After a scoreless first inning, Hoofddorp Pioniers opened the score with two runs in the bottom of the second inning off of starter Twan Naessens.
It were the first of seventeen runs Pioniers scored in this game.
Joey Eeman and Nathan Berkel led off with back-to-back doubles, resulting in the first run of the evening.
Moments later, Berkel stole third base and when a throwing error followed, he was able to score the next run.
Naessens retired the next three batters, two of them with a strikeout.
Pioniers added three more runs in the third inning.
With one out, Mark Smit walked and Victor Draijer singled to extend his hitting streak to fourteen games.
Both scored when Max Draijer followed with a triple.
Next batter Joey Eeman singled to bring in another run and lift the lead to 5-0.
Twan Naessens then somewhat recovered and struckout the next batter, but he then gave up another basehit, this time a single to Raul Jacobs.
Eeman and Jacobs were left behind when Naessens retired Jorrit Penseel on a comeback-grounder.
Trailing 5-0, Storks came back in the top of the fourth inning and narrowed the deficit to 5-3 by scoring three runs on five basehits.
The team from The Hague also had reached base in the first three innings, including the bases loaded in the third.
The first inning of Storks ended with a double play.
With one out in the third, Storks got the bases loaded off of starter Lars Broersen.
Kelvin Knape then doubled and both Stephen Henson and Joel Hernandez walked.
The inning ended with an unassisted double play by first baseman Nathan Berkel on a hit by Brian Raap.
While the fourth inning also ended with a double play, Storks was more successful this time, as it rallied for three runs.
With one out, Ibrahin Redan singled, then Brian van der Vlist reached on a fielder's choice, which didn't result in an out.
Hereafter, four consecutive basehits followed.
First, Jurriaan Dijk delivered a runscoring single.
Next batter Jurian Hansen did the same and the bases got loaded when Kelvin Knape also singled.
Dijk then scored the third run in inning on a single by Stephen Henson, which kept the bases loaded.
While Pioniers-pitcher Lars Broersen was clearly in problems, he avoided giving up more runs and was supported with the third double play in four innings.
Joel Hernandez flied out to centerfielder Mark Smit, who got the ball in time to second baseman Raul Jacobs, where Knape was the second out in the inning-ending double play.
Pioniers answered with a 4-run rally in the bottom of the fourth.
The first of three consecutive innings in which the team scored four runs.
Bodhi de Vreede led off with a double and Daan Kuit followed with a single.
The first scored when Mark Smit also singled and the bases got loaded when Victor Draijer connected for his second single in the game.
The next run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Max Draijer and with two outs, Nathan Berkel delivered his second RBI-double.
The bases got loaded when Raul Jacobs walked and thereafter, Storks went to the bullpen.
Rik van Zwet took over from Twan Naessens to make his debut in the highest league.
The righthander walked the first batter he faced, Jorrit Penseel and that brought in the fourth run in this inning.
Three runners were left behind, as a force play-grounder followed, but Pioniers had lifted the lead to 9-3.
In the top of the fifth, Storks got the bases loaded off of new pitcher Sander Helmendach.
With one out, the righthander hit Luuk Visser with a pitch, then walked Ibrahin Redan and Brian van der Vlist.
With the bases loaded, another pitching change followed, as Angelo Wicklert took over.
His fifth pitch to next batter Jurriaan Dijk ended in the fourth inning-ending double play by the Pioniers-defense.
The four double plays Pioniers made tonight are the most the team made in one game since it turned five on July 1, 2018 against Twins Oosterhout.
Last season, Curaçao Neptunus was the lone team to turn four double plays in one game on April 25 against DSS.
Pioniers staged the next 4-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs.
Daan Kuit led off with a walk.
After Mark Smit flied out, rookie Rik van Zwet struckout the most successful batter this season, Victor Draijer.
But hereafter, he gave up a runscoring double to Max Draijer, walked Joey Eeman and gave up a 3-run homerun to Nathan Berkell, his third extra basehit in the game.
Van Zwet then walked Raul Jacobs and saw Jorrit Penseel reach on a fielder's choice, but they were left behind, as he closed with another strikeout.
Pioniers now led 13-3.
In the top of the sixth, Storks got the bases loaded again.
Jurrian Hansen led off with a double, then Angelo Wicklert struckout the next batter.
The righthander then got the bases loaded when he walked Stephen Henson and gave up a single to pinch-hitter Rubinet Koko.
Hereafter, Wicklert struckout the next two batters and with that, Storks was held scoreless again, despite getting the bases loaded with one out.
The third consecutive 4-run rally by Pioniers was staged in the bottom of the sixth to secure its 10-run difference lead for the mercy-rule.
With one out, Mark Smit and Victor Draijer hit back-to-back doubles to bring in the first run.
A single by Max Draijer gave Pioniers runners at the corners.
Both Draijers then scored on a pinch-hit triple by Reangelo Willems.
Hereafter, Rik van Zwet struckout Duco Nuijten, but he gave up another run when Raul Jacobs reached on a throwing error.
Pioniers got another baserunner when Van Zwet hit rookie Bram Stoovelaar with a pitch in his first big league-at bat.
But with runners on first and second base, Van Zwet closed by striking out Bodhi de Vreede.
Bram Stoovelaar had just entered the game in the top of the sixth as the new third baseman for Pioniers to make his debut in the highest league.
With that, another familiar name returned to the big league.
Bram Stoovelaar is the son of former big league- and National Team-catchers Ronald Stoovelaar and Judith van Erk.
He is the grandson of Coen Stoovelaar, the longtime Team Manager and Public Address Announcer of Amsterdam Pirates, who also is a former Umpire (including some games in the big league).
Bram Stoovelaar also is the nephew of Official Scorer (and Grand Slam-webmaster) Marco Stoovelaar and former big league-first baseman Peter van Erk.
And he is the cousin of DSS/Kinheim-first baseman Tino van Erk and former big league-pitcher Jean-Paul Gulinck.
Last Sunday, another familiar name was back in the big league when Duncan Beljaards played in his first big league-game for Pioniers.
He is the cousin of former big league-players Patrick Beljaards, Richard Beljaards and Denny Beljaards.
Through the years, there have been a lot of players in both baseball and softball whose father or mother (or brother or sister) also played in the highest league.
But Bram Stoovelaar is one of only a few players whose both parents played in the Dutch big league.
Through the years, there are at least two other baseball-players whose both parents played in the Dutch big league, Johnny Gregorius (son of Didi Gregorius and Sheritsa Stroop) and Dylan Farley (son of Brian Farley and Gonny Farley-Reijnen).
There are also only a few softball-players whose both parents played in the highest league, including current Tex Town Tigers-player Tess Remmers (daughter of Fred Remmers and Diana Remmers-Verhoef).
Almost surely, Bram Stoovelaar is the first big league-player whose parents not only both played in the highest league, but also both played for the Netherlands National Team in an official tournament.
In 2018 and 2019, there were two players in the team of Kinheim, who also belong to this category.
However, they didn't play in the highest league, as they then played for Kinheim in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off against respectively Storks and DSS.
These players are Jenk Lemmink (son of Hans Lemmink and Fredy van Offeren) and Mart Wedman (son of Don Wedman and Els Wedman-Koks).
There was another first in the bottom of the sixth, as Kestas Vilimas became the new catcher for Storks and also made his debut in the big league.
Vilimas was added to the roster a few days earlier and tonight, he became the first Lithuanian player in the highest Dutch league.
With Pioniers leading 17-3, Nick Loos threw the seventh inning.
He struckout the first two batters he faced, then gave up a double to Kestas Vilimas in his first big league-at bat.
Vilimas advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on a following single by Jurrian Hansen.
A comeback-grounder by Jurnest Virginie then ended the inning and the game.
As Pioniers-starter Lars Broersen didn't throw the required five complete innings tonight, the winning pitcher had to determined according to Rule 9.17 b.
And that made Angelo Wicklert the winning pitcher tonight.
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Hoofddorp Pioniers records huge victory in make-up game vs. Storks
HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Hoofddorp Pioniers recorded a huge 17-4 victory against Silicon Storks in a make-up game on Tuesday-evening (August 25).
Back then, at Pioniers, a player of its second team (which plays in the second highest league) had tested positive a few days earlier.
Luckily, only mild symptoms were reported, but as the player had been in contact with some players of the main-team and according to protocol-rules, Hoofddorp Pioniers decided to postpone both games for this weekend, out of precaution.
Also, both games of the second team against Twins Oosterhout 2 were cancelled.
Pioniers also cancelled some practice-sessions, as well as the opener against L&D Amsterdam Pirates the following Thursday.
The last game of the Pioniers vs. Storks series will be made up next Tuesday (September 1).
The Pioniers vs. Pirates game already was made up on Tuesday, August 18.
Rik van Zwet, Kestas Vilimas (both Storks) and Bram Stoovelaar (Hoofddorp Pioniers) all make their debut in the Dutch big league.