
On December 11, it was reported that Van Mil was taken off the critical list by the doctors and it was then confirmed that a bleeding of his brain had stopped and that surgery was not required.
It was reported by local newspapers that Van Mil sustained his injuries while hiking, hitting his head on a rock, which resulted in a brain haemorrhage.
The Brisbane Times reported that ''Van Mil reportedly had been unconscious for 24 hours before being discovered by a bushwalker on the outskirts of the capital''.
Luckily, in following days, the condition of Van Mil improved.
After having left the hospital, it was reported in the past few weeks that Van Mil had returned to his team and had started doing some practices again.
Last Thursday, Van Mil was back in action on the mound.
With Brisbane leading 21-2 halfway the eighth against and at Geelong-Korea, Van Mil took the mound.
In the bottom of the eighth, the righthander gave up an one-out single, but followed with a strikeout.
He then gave up another single, but a grounder ended the lone inning he pitched.
Brisbane won with a 21-5 score.
On Saturday, Van Mil pitched another scoreless inning against the Korean squad.
This time, he closed the game and threw the ninth inning with a 9-2 lead.
He gave up a lead-off single, but then was supported with a double play.
Another single and an error then led to two baserunners, but again, a grounder led to the final out.
As Brisbane has qualified again for the Play-Offs, Van Mil will be a welcome addition to its bullpen.
(January 20)
Related Articles:
 Loek van Mil stable, recovering in Australian hospital. (December 11, 2018)
Loek van Mil hospitalized is critical condition in Australia. (December 10, 2018)
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