(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Robert Bos)
 Starting Pitchers Coming Series
Nederlands
 AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
Coming Thursday-evening (May 1), the next 3-day series opens in the Dutch big league.
Three series of the 2025 season are in the books.
Curaçao Neptunus and HCAW are still the unbeaten league-leaders, as they have won all nine games they played.
The two finalists in last years Holland Series will meet each other in two weeks, in the series scheduled for May 15-18.
In the cellar of the big league, Worldwide Pharma Logistics Hoofddorp Pioniers and RCH-Pinguïns are both still winless.
On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Pioniers has added Greek/American pitcher Noah Zavolas to its roster.
He will make his debut coming Saturday.
Last On Sunday, Neptunus was nine outs away from its first loss, as opponent Kinheim led 3-1 after six innings.
Neptunus came back in the seventh, turned the game around and won 10-3.
In some earlier games, Neptunus also decided a game late in its favor.
Hoofddorp Pioniers and RCH-Pinguïns both came close to their first win on Sunday.
By the way, they already came close to a win in earlier games.
Playing at home against Oosterhout Twins, Pioniers trailed 4-0 after eight innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, with one out, Pioniers came back and got the bases loaded.
A run was then scored on a hit batter.
A pitching change followed and closer Raf Cocu began with a strikeout.
With two outs, he gave up a 2-run single to Miquel Willem, which made it a 4-3 score.
A following walk re-loaded the bases.
But Cocu then closed the game with another strikeout.
...Amsterdam Pirates-pitcher Pim Vijfvinkel...
...recorded a rare immaculate inning...
(© Photo: Robert Bos) |
RCH-Pinguïns led twice against HCAW, 2-1 after four innings and 3-2 after five.
HCAW then scored twice in both the sixth and seventh inning and added four more runs in the ninth.
However, trailing 10-4, RCH-Pinguïns staged a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three runs.
With two outs, RCH-Pinguïns got two baserunners, which led to a pitching change.
Nathan Diaby took over, but got the bases loaded via an error.
A flyout then ended the game, which was played at the site of Amsterdam Pirates, due to ongoing maintenance-work on the home-field of RCH-Pinguins in Heemstede.
In the upcoming series, RCH-Pinguïns has one home-game scheduled on Saturday against Neptunus
As of now, that game is scheduled to be played in Heemstede.
Amsterdam Pirates-pitcher Pim Vijfvinkel accounted for a rare feat on Sunday.
The righthander was the starter for Pirates in the first game of the double-header against UVV, which was a make-up game.
Vijfvinkel began the game with an immaculate inning.
In an immaculate inning, a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning by using the minimum possible number of pitches, which in this situation is nine.
An immaculate inning has been recorded only 115 times in the professional Major League.
Unfortunately, it is not known how many immaculate innings have been accomplished in the Dutch big league.
Almost surely, it has been done before, but pitches were not recorded before 2012.
Vijfvinkel, who threw 9 1/3 inning, ended up with a no-decision.
Pirates won 6-5 in eleven innings and rookie Mika Kistemaker earned his first big league-win.
For-the-record, no other pitcher has recorded an immaculate inning this season.
In last week's series, four games rained out, one on Wednesday, three on Thursday.
And so, UVV and Amsterdam Pirates played a double-header on Sunday.
They completed their series on Tuesday-evening when the other two make-up games also were played.
In the upcoming series, all games on Sunday (May 4) will begin at 1:00 PM.
May 4 in the Netherlands is the annual National Day of Remembrance.
A 2-minute moment of silence will be observed at several ceremonies at 8:00 PM throughout the country.
It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the beginning of the Second World War.
Until 1961, only Dutch victims of World War II were commemorated.
Since that year, victims of other military conflicts are also remembered.
The National Commemoration will be held on Dam Square in Amsterdam.
On Monday, May 5, it is National Liberation Day.
On that day, the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945, ending Wold War II, now 80 years ago, is celebrated annually.
On May 5, there are several festivities, including Liberation Festivals thoughout the country.
Beginning at 00:00 AM, the Liberation Fire will be ignited in Wageningen.
Throughout the day, besides the musical festivals, there also will be parades of veterans.
The day will be closed with a concert in the evening in capital Amsterdam.
Beneath are the announced (probable) starting pitchers for the fourth 3-game series of the 2025 season that opens on Thursday-evening, May 1.
As always, these pitching assignments can change on game-days.
(April 30)
Rosters
Live play-by-play & live-streams
| Roster | CURAÇAO NEPTUNUS (9-0) | vs. |
RCH-PINGUÏNS (0-9) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Neptunus | G | # | Starting Pitchers RCH-Pinguïns |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 37 | RHP Tom de Blok (3-0) | 1 | 29 | RHP T'sean Martina (0-2) | Th. May 1, 7:30 PM, Rotterdam (1) |
| 39 | RHP Shairon Martis (3-0) | 2 | 35 | LHP Lucca van der Schouw (0-3) | Sa. May 3, 2:00 PM, Heemstede (2) |
| 30 | RHP Koen Postelmans (0-0) | 3 | 44 | LHP Rik Jalvingh (0-1) | Su. May 4, 1:00 PM, Rotterdam (1) |
| (1) - Neptunus Familiestadion, Sportpark Abraham van Stolkweg, Rotterdam; (2) - Heemsteedse Sportparken, Heemstede |
| Roster | HCAW (9-0) | vs. |
UVV (4-4) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers HCAW | G | # | Starting Pitchers UVV |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 21 | LHP Nelmerson Angela (3-0) | 1 | | to be announced | Th. May 1, 7:30 PM, Bussum (3) |
| 7 | RHP Dennis Burgersdijk (3-0) | 2 | | to be announced | Sa. May 3, 2:00 PM, Vleuten (4) |
| 16 | RHP Kaj Timmermans (1-0) | 3 | | to be announced | Su. May 4, 1:00 PM, Bussum (3) |
| (3) - Rob Hoffmann Vallei, Sportpark 'De Sportvallei', Bussum; (4) - Sportpark 'De Paperclip', Vleuten |
| Roster | AMSTERDAM PIRATES (6-3) | vs. |
WORLDWIDE PHARMA LOGISTICS HOOFDDORP PIONIERS (0-9) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Pirates | G | # | Starting Pitchers Pioniers |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 3 | RHP Martijn Schoonderwoerd (0-1) | 1 | 27 | LHP Maarten Smit (0-3) | Th. May 1, 7:30 PM, Amsterdam (5) |
| 25 | RHP Pim Vijfvinkel (1-0) | 2 | | RHP Noah Zavolas (0-0) | Sa. May 3, 2:00 PM, Hoofddorp (6) |
| 34 | LHP Chris Stuart (2-0) | 3 | | to be decided | Su. May 4, 1:00 PM, Amsterdam (5) |
| (5) - Loek Loevendie Ballpark, Sportpark 'Ookmeer', Amsterdam; (6) - ETO Ballpark, Sport Park21, Hoofddorp |
| Roster | OOSTERHOUT TWINS (5-4) | vs. |
KINHEIM (2-6) | Roster | Game-info |
| # | Starting Pitchers Twins | G | # | Starting Pitchers Kinheim |
| Date, Time & Site |
| 15 | RHP Jack Wagner (0-2) | 1 | 76 | LHP Tijn Fredrikze (1-2) | Th. May 1, 7:30 PM, Oosterhout (7) |
| 19 | RHP Misja Harcksen (2-0) | 2 | 89 | RHP Tobias Imming (0-1) | Sa. May 3, 2:00 PM, Haarlem (8) |
| 14 | RHP Wyatt Lankford (1-0) | 3 | 17 | RHP Joris Meinsma (0-2) | Su. May 4, 1:00 PM, Oosterhout (7) |
| (7) - Sportpark 'De Slotbosse Toren', Oosterhout; (8) - Pim Mulier Stadium, Pim Mulier Sportpark, Haarlem |
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