(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Starting Pitchers coming series
Nederlands
 AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
On Thursday-evening (June 1), the first games of the ninth and final 3-game series of the first half of the 2023 season in the Dutch big league are scheduled.
Last Saturday, Amsterdam Pirates became the third team to secure a spot in the Top-4 Pool.
On that day, the team trailed 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but won 3-2 after three basesloaded walks.
With this win, combined with the loss by Twins Oosterhout, Pirates reached the Top-4.
At that moment, theoretically, a tie was possible with either Twins or RCH-Pinguïns but only one of these teams also would continue, meaning Pirates would always advance, even in case of a loss on Sunday.
That situation was created because Twins and RCH will meet each other in the coming series.
Earlier, Curaçao Neptunus and reigning champion HCAW qualified for the Top-4 Pool.
Coming weekend, Twins Oosterhout and RCH Memorie Sieraden will face each other in the final 3-game series.
And one of these teams will become the fourth team in the Top-4 Pool.
That this will be a crucial series is underscored by the announcements of the starting pitchers.
Twins only named a probable starter for the opener on Thursday, RCH-Pinguïns has not yet decided who will be their starters.
HCAW and Amsterdam Pirates will play their games in the upcoming series on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
That has to do with their participation in the European Cup Winners-tournament.
That event opens coming Tuesday and games will be played in both Bussum and Amsterdam.
With that, looking ahead to this tournament, both HCAW and Pirates might adjust their rotation for the upcoming series, bring in relievers earlier in the game or put their starters on pitch-counts.
Pirates has named three probable starters, but they are not confirmed yet and the coaching might change its rotation in the upcoming days.
Schedule European Champions Cup
The first half of the season ends coming Sunday, June 4.
In the first half, all teams play 24 games, one 3-game series against each other.
The four best teams then will continue in the Top-4 Pool, while the other teams form the Bottom-5 Pool.
In pevious seasons when teams were split, the champion always came from the Top Pool (or Championship Pool).
But that's no longer the case.
Last year, a new format was introduced and teams that play in the Bottom Pool still have a chance to become the Dutch champion.
However, to do so, they have to finish in first or second place in their Pool to advance to the Wild Card Bottom Series.
When successful, a team can then advance to the Play-Offs and the Holland Series.
The first games in the Bottom-5 Pool are played Thursday, June 8.
Because of the European Champions Cup, there are no games scheduled in the Top-4 Pool, which opens a week later, on Thursday, June 15.
The final ranking of the first half also will be important for the Holland Series.
The team that finishes highest will have home-advantage in the best-of-seven Championship Series.
Either Neptunus or HCAW will finish in first place.
Beneath are the announced starting pitchers for the upcoming 3-game series that opens on Thursday-evening, June 1.
As always, these assignments can change on game-days.
(May 31)
Rosters
Live play-by-play & live-streams
| Roster | UVV (3-17-1) | vs. |
HCAW (18-3) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers UVV | G | # | Starting Pitchers HCAW |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 27 | RHP Sam van der Meer (0-3) | 1 | 39 | RHP Lars Huijer (6-0) | Th. June 1, 7:30 PM, Vleuten (1) |
| 13 | RHP Jurjen van Zijl (2-3) | 2 | 16 | RHP Kaj Timmermans (3-0) | Fr. June 2, 7:30 PM, Bussum (2) |
| | to be decided | 3 | 7 | RHP Dennis Burgersdijk (6-0) | Sa. June 3, 2:00 PM, Vleuten (1) |
| (1) - Sportpark 'De Paperclip', Vleuten; (2) - Rob Hoffmann Vallei Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum |
| Roster | AMSTERDAM PIRATES (14-6-1) | vs. |
CURAÇAO NEPTUNUS (19-1-1) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Pirates | G | # | Starting Pitchers Neptunus |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 66 | RHP Naut Kragt (0-0) (*) | 1 | 37 | RHP Tom de Blok (4-0) | Th. June 1, 7:30 PM, Amsterdam (3) |
| 54 | LHP Nelmerson Angela (2-2) (*) | 2 | 39 | RHP Shairon Martis (4-0) | Fr. June 2, 7:30 PM, Rotterdam (4) |
| 41 | RHP Daniel Vos (0-0) (*) | 3 | 33 | RHP Kevin Kelly (6-1) | Sa. June 3, 2:00 PM, Amsterdam (3) |
| (*) - starting pitchers not yet confirmed, this might change on game-days |
| (3) - Loek Loevendie Ballpark, Sportpark 'Ookmeer', Amsterdam; (4) - Neptunus Familiestadion, Sportpark Abraham van Stolkweg, Rotterdam |
| Roster | TWINS OOSTERHOUT (11-9-1) | vs. |
RCH MEMORIE SIERADEN (10-10-1) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Twins | G | # | Starting Pitchers RCH-Pinguïns |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 31 | LHP Takuya Fukuda (3-1) | 1 | | to be decided | Th. June 1, 7:30 PM, Oosterhout (5) |
| | to be decided | 2 | | to be decided | Sa. June 3, 3:00 PM, Heemstede (6) |
| | to be decided | 3 | | to be decided | Su. June 4, 2:30 PM, Oosterhout (5) |
| (5) - Sportpark 'De Slotbosse Toren', Oosterhout; (6) - Heemsteedse Sportparken, Heemstede |
| Roster | DSS/KINHEIM (8-13) | vs. |
HOOFDDORP PIONIERS (5-15-1) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers DSS/Kinheim | G | # | Starting Pitchers Pioniers |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 3 | RHP Martijn Schoonderwoerd (3-2) | 1 | 22 | RHP Just van den Ouweelen (0-1) | Th. June 1, 7:30 PM, Haarlem (7) |
| 27 | RHP Nick Boxelaar (2-5) | 2 | 9 | RHP Eddie Aucoin (0-1) | Sa. June 3, 2:00 PM, Hoofddorp (8) |
| 17 | LHP Rick Rizić (2-1) | 3 | | to be decided | Su. June 4, 2:00 PM, Haarlem (7) |
| (7) - Pim Mulier Stadion, Pim Mulier Sportpark, Haarlem; (8) - ETO Ballpark, Sportpark Hoofddorp Pioniers, Park21, Hoofddorp |
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