(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Starting Pitchers coming series
Nederlands
 AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
On Thursday-evening (April 20), the third 3-game series of the 2023 season in the Dutch big league gets underway.
By the way, the fourth series opens on Wednesday, April 26, instead of Thursday, as April 27 is King's Day.
On that day, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander is celebrated and no games are scheduled then.
In the past two series of the new season, there have been seven sweeps.
And that's something that has happened never before since the introduction of 3-game series in 2011.
The most sweeps in the first two series of a season was five, which was acccomplished in 2011 and 2013.
The only other season that began with four 3-game sweeps in the Opening Series was in 2014.
The eighth sweep was prevented on Tuesday-evening when UVV won 8-5 in a make-up game against RCH-Pinguïns, which had won the first two games.
In the upcoming series, UVV has no games scheduled.
Last weekend, reigning champion HCAW was the team that was off.
However, some of its players, including starting pitcher Dennis Burgersdijk, closer Nick Keur and infielder Delando Selassa played with HCAW's second team against Sparks Haarlem in the First Division.
On Saturday, Burgersdijk was the starting and losing pitcher in a 5-0 win for Sparks Haarlem.
In the upcoming series, HCAW meets Quick Amersfoort, which swept UVV last weekend after lost its first three games themselves.
By winning last Tuesday, UVV ended a 5-game losing streak.
Curaçao Neptunus is the only team at the moment that has won six games.
In the coming series, the team will play against Hoofddorp Pioniers.
HCAW and Twins Oosterhout are also unbeaten (3-0).
Twins Oosterhout, which had the first weekend off, swept Hoofddorp Pioniers last weekend.
The team now will meet Amsterdam Pirates in the coming 3-game series.
Pirates was swept by HCAW in the Opening Series, but then won the next three games against DSS/Kinheim.
The lone team without a win at the moment is DSS/Kinheim, which was swept by Neptunus and Amsterdam Pirates in its first two series.
In the coming series, the Haarlem-team meets RCH-Pinguïns.
Six of the eight teams go with the same rotation as in the previous two series, except HCAW and DSS/Kinheim.
In the Opening Series, Lars Huijer, Kaj Timmermans and Dennis Burgersdijk were the starters for HCAW, which order changed due to the rainout of the opener.
In the upcoming series, Timmermans is not in the rotation.
Huijer and Burgersdijk will start in Game 1 and 2, then Nathan Diaby gets the ball in Game 3 on Sunday.
DSS/Kinheim named a new starter for the third game of its series.
In the previous two series, that was Donny Breek, in the coming series it will be Rick Rizvić.
Beneath are the announced starting pitchers for the upcoming 3-game series that opens on Thursday-evening, April 20.
As always, these assignments can change on game-days.
(April 19)
Rosters
Live play-by-play & live-streams
| Roster | HCAW (3-0) | vs. |
QUICK AMERSFOORT (3-3) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers HCAW | G | # | Starting Pitchers Quick |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 39 | RHP Lars Huijer (1-0) | 1 | 15 | RHP Jack Wagner (1-0) | Th. April 20, 7:30 PM, Bussum (1) |
| 7 | RHP Dennis Burgersdijk (1-0) | 2 | 52 | LHP Jhan Rifaela (1-0) | Sa. April 22, 2:00 PM, Amersfoort (2) |
| 6 | RHP Nathan Diaby (0-0) | 3 | 25 | LHP Brian van Laar (0-1) | Su. April 23, 2:00 PM, Bussum (1) |
| (1) - Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum; (2) - XL Lease Park 'Dorrestein', Amersfoort |
| Roster | TWINS OOSTERHOUT (3-0) | vs. |
AMSTERDAM PIRATES (3-3) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Twins | G | # | Starting Pitchers Pirates |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 8 | RHP Koen Postelmans (0-0) | 1 | 34 | RHP Sven van de Sanden (1-1) | Th. April 20, 7:30 PM, Oosterhout (3) |
| 49 | RHP Raf Cocu (1-0) | 2 | 32 | RHP Scott Prins (1-1) | Sa. April 22, 2:00 PM, Amsterdam (4) |
| 6 | RHP Simon Gross (0-0) | 3 | 54 | LHP Nelmerson Angela (0-1) | Su. April 23, 2:30 PM, Oosterhout (3) |
| (3) - Sportpark 'De Slotbosse Toren', Oosterhout; (4) - Loek Loevendie Ballpark, Sportpark 'Ookmeer', Amsterdam |
| Roster | CURAÇAO NEPTUNUS (6-0) | vs. |
HOOFDDORP PIONIERS (3-3) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Neptunus | G | # | Starting Pitchers Pioniers |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 37 | RHP Tom de Blok (1-0) | 1 | 18 | RHP Sem Lauf (0-0) | Th. April 20, 7:30 PM, Rotterdam (5) |
| 39 | RHP Shairon Martis (2-0) | 2 | 27 | LHP Maarten Smit (0-0) | Sa. April 22, 2:00 PM, Hoofddorp (6) |
| 33 | RHP Kevin Kelly (2-0) | 3 | 22 | RHP Just van den Ouweelen (0-0) | Su. April 23, 2:00 PM, Rotterdam (5) |
| (5) - Neptunus Familiestadion, Sportpark Abraham van Stolkweg, Rotterdam; (2) - ETO Ballpark, Sportpark Hoofddorp Pioniers, Park21, Hoofddorp |
| Roster | RCH-PINGUÏNS (2-4) | vs. |
DSS/KINHEIM (0-6) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers RCH-Pinguïns | G | # | Starting Pitchers DSS/Kinheim |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 29 | RHP T'sean Martina (0-1) | 1 | 3 | RHP Martijn Schoonderwoerd (0-2) | Th. April 20, 7:30 PM, Heemstede (7) |
| 17 | RHP Juan Carlos Sulbaran (1-1) | 2 | 27 | RHP Nick Boxelaar (0-2) | Sa. April 22, 2:00 PM, Haarlem (8) |
| 5 | RHP Jeremy Young (1-1) | 3 | 17 | LHP Rick Rizvić (0-0) | Su. April 23, 2:00 PM, Heemstede (7) |
| (7) - Heemsteedse Sportparken, Heemstede; (8) - Pim Mulier Stadion, Pim Mulier Sportpark, Haarlem |
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