Chris Pfau, the starting pitcher of Hoofddorp Pioniers, had another fine outing.
The lefthander struckout twelve batters and gave up only five basehits in 6 1/3 inning.
But again, he ended up empty-handed, as the game was turned around after he had left the mound.
Pioniers opened the score with two runs in the top of the first inning off of starting pitcher Twan Naessens.
The righthander gave up a lead-off single to Mark Smit, but the next two batters flied out.
Hereafter, Victor Draijer hit a hard grounder towards third baseman Kelvin Knape, which ended in a bad-hop infield-hit.
Knape was hit in his face by the ball and had to leave the game.
Second baseman Jurian Hansen took over at third base, while Knape was replaced by Jason Netten, who not only became the new second baseman for Storks, but also made his big league-debut.
When the game resumed, Naessens got the bases loaded when he walked Tyler Boersma.
Joey Eeman followed with a 2-run single to give Pioniers an early lead.
In the next three innings, Pioniers got only two baserunners off of Naessens, who retired nine consecutive batters.
Storks got two runners in the first inning.
Chris Pfau hit Jurian Hansen with a pitch with one out, then gave up a 2-out single to Sergio Schoop.
Pfau closed with a strikeout and retired seven batters in a row.
In the fourth, the lefthander gave up the first run of Storks.
Luuk Visser led off with a single and moved on a wild pitch.
Pfau struckout the next batter, but then hit Rubinet Koko with a pitch.
After another strikeout, the bases got loaded when Pim Vijfwinkel walked.
Joost van den Bergh followed with an RBI-single, but Pfau closed with his seventh strikeout.
And with that, three runners were left behind.
In the next two innings, Pfau retired the side and added four more strikeouts.
In the fifth inning, Pioniers came to close to another run.
With two outs, Nathan Berkel and Max Draijer singled.
Hereafter, Victor Draijer also singled.
Berkel tried to score, but was eliminated at the plate on a thrown by leftfielder Luuk Visser.
And that ended the at bat.
In the top of the seventh inning, Pioniers took some more distance by scoring three unearned runs with two outs.
With one out, Mark Smit walked, which led to a pitching change.
Diornick Sanchez took over, but the bases loaded quickly when he hit both (pinch-hitter) Reangelo Willems and Max Draijer with a pitch.
After a foul-out, an error on a force play-grounder by Tyler Boersma gave Pioniers a run.
A walk for Joey Eeman accounted for the next run.
And when Sanchez hit his third batter in this inning, Nolan Beugeling, another run was scored.
That lifted the lead to 5-1 and kept the bases loaded.
A foul-fly ended the at bat and three runners were left behind.
However, the 5-1 lead was not so comfortable, as Storks answered with a 5-run rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Due to an error, three runs were unearned.
Pim Vijfwinkel and Joost van den Bergh opened the at bat with singles, then the bases got loaded when Jason Netten was hit by a pitch.
Chris Pfau then struckout his twelfth batter, but then the game started to turn around.
An error on a force play-grounder by Jurian Hansen produced a run for Storks, as did a hit batter for Luuk Visser.
With the bases still loaded, Nathan Diaby replaced Pfau.
He got a force play-grounder from Sergio Schoop.
Visser was eliminated, but Netten scored to narrow the deficit to only 5-4.
Moments later, Schoop stole second base, then Storks took the lead when pinch-hitter Joel Hernandez delivered a 2-run double.
Due to the transfer-rule in the scoring-rules, the run scored by Schoop was credited to Pfau, who therefore became the losing pitcher.
Diaby closed with a strikeout, but Storks now led 6-5.
Pioniers got a chance to re-take the lead in the top of the eighth, as it got the bases loaded.
With one out, Mark Smit singled, then John Michael Halley took over the pitching for Storks.
He was greeted with a single by Reangelo Willems, but followed with a strikeout.
After Smit and Willems had advanced on a wild pitch, a force play was created by walking Victor Draijer intentionally.
The three runners were left behind, as Halley closed with another strikeout.
In the ninth, Pioniers got another runner in scoring position.
Joey Eeman led off with a walk and moved on a sacrifice bunt by Nolan Beugeling, but became the thirteenth Pioniers-runner that was left behind.
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Storks rallies to victory in 7th inning vs. Hoofddorp Pioniers
HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Silicon Storks trailed 5-1 halfway the seventh inning, but then rallied for five runs to win 6-5 in the series-opener against Hoofddorp Pioniers on Thursday-evening (August 6).
Storks was outhit 9-7.
The team recorded three of its seven basehits in the productive seventh at bat that turned the game its way.
Joost van den Bergh accounted for three hits for the team from The Hague.
Game played at the site of DSS/Kinheim in Haarlem, as the home-site of Storks in The Hague has no light-installation and its back-up home-site of Neptunus in Rotterdam was not available due to the game played there between Twins Oosterhout and Curaçao Neptunus.