(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Amsterdam Pirates, Hoofddorp Pioniers, UVV open exhibition-season with win
Nederlands
   OOSTERHOUT / HOOFDDORP / AMERSFOORT (Neth.) -
Dutch champion Amsterdam Pirates opened the exhibition-season on Saturday (March 9) with a small 3-2 victory in a 7-inning game against Oosterhout Twins.
The teams will meet again on Sunday, but then in Amsterdam, starting at 2 PM.
Also on Saturday, Quick Amersfoort and UVV played a double-header.
The first game ended in an 11-11 tie.
The second game was won by UVV with an 8-5 score.
Hoofddorp Pioniers played a game against its second team and won 6-1.
The two Pioniers-teams also face each other again on Sunday in Hoofddorp at 2 PM.
Initially, HCAW had a game scheduled against its second team on Sunday, but that game was dropped from the schedule.
Complete Schedule & Scores
...Kenny Berkenbosch...
...two runscoring doubles...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Last season, Amsterdam Pirates became the surprising champion.
With several new players and a new Head Coach, Pirates first captured the Bronze Medal in the European Champions Cup-tournament.
In the postseason, Pirates eliminated and dethroned HCAW in the Play-Offs.
In the Holland Series, Pirates played an exciting series against Curaçao Neptunus and captured the title in a thrilling seventh game.
On Saturday, Pirates opened the score in the top of the third inning when Oliver van der Wijst Severino scored on a double by Kenny Berkenbosch.
Shortly thereafter, Twins came alongside when Thijmen Peters scored on a single by Onne van Gool.
Pirates re-took the lead in the fifth inning when Van der Wijst again scored on a double by Berkenbosch.
In the sixth inning, Pirates added another run when Lucas Vos scored on a grounder by Tommy van de Sanden.
Twins narrowed the deficit to 3-2 when Gijs van Zalingen was able to score on a single by Mick Vos, who didn't play last season.
Twins Head Coach Rob Hendriks inserted Finn Kops (2 innings), Jan van der Hurk (3) and Misja Harcksen (2) as pitchers in today's game.
Kops missed the entire last season due to an injury.
Rookies Kimi Verkruijssen (3 innings), Wesley Jansen (2) and Lucas Urbanus (2), who all are on the roster of the second team, were on the mound for Pirates, which was led by 3B Coach Allan Hazel.
He fills in this weekend as Acting Head Coach, as Head Coach Mervin Gario currently is on Sint Maarten.
In Hoofddorp, Hoofddorp Pioniers recorded a 6-1 win against its second team, which plays in the First Division.
In the game, the pitchers and catchers swapped teams, meaning they faced the batters of their own team.
Peter Hegeman (3 innings), Bas Wijers (2), Siebe van Pelt (1) and Tommy de Zwart (2) pitched for the main-squad, led by Head Coach Tom van Limburg.
Main-squad pitchers Arjen Nijkamp (2 innings), Ryan Hoogendoorn (2), Jesse van Es (2) and Swen Huijer (1) threw for the second team, which was led by Head Coach Ronald Stoovelaar.
Last season, Huijer was one of the pitchers in the second team.
In the upcoming season, the former pro will be the Pitching Coach of the main-team in the staff of Van Limburg.
In the past, Huijer pitched for the main Pioniers-team, alongside his brother Lars, who is one of the pitchers of HCAW.
Pioniers opened the score with two runs in the first inning and added a run in the third inning.
From the third inning on, Pioniers scored once each at bat in four consecutive innings.
The second team scored its lone run in the fourth inning.
Quick Amersfoort and UVV were initially scheduled to play a game today and tomorrow in Amersfoort.
But that was changed to a double-header that was played today.
The first game ended in an 11-11 tie.
The second game was won by UVV with an 8-5 score.
No details of the games are available yet.
(March 9)
|
