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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar) HCAW wins rainy Urbanus Tournament Nederlands BUSSUM (Neth.) - HCAW has won the 41st edition of the annual In Memoriam Charles Urbanus, Sr. Tournament by winning the Final on Sunday (April 2) against Amsterdam Pirates with a 4-1 score. Curaçao Neptunus finished in third place after winning 9-5 against Twins Oosterhout. For HCAW, which also won the tournament last year, it was the eleventh time that it won the tournament to equal Neptunus. The tournament is annually organized by HCAW with the participation of the host-club and the three best teams of the previous season. Normally, the teams all face each other in the three-day event and a Final is not scheduled. The tournament-winner is the team with the best record. In case of a tie, there are tiebreakers included in the tournament-rules to come to a winner. However, the very unfavorable weather conditions disturb this years tournament. Due to (heavy) rain and an unplayable field, the scheduled games for Friday-evening (one) and Saturday (three) were cancelled. The organization then put together and alternative schedule for Sunday with games being played on the main-field as well as on Field #2. On what was a dry, but very cold day, HCAW played against Twins Oosterhout, while Amsterdam Pirates met Neptunus. These two games were labeled 'Semi-Finals', as the winners advanced to the Final to play for the tournament-win. The two losers met in the game for third and fourth place. The tournament was first organized in 1981 by Amsterdam-based Amstel Tijgers, who named the event after legendary coach Charles Urbanus (Sr.), who passed away in 1980. Urbanus, the brother of legendary pitcher Han Urbanus, never coached at Amstel Tijgers, but he has been a longtime coach of OVVO, as well as of the Netherlands Team. In 1976, the main-team of OVVO separated from the club and became Amstel Tijgers. Han Urbanus, the father of former player/coach Charles Urbanus (Jr.), then became one of the board-members of the new club. Amstel Tijgers organized the tournament on its site in 1981-1987, then Haarlem Nicols hosted the event in the Pim Mulier Stadium in 1988-1989. At the end of 1988, Amstel Tijgers merged with HCAW, which then also took over the tournament (as well as the scoreboard) and it the host since 1990. In 1989-1992, the team played under the name HCAW-Tijgers. Although many tournaments were cancelled in the past years because of the measures against the coronavirus-pandemic (COVID-19), remarkaly enough, the Urbanus Tournament was the lone one that was not cancelled. In 2020, the regular season was abbreviated and was preceeded with a short exhibition-season, which included the Urbanus Tournament. In 2021, the tournament was played again, but this time, the four participating teams all played a game at their home-site. That format was also used last year. But this year, for the first time since 2020, all games were played again at the Rob Hoffmann Valley, the home-site of HCAW in Bussum. As no complete schedule could be played this year, it was decided not to hand out individual awards. However, to come to a tournament-winner, a Final was scheduled. With today's games, the exhibition season ended for HCAW, Amsterdam Pirates, Neptunus and Twins Oosterhout. Coming Thursday-evening (April 6), the new season opens. HCAW and Pirates then will meet in a 3-game series, that begins on Thursday in Bussum. Neptunus opens at home against DSS/Kinheim. Twins Oosterhout is the first team to be off, as there are again nine teams in the highest league this year, meaning one team is off each round. (April 2)

HCAW vs. Twins Oosterhout (Semi-Final) In its first game today, HCAW initially trailed 2-1 against Twins Oosterhout when it rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. From that moment on, the Bussum-club turned the game around and won 8-3 to reach the Final. Although home-playing HCAW led halfway the ninth inning, the bottom half also was played. Twins opened the score in the top of the first inning off of HCAW-starter Lars Huijer, who saw the first four batters he faced all reach base. The righthander hit lead-off hitter Thijmen Peters with a pitch, then got the bases loaded when he walked Railison Bentura and gave up a single to Yurdion Martie. The latter was forced out at second base on a grounder by Luuk Bun, but that also enabled Peters to score. With runners at the corners, Huijer followed with a strikeout, then a grounder ended the at bat. He then retired the side in the second inning. HCAW came alongside in the second inning off of Raf Cocu. The first five HCAW-batters reached base, but only one of them scored (on an error) and there also was a very rare double play. Cocu walked lead-off hitter Shurman Marlin, then got the bases loaded when Kevin Dirksen and Quintin de Cuba both singled. Next batter Jair van Borkulo hit the ball into short rightfield, which would lead to two outs! After Van Borkulo made contact and the ball dropped, the other three runners came into motion. But De Cuba was forced out at second base, as rightfielder Luuk Visser got the ball in time to short stop Jerzy van Gool. In the meantime, Dirksen ran towards third base, while Marlin took off towards the plate. Van Gool then threw the ball to catcher Yurdion Martie, who tagged out Marlin (the force play had been lifted) to complete a double play. With Van Borkulo at first base and Dirksen at third base, the first stole second base. When that was followed by a throwing error, Dirksen scored the tying run. With first base now open, Bob van der Meer was walked intentionally, then the inning ended with a foul-fly. Twins immediately re-took the lead in the third inning off of new pitcher Nathan Diaby. This time, Thijmen Peters led off with a walk, came into scoring position when a pick-off went errant and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. With two outs, Peters scored on a single by Luuk Bun. In the next six at bats, Twins added only one more run. Now trailing 2-1, HCAW rallied for four runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, HCAW got the bases loaded off of Cocu when Dirksen and De Cuba singled and Van Borkulo walked. Cocu then followed with a strikeout, but with two outs, Max Draijer walked to bring in the tying run. Jan van den Hurk was then inserted as new pitcher and was greeted with a 2-run single by Brendly Martina, followed by a runscoring single by Delano Selassa, which put HCAW ahead, 5-2. HCAW added two runs in the fifth inning. Victor Draijer led off with a double and scored on a following single by Shurman Marlin, who went on to score on a single by Quintin de Cuba, who was 4-for-4. Another run was scored in the sixth. First, Brendly Martina led off with a double, but overran second base, came into a rundown and was eliminated. With one out, Delano Selassa and Jeandro Tromp hit back-to-back doubles, which led to a run. With an 8-2 lead for HCAW, Twins scored its third run with two outs in the top of the ninth off of closer Nick Keur. Luuk Visser led off with an infield-hit and advanced on a following throwing error. With one out, he moved to third base on a single by Terrence Garcia, who was the starting designated hitter, but also threw the final three innings for Twins. With two outs, Visser scored on a double by Thijmen Peters.

HCAW - Twins Oosterhout 8-3 (9 inn.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Twins Oosterhout 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 9 1 HCAW 0 1 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 - 8 13 2 pitchers Twins Oosterhout inn. SO BB H R ER Raf Cocu, L (1-1) 3.2 5 6 4 5 4 Jan van den Hurk 2.1 1 1 8 3 3 Terrence Garcia 3 1 1 1 - - pitchers HCAW inn. SO BB H R ER Lars Huijer 2 3 1 1- 1 1 Nathan Diaby, W (2-0) 2 2 1 1 1 - Arjen Nijkamp, H (1) 2 - - 2 - - Ruben Dekker 1 - - 2 - - Nick Keur 2 3 - 3 1 1 Umpires: HP-Richard Wessel, 1B-Mathijs Nijhof, 3B-Niek Elshof. Official Scorer-Sten Wessel. Public Address Announcer-Frank de Bruin. Scoreboard Operator-Nico van de Luitgaren. Starting Time-11:03 AM. Time Played-2:34 hrs. Site-Field #1, Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum. Game Notes: 'Semi-Final' 41st In Memoriam Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament 2023.

Amsterdam Pirates vs. Curaçao Neptunus (Semi-Final) Amsterdam Pirates collected only two basehits in its Semi-Final against Neptunus, but one of them was a homerun. Neptunus recorded five hits, also including a homerun. Pirates-starter Scott Prins dominated in the seven innings he was on the mound. The righthander retired the first sixteen batters he faced, including four strikeouts. Only four times, the ball was hit into the outfield. With one out in the top of the sixth inning, the Perfect Game of Prins ended when Neptunus-newcomer Enrique Hatma singled, but he stranded on first base. Curaçaon catcher Hatma was added recently to the Rotterdam-team. In the past five seasons, he played in Italy. Last year, Hatma played in Serie A for Padova and was the team's best hitter with a .308 average (40-for-130). Hatma also led the team in basehits (40), doubles (11), homeruns (5) and runs batted in (31). His 19 runs scored were second-best. In 2017, Hatma played for the Netherlands Under-18 Team during the Under-18 World Championship. With Amsterdam Pirates leading 2-0, Neptunus scored its lone run in the top of the seventh inning when Roger Bernadina led off with a homerun. Hereafter, Prins gave up a single to John Polonius, but then retired the next three batters. Polonius also was left behind on first base. Pirates faced former teammate Shairon Martis. In the bottom of the first inning, the righthander walked lead-off hitter Roelie Henrique, who moved to third base when Alex Madera followed with a single. Moments later, Henrique scored on a sacrifice fly by Denzel Richardson. With two outs, the inning ended when Madera was caught stealing. In the third inning, Pirates came into scoring position again without hitting a basehit. With one out, Jorrit Penseel and Roelie Henrique walked. When the latter was forced out on a grounder by Alex Madera, Penseel advanced, but then was left behind on third base. After the force play-grounder by Madera, Martis retired nine consecutive batters. But with two outs in the sixth inning, he gave up a homerun to Denzel Richardson, which gave Pirates a 2-0 lead. This also was only the second (and last) basehit in the game for Pirates, but that proved to be enough for the win. Pirates was retired in order in its final two at bats by Ryan Huntington, another newcomer in the Neptunus-team. As mentioned, when trailing 2-0, Neptunus scored what would be its lone run in the seventh when Bernadina homered. The team then got a scoring opportunity in the eighth inning off of Ben Meyer, who is a newcomer in the Pirates-squad. Sheadion Jamanika led off with a single and with one out, Rayshelon Carolina also singled. The two runners were awarded the next base when a balk was called, but they were left behind when two grounders followed. Meyer retired the side in the ninth to earn a save in a quick-paced 9-inning game that lasted only one hour and 49 minutes.

Amsterdam Pirates - Curaçao Neptunus 2-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Curaçao Neptunus 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 5 0 Amsterdam Pirates 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X - 2 2 0 pitchers Neptunus inn. SO BB H R ER Shairon Martis, L (0-1) 6 3 3 2 2 2 Ryan Huntington 6 3 - - - - pitchers Amsterdam Pirates inn. SO BB H R ER Scott Prins, W (3-1) 7 4 - 3 1 1 Ben Meyer, SV (1) 2 1 - 2 - - Homeruns: Neptunus: Roger Bernadina (1)(7th,solo,0 outs,off Prins); Pirates: Denzel Richardson (2)(6th,solo,2 outs,off Martis). Umpires: HP-Olav Steijger, 1B-Peter de Haan. Official Scorer-Linda Steijger. Public Address Announcer-None. Scoreboard Operator-None. Starting Time-11:01 AM. Time Played-1:49 hrs. Site-Field #2, Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum. Game Notes: 'Semi-Final' 41st In Memoriam Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament 2023.

Curaçao Neptunus vs. Twins Oosterhout (3rd/4th Place) In its second game today, Neptunus outscored Twins Oosterhout 9-5 to finish in third place. The team collected twelve basehits, but decided the game in the fifth inning. Dwayne Kemp reached base five times for Neptunus. Neptunus was kept scoreless in its first two at bats by Twins-starter Koen Postelmans. The team then scored three runs with one out in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Stijn van der Meer doubled and Roger Bernadina singled. Van der Meer scored on a single by John Polonius and when that was followed by an outfield-error, Neptunus got runners on second and third base. Hereafter, it was Dwayne Kemp who delivered a runscoring single, then the third run in the at bat was scored on a grounder by Arthur Bonevacia. In the top of the fifth inning, Twins narrowed the deficit to 3-2 off of starter Kevin Kelly. In the first four at bats, Twins got only one runner in scoring position. That was in the fourth when Luuk Bun hit a 2-out double, but then was left behind. But in the fifth, Belgian catcher Axel Poesmans led off for Twins with a double, but Kelly struckout the next batter. With one out, Onne van Gool singled and again, Kelly followed with a strikeout. The righthander then got the bases loaded when he walked Lucas Wols. Next batter Railison Bentura then delivered a 2-run single. Still with two runners on base, Kelly closed with another strikeout. In the bottom of the fifth, Neptunus decided the game by taking more distance with a 5-run rally. German pitcher Simon Gross, who had taken over the pitching in the previous inning, walked Stijn van der Meer and Roger Bernadina. Sheadion Jamanika, who ran for Bernadina, was then forced out on a grounder by John Poloniius. With runners at the corners, Dwayne Kemp singled in a run, then Arthur Bonevacia followed with a 2-run single. Hereafter, it was Junior Martina, who delivered the next single. Again with runners on first and third base, it was Christian Diaz, who produced the fourth consecutive single and that brought in the fourth run in the at bat. Gross followed with a strikeout, but then gave up an RBI-single to Rayshelon Carolina. The inning ended when the latter was picked off at first base, but Neptunus now led 8-2. The fifth run in the at bat was scored by Martina, who in January signed a contract with Windy City ThunderBolts of the professional independent Frontier League, which opens its season on May 11. Last year, Martina played in only two regular season-games for Neptunus, then also played for the team in the following Wild Card Series and the Holland Series. Until he has to leave for America, Martina will play for Neptunus in the regular season. However, Twins again managed to come back and this time, the deficit was narrowed to 8-5. In the top of the sixth, Aaron de Groot became the new Neptunus-pitcher, but he got the bases loaded. He walked Luuk Bun, then gave up a single to Luuk Visser. After a strikeout, De Groot got the bases loaded when Jerzy van Gool also singled. The righthander then struckout another batter, then gave up a 2-run single to Matthew Joossens. In the seventh, De Groot gave up a lead-off single to Railison Bentura, then walked Yurdion Martie and was relieved by Mike Groen. After the two runners had advanced on a grounder, Luuk Visser singled down the rightfield-line. Bentura scored and Martie also tried to score, but the latter was ruled out for running out of his lane. In the eighth inning, veteran Diegomar Markwell took the mound for Neptunus with an 8-5 lead. Markwell, who since last season is the Pitching Coach of Neptunus, retired the side (one strikeout) and earned a save. In the bottom of the eighth, Neptunus added an insurance run in what was the last at bat of the game, due to the tournament-rule playing time. That run was scored off Jairo Samboe, who last season played for Storks. The lefthander walked lead-off hitter Stijn van der Meer, then hit next batter Sheadion Jamanika with a pitch. The two runners advanced on a wild pitch, then Van der Meer scored on a single by pinch-hitter Enrique Hatma.

Curaçao Neptunus - Twins Oosterhout 9-5 (8 inn.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Twins Oosterhout 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 - 5 10 2 Curaçao Neptunus 0 0 3 0 5 0 0 1 - 9 12 0 pitchers Twins Oosterhout inn. SO BB H R ER Koen Postelmans, L (2-2) 3 2 - 6 3 2 Simon Gross 2 3 2 5 5 5 Jeffrey Levenstone 2 1 3 - - - Jairo Samboe 1 - 1 1 1 1 pitchers Neptunus inn. SO BB H R ER Kevin Kelly, W (1-0) 5 9 2 4 2 2 Aaron de Groot 1 (*) 3 2 4 3 3 Mike Groen 1 - - 2 - - Diegomar Markwell, SV (1) 1 1 - - - - (*) - De Groot pitched to two batters in the seventh inning Umpires: HP-Peter de Haan, 1B-Richard Wessel. Official Scorer-Sten Wessel. Public Address Announcer-None. Scoreboard Operator-None. Starting Time-2:16 PM. Time Played-2:37 hrs. Site-Field #2, Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum. Game Notes: Game for 3rd/4th place 41st In Memoriam Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament 2023.

HCAW vs. Amsterdam Pirates (Final) HCAW scored early in the first inning, then took more distance from the fifth inning on and went on to win 4-1 against Amsterdam Pirates to win the Final and thus the Urbanus Tournament. The Final was a game between the reigning Dutch champion and the preceeding champion. Last year, HCAW swept Neptunus in the best-of-seven Holland Series. In 2019 and 2021, Pirates defeated Neptunus in the Championship Series. In 2020, Pirates led 2-0 against Neptunus in the Holland Series, which then was abrupty halted due to new measures against the coronavirus (COVID-19). HCAW, which had ten batters in its batting order, collected eleven basehits off of four pitchers, who combined struckout only two batters. But the quartet also didn't issue a walk. HCAW opened the score in the first inning off of starter Nelmerson Angela with an unearned run. Lead-off hitter Brendly Martina reached on a throwing error, then Victor Draijer singled. A following bunt-attempt by Jeandro Tromp ended in a catch, but with two outs, Martina scored the first run on a single by Shurman Marlin. In the next three at bats, HCAW left a runner behind on second base twice. The team then added two runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Jair van Borkulo led off with a double and scored on a 2-out single by Brendly Martina, who then scored himself when next batter Victor Draijer also doubled. Hereafter, Finn Kragt took over the Pirates-pitching and got an inning-ending flyout. In the sixth, HCAW scored another run. Former Pirate Delano Selassa led off with a single. With one out, Selassa advanced from first to third base on a grounder and when that was followed by a throwing error, he scored. And that lifted the lead to 4-0. Amsterdam Pirates got only nine batters in the first three innings off of HCAW-starter Kaj Timmermans, who returned to the Bussum-club after last season when he pitched for Neptunus. The righthander retired the first six batters (two strikeouts), then gave up a lead-off single in the top of the third inning to newcomer J Rhet Montana, who was recently added to the Amsterdam-roster. Moments later, Montana was picked off at first base by Timmermans, who then retired the next two batters. With an 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth, Dennis Burgersdijk took over the HCAW-pitching. With that, Timmermans became the pitcher-of-record, as starting pitchers don't need to throw the required five complete innings in exhibition games. Today, pitchers again threw only a limited total of innings or threw on a pitch-count on what was the final day of the exhibition-season. Burgersdijk also threw three scoreless innings. He got only one runner in scoring position. With one out in the fourth, the righthander gave up a single to Alex Madera, who advanced on a grounder, but then was left behind. Jasper Elfrink threw the seventh inning for HCAW. The lefthander got the bases loaded, but gave up no runs. Elfink gave up a lead-off single to Denzel Richardson, who advanced on a wild pitch. With two outs, Elfrink walked pinch-hitters Jules Cremer (who is a former HCAW-player) and Jorrit Penseel. But with three runners on base, Elfrink closed with a strikeout. After having recorded only one basehit off of each of the first three pitchers, Pirates got two off of veteran closer Sedley Karel, who threw the eighth and ninth inning for HCAW. In the eighth, the righthander gave up a 2-out double to Alex Madera, who again stranded on second base. In the ninth, Karel gave up another double, which also accounted for the lone Amsterdam-run. With one out, Karel walked veteran player Kenny Berkenbosch, who then moved into scoring position via a wild pitch. Moments later, he scored on a double by Jules Cremer. He would then move to third base on a grounder, but a flyout would end the game.

HCAW - Amsterdam Pirates 4-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Amsterdam Pirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 5 2 HCAW 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 X - 4 11 0 pitchers Amsterdam Pirates inn. SO BB H R ER Nelmerson Angela, L (0-2) 4.2 2 - 8 3 2 Finn Kragt 1.1 - - 1 1 - Sven van de Sanden 1 - - 1 - - Yassir Lachkar 1 - - 1 - - pitchers HCAW inn. SO BB H R ER Kaj Timmermans, W (1-0) 3 3 - 1 - - Dennis Burgersdijk, H (1) 3 2 - 1 - - Jasper Elfrink 1 - 2 1 - - Sedley Karel 2 2 1 2 1 1 Umpires: HP-Niek Elshof, 1B-Olav Steijger, 3B-Mathijs Nijhof. Official Scorer-Rob Schuurman. Public Address Announcer-Han Monsees. Scoreboard Operator-Nico van de Luitgaren. Starting Time-2:19 PM. Time Played-2:21 hrs. Site-Field #1, Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum. Game Notes: HCAW wins the tournament for the eleventh time. Final 41st In Memoriam Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament 2023.

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