(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
  Hoofddorp Pioniers & Quick Amersfoort open exhibition season
Nederlands
  HOOFDDORP / AMERSFOORT (Neth.) -
The big league-teams of Hoofddorp Pioniers and Quick Amersfoort are the first two teams that came info action in this years exhibition season.
On Saturday (March 5), Bonn Capitals from Germany visited Hoofddorp and played two 7-inning games.
First, the team played against the main-squad of Pioniers in a game that ended with a 1-1 score.
Thereafter, Bonn faced the second team of Pioniers and won 3-2.
On Sunday (March 6), Pioniers played a 10-inning intersquad game against Omron Pioniers, the second team of the club that plays in the First Division.
Also on Sunday, Quick Amersfoort hosted Thamen, which plays in the Second Division, and won 6-0.
It was a sunny weekend, but it was only 7 degrees Celsius (44,6 Fahrenheit) with a chilly wind, Sunday more than on Saturday.
Despite the sometimes chilly conditions, the first games of the 2022 exhibition were played.
Hoofddorp Pioniers used three pitchers on Saturday in its game against Bonn Capitals.
Mathijs Oosterbeek started and threw three innings, then was followed on the mound by Yassir Lachkar and Koen van 't Klooster, who both threw two innings.
Jessica van der Schot was the umpire in this game.
She then also handled the umpiring duties in the next game of Capitals against the second team of Pioniers.
In the field, she was assisted by players who were 'off-duty'.
Bonn Capitals, which is led by Head Coach Max Schmitz, has a strong team this season.
Last year, the team captured the title in the 1.Bundesliga Nord, but then lost in the Championship Series against Heidenheim Heideköpfe, which finished in first place of the 1.Bundesliga Süd.
The team has several foreign players on its roster, including pitchers, Zach Dodson, Marcus Jensen and Joe Wittig (all USA), catcher Nick Miceli (USA), infielders Daniel Lamb-Hunt (New Zealand) and Daniel Sanchez Reyes (Spain) and outfielders Terrell Joyce (USA) and Wilson Lee (Australia).
In June, Bonn will host (and participate in) the European Champions Cup on its home-site.
Reigning champion L&D Amsterdam Pirates and Curaçao Neptunus will represent the Netherlands in Germany.
In the coming weeks, Bonn Capitals will play more games against Dutch teams.
Coming weekend, Hoofddorp Pioniers travels to Bonn, then HCAW hosts the Germans on its site in Bussum on March 19 and 20.
In the weekend on March 26 and 27, Bonn organizes a tournament with the participation of Curaçao Neptunus.
Bonn Capitals then opens the regular season in Germany on April 2.
In Sunday's 10-inning game, American Ben Meyer (who arrived on Saturday) started for Pioniers and threw the first three innings.
Last season, Meyer pitched for UVV in the second highest Dutch league.
Four more pitchers then threw in the following innings.
Nick Winkel took over from Meyer and threw the next two innings, then lefthander Lucca van der Schouw threw the sixth inning.
Hereafter, Nathan Diaby and newcomer (coming from Aruba) Tsaun Martina both threw two innings.
Lars Broersen, another pitcher on the Pioniers-roster, threw three innings in relief for the second team of Pioniers, which is led by Head Coach Ronald Stoovelaar.
Broersen took over from (former pro) Swen Huijer, who was the starter.
Sunday's game was more an intersquad-game than a real game, as all players were used, some of them playing different positions.
The game was meant for the players of both teams to face life pitching, make some contact and get back to the field again to prepare for the upcoming season.
The teams of Amsterdam Pirates and HCAW also staged a practice/intersquad-game session in the weekend.
On Saturday, HCAW played a 10-inning intersquad-game against its second team.
In that game, the pitchers and catchers of the main-squad played for the second team and vice versa.
The game ended with a 4-4 score.
Quick Amersfoort played a 9-inning game on Sunday against Thamen.
,,It was nice weather, but with a very cool breeze'', said Marlon Frolijk, who is Quick's new Head Coach this season.
Last year, Frolijk led the team of RCH-Pinguïns, which finished in second place in the First Division, but was the highest placed standard-team and therefore promoted to the big league.
After the season, Frolijk stepped down, then agreed to become the coach of Thamen for this season.
Shortly thereafter, he also accepted the position of Head Coach of Quick Amersfoort.
With that, both teams on Sunday were led by the same coach.
For Frolijk, coaching both teams will be possible.
Thamen plays its home-games in the evening on week-days.
During these games, Frolijk will coach the team.
When Thamen plays away in the weekend, the team will be led by Assistant Coach Eric Schouten, as Frolijk then will be with Quick.
This season, Thamen has several players on its roster with big league-experience, including Rossini Frolijk, Maickel Rietel and Lars Vogelaar.
In Sunday's game, Frolijk used six pitchers against Thamen.
Jan-Willem Geerts started and threw the first two innings, as did next pitcher Jhan Rifaela.
Hereafter, Stijn Bruins Slot, Jack Wagner, Kevin Schnorbach and Jasper Popken threw in the remainder of the game.
Wagner and Schnorbach are newcomers in the team of Quick.
Wagner tranfered to Quick from HCAW after last season.
21-year old Schnorbach comes from Germany, where he pitched for Mainz Athletics.
Two other newcomers made a fine impression in their first outing for Quick.
Veteran player Irving Redan (who played for Wassenaar last year) delivered a nice basehit, while Alex Madera played solid as short stop.
Madera comes from Curaçao and had played in the baseball-team of the University of Central Missouri in the USA.
Coming weekend, more exhibition games are scheduled.
Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam Pirates meets HCAW (Saturday in Bussum, Sunday in Amsterdam), Curaçao Neptunus plays against Neptunus Tridents on Sunday, Twins Oosterhout plays twice against Hoboken Pioneers from Belgium (Saturday at home, Sunday in Belgium), Hoofddorp Pioniers plays two games in Bonn (Germany) on Saturday and DSS/Kinheim faces its second team on Sunday.
(March 6)
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