Dutch Baseball

The deciding runs were already scored in the first inning when Percy Isenia hit a 3-run homerun. ,,It was a fastball and I had a great feeling right away'', Isenia said afterwards. ,,The three runs proved to be enough'', he continued. ,,HCAW appeared to come back in the seventh inning, but then Jeroen made two great plays'', referred Isenia to third baseman Jeroen Sluijter, who made a diving stop on a line drive by Nick Fridsma with a runner on first base, then made another fine play with two outs on a grounder by Dimitri Leon to end the inning.

LHP Diegomar Markwell pitched eight innings and won his second game of the Series. The former pro was named the Series MVP. ,,Thanks for the honor'', Markwell reacted. ,,We've work hard as a team this season''.

No HCAW-runner reached third base in the game. In the eighth inning, Ronald Jaarsma came closest. After he led off with a double down the leftfield-line, he tried to advance when next batter Gino Henson grounded to short, but he was thrown out at third. A strikeout and groundout ended the possible scoring opportunity.

In the ninth inning, HCAW had two runners on base off of closer Robin van Doornspeek. With one out, Rodney Michel walked and with two outs Martijn Meeuwis also got a free pass. Veteran Roy Berrevoets, who was added to the coachingstaff for the post-season, then stepped in as a pinch-hitter, but popped up to first baseman Percy Isenia to end the game. This was Berrevoets' first Holland Series-appearance since October 3, 1999. He retired after that season.

Neptunus' 25 Holland Series HRs
4	Percy Isenia (1999 (2), 2003, 2005) Marcel Buurman (1989, 1994 (2), 1995)
3	Adonis Kemp (1995)
2	Wim Martinus (1989, 1990) Dirk van 't Klooster (2000, 2001)
1	Haime Wiersma (1987), Jim Wasem (1989), Marlon Fluonia (1991), Bob van Aalen (1993), Johnny Balentina (1994), Jeroen Sluijter (1998), Ken Brauckmiller (1998), Eddie Dix (1999), Ron Agterberg (1999), Marcel Kruyt (1999)
Copyright © 2005 Grand Slam * Stats & News/MS

HCAW-starter Cliff Foster gave up four hits, including the homerun, in the first inning, but recovered after that and gave up only three additional hits in the remainder of the game. In the second and third inning, he was supported with a double play. In the sixth, HCAW committed two errors and Neptunus got runners on first and third with two outs, but a grounder prevented more runs. Foster gave up only one basehit in the last six innings!

Besides leaving two runners behind in the ninth, HCAW also stranded two runners in the second and fourth inning. In the seventh, Rodney Michel led off with a single, but then pitcher Diegomar Markwell was supported by some fine defense by his third baseman Jeroen Sluijter.

In the first inning, Dirk van 't Klooster reached on an one-out infield-hit, then Harvey Monte singled with two outs. Next, Percy Isenia hit a 3-1 pitch over the leftfield-fence for a 3-run homerun that gave Neptunus an early 3-0 lead. It was the 25th homerun for Neptunus in Holland Series-history. On September 20, 2003, Isenia also was the last player to homer in a Holland Series. That homerun also came vs. HCAW. Isenia now has four Holland Series-homeruns to come alongside Marcel Buurman for the most hit by a Neptunus-player. The all-time career Holland Series-record is five, accomplished by Clive Mendes (HCAW).

It was the first time since 1992 when a club lost the opening game, then won three in a row to win the title. In 1992, the only other time it happened, ADO lost the opener to Kinheim, but then won the next three to become champion.
Line Score & Box Score
Complete Play-by-Play Game Four HCAW vs. Neptunus
(October 1)

Almere took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but failed to add more runs. Ricardo Miranda and Giovanni Samboe opened with singles and Frank van Leeuwen was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Miranda then scored the opening run when RCH-pitcher Al Morales Gomez walked Daniël Zijdeveld. Next, Samboe was forced out a the plate on a grounder by Jeffrey de Vrieze, but then Van Leeuwen scored on a grounder by Wesley Bernardus. The bases were re-loaded when Niels de Lugt walked, but Almere left the three runners behind when Bart Gabriëls struckout.

In the third, a run was added. Jurriaan Korff led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Ricardo Miranda. With one out, a throwing error was made on a grounder by Frank van Leeuwen, enabling Korff to score.

In the home fifth, RCH-Pinguïns suddenly came back and cut the lead to 3-2. With two outs, Almere-starter Patrick de Lange gave up a double to Derrick Francisca, who then stole third and scored on a throwing error. De Lange then walked Maarten Hordijk, who stole second and scored on a double by Robbert Vogel. A single by Ramses Meering followed, but then De Lange struckout Maarten Bos to end the inning.

Almere added an insurance run in the sixth when Wesley Bernardus walked and went on to score on a 2-out single by Ricardo Miranda, who was 3-for-5.
RCH was unable to add more runs. In the seventh, Kevin Roovers took over for Patrick de Lange with runners on first and second and two outs and retired seven batters in a row. Michiel van Kampen pitched the last innings, gave up two singles with two outs, but ended the game with a strikeout.
Line Score & Box Score
(October 1)

...Jan Sluimer... ...as HCAW's Scorer... (Photo: Feiko Drost)

Jan Sluimer made his debut as Official Scorer in 1978 and retired after the 1999 season. He scored games in the Dutch big league baseball, softball women and softbal men. His 22-year career is one of the longest in history and he is one of only seven Official Scorers with more than 200 career games in the big league baseball. On July 11, 1989, he was the Official Scorer when Craig McGinnis pitched the first Perfect Game in the history of the Dutch big league. He also scored in Play-Off and Holland Series-games. Jan Sluimer always has been available to score games throughout the country, even when he was contacted at the last moment to fill in a vacant spot.

As an Official Scorer, Mr. Sluimer participated in more than 20 international baseball and softball events, including the World Cup Baseball 1986, which was then held for the first time in The Netherlands.
Other tournaments he scored were the 1st World Port Tournament in 1985, four Haarlem Softball Weeks, two European Championships Softball, two European Junior Championships Baseball and eight European Cup Tournaments for baseball, softball women and softball men. He also has been one of the game officials during the successful Indoor Softball Competitions in the nineties.

After retiring as an Official Scorer, Jan Sluimer remained active and became the dug-out scorer for Mr. Cocker HCAW 2, which this year won the Dutch championship in the First Division. During this season, he definitively concluded his scoring career and stepped down as the team's scorer, but remained an interested spectator of HCAW, the club, where he was active for a very long time. Last Saturday, Jan Sluimer attended the fourth and last game of the Holland Series in Bussum.
Jan Sluimer was a wellknown person on the fields and the Dutch baseball and softball-family will surely miss him.
(October 6)

Johnny Balentina is coming back for his third stint with Neptunus. In 1990, he made his big league-debut with Neptunus, but then played his first full season for Sparta in 1991. He returned in 1992 to Neptunus, where he stayed until the 1999 season. In 2000-2003, he played for ADO (Tornado's) and in 2004-2005 for Kinheim. Last year, Balentina returned to the Dutch national team and also was a member of the national squad this season.
Gregory Gustina will play for his sixth different big league-team in his seventh season next year. He made his debut in 1999 with Sparta/Feyenoord, then played for Amsterdam Pirates (2001), PSV (2002-2003), Almere (2004) and Kinheim (2005). This year, he made his debut in the national team.
Benjamin Dille made his debut in 2004 with Neptunus, before playing for Sparta/Feyenoord this season.
Jeffrey Arends also made his debut with Neptunus, where he played part of seasons in 2003 and 2004, before playing for Sparta/Feyenoord this year.
Maikel Benner played for Sparta/Feyenoord from 1996-2000, before coming to Neptunus, where he has played since. Benner is a national team-player, but wasn't selected for the World Cup.
Robin van Doornspeek made his big league-debut with Kinheim, where he played in 1999-2000, before going to Pioniers (2001-2004). This year was his first with Neptunus. Van Doorspeek also plays in the national team.
Percy Isenia has played his entire big league career with Neptunus, making his debut in 1996. Isenia also is a national team-member.
(October 11)

The 33-year old Maurice DeConge this season was a member of the pitching staff and also served as the team's Pitching Coach. In 2003, he made his debut in the Dutch big league and with HCAW. In three seasons, DeConge has a 12-4 record. In 2006, DeConge will be assisted by Cliff Foster and veteran coach Chicho Jesurun.
Cliff Foster this year played in his first Dutch season and was 5-1 with HCAW, where he primarily was used as a reliever and closer. Next season, Foster will remain part of the pitching staff, but also will be the Pitching Coach.
Chicho Jesurun becomes the Bench Coach and succeeds Clive Mendes in that position. Jesurun brings a lot of experience to Bussum. Besides being a scout for the Florida Marlins Major League-organisation, Jesurun has served as Head Coach in the Dutch big league for ADO, Amsterdam Pirates and Almere '90. For the last club, Jesurun also has been its General Manager.
(October 11)

Like Percy Isenia, Rob Cordemans played his entire big league-career for Neptunus. He made his debut in 1994. This season, the righthander had the best record in the big league as he went 13-1 and had the lowest ERA with 0.77.
Outfielder Harvey Monte joined Neptunus after the 1998 season. In that year, he made his big league with Twins. Monte briefly played professionally in the States, but returned to Neptunus after he was released.
(October 20)

Outfielder Dirk van 't Klooster, who lives in the Haarlem-area, was the leading hitter this season with a .403 batting average and also led in other offensive categories with 71 Basehits (1st), 5 Homeruns (2nd), 34 RBI's (2nd), 44 Runs (1st), 15 Doubles (1st) and 105 Total Bases (1st), making him a strong contender for the MVP Trophy. Van 't Klooster made his debut in the big league in 1993 while playing for Amsterdam Pirates. After playing for Quick Amersfoort and RCH, Van 't Klooster joined Neptunus in 2000, where he played the last six seasons and became Dutch champion with the Rotterdam-squad every year.
RH Closer Michiel van Kampen made his debut as a player for Hoofddorp Pioniers in 1998, but also played for RCH, Amsterdam Pirates and HCAW, where he played four seasons, before joing Almere for the 2005 season. Van Kampen will take over the role as closer from RHP Richard Beljaards, who will not be active at the toplevel in 2006.
Righthanded Pitcher David Bergman played his entire big league-career for Hoofddorp Pioniers, where he made his debut in the 1999 season.
Catcher Tjerk Smeets also played his complete big league-career for one team, Amsterdam Pirates, where he played his first game on the highest level in 1999.
Infielder Roel Koolen has played for Neptunus since the 2000 season, but became a regular in the last few seasons.
Second Baseman Randy Daal is returning to Almere, where he made his big league-debut in 2001. After that season he played one year for Amsterdam Pirates, before going to Kinheim, where he played since 2003.
Outfielder Jermaine Esprit also is returning to a former team, ADO. Esprit is playing in the Dutch league since 2002 when he played for Almere. He then played for Tornado's (now ADO), before going to Kinheim in 2004. This year, he didn't play because of a knee-injury.
(October 24)

RHP Patrick de Lange was a member of HCAW for eight seasons (1997-2004), before going to Almere for the 2005 season. He missed one year due to an injury. In 1994, he made his big league-debut while playing for Amsterdam Pirates.
RHP Kevin Roovers, IF Bart Gabriëls and OF Siemen Korff all played three big league-seasons for Twins, before playing for Almere this season.
OF/P Kenny Berkenbosch made his big league-debut with Almere in 2001, but started his pro-career in 2002.
C Nick Fridsma and 3B Jurjan Koenen both played their entire big league-career with HCAW. Fridsma made his big league-debut with the club in 1993 and is stopping after 13 seasons. Koenen played his first game on the highest level in 1988 and retires after 18 seasons in Bussum.
(October 27)

RHP Erik de Rijcke played in the Dutch big league since 1998 when he made his debut with Twins. A year later, he started a period of five seasons with Neptunus, before going to Sparta/Feyenoord.
RHP Edward Beerthuizen made his debut on the highest level in 1997 as a player for ADO. After four seasons, he went to Neptunus, then came to Sparta/Feyenoord for the 2004 season.
IF Marcel Buurman played 19 seasons on the highest level after making his debut with Sparta in 1986. He played for Neptunus, Twins, Kinheim and Tornado's, before going back to Sparta/Feyenoord for the 2003 season to start a third stint there. He also played one season in the Belgian league.
(October 31)

Neptunus added RHP Calvin Maduro, who in 2004 made his debut in the Dutch league, pitching in nine games for Mr. Cocker HCAW. After the 2003 season, Maduro was released in the States. In 2005, the righthander returned to pro ball and played in the organization of the New York Yankees, appearing in 16 games, including six in the Triple-A team in Columbus.
The Rotterdam-club also added Outfielder Rogearvin Bernadina, who this season batted .233 in the Single-A team of the Washington Nationals. Bernadina made his debut in the Dutch big league in 2001 while playing for Sparta/Feyenoord.

Kinheim acquired Infielder Vince Rooi, who this year completed a period of seven seasons in the organization of the Washington Nationals (previously Montreal Expos) and became minor league Free Agent. Rooi recently signed a new contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates-organization. This season, Rooi played in the Single-A team (batting .300) and was promoted in September to Double-A where he appeared in five games. In 1998, he made his debut in the highest Dutch league, playing for Amsterdam Pirates.
(October 31)

What the player transfers concerned, it was traditionally quiet in Hoofddorp, but the team lost RHP David Bergman to DPA Kinheim. Veteran 1B/DH Griffith Cathalina retired, while IF Jochem Theunissen decided to play on a lower level within the club. Cathalina played for Pioniers since 1997.
Pioniers acquired RHP Erik Jan Lind, who threw for First Divisionist Alcmaria Victrix and saw three players coming back: 1B/LHP Mark-Jan Moorman (Amsterdam Pirates), LHP Daniël Overbeek and OF Jaïr Roseburg (both ADO). The latter initially decided to remain with ADO, but on Monday-evening decided to go back to Pioniers after all. Roseburg this season made his big league-debut.
(October 31)

Almere added three players from DPA Kinheim, including former player IF Randy Daal. The others are RHP Forstin Coenraad and RHP Jerry Breek, who is a Dutch big league-player since 1998.
Three players of Amsterdam Pirates also decided to go to Almere: C Jason Halman, IF Sidney Ensermo and OF Shaldimar Daantji. Halman and Ensermo this season made their big league-debut, while Daantji is playing on the higheste level since 2002, when he debuted with Neptunus.
RHP Derrick Isenia comes back to Almere after playing this season for First Divisionist Storks. Isenia made his big league-debut in 1999. Also coming back is C Jeffrey de Vrieze, who recently was released as a professionel player in the Florida Marlins-organization, where he played 30 games in the Rookie League this season. De Vrieze has played in only 10 Dutch big league-games (5 in 2002 and 5 in 2004). OF Ferd van Stekelenburg, who last week was mentioned to go to Amsterdam Pirates, comes from First Divisionist Vreeburg Kinheim.
Former national team-player en LHP Jurriaan Lobbezoo has been named the team's Pitching Coach, but also plans to throw again. Lobbezoo last pitched on the highest level in 2000, but his career was cut short by an arm-injury, which also made an end to a possible professional career in the USA.
(October 31)

The experience is coming from Utility Roderick Simon (Kinheim), IF Boudewijn van Elswijk (ADO), former pro Derrick Francisca (RCH-Pinguïns) and former Cuban national-team player Fausto Alvarez, who lives in The Netherlands and this season played in the third team for Pirates.
Simon, who was acquired on the last transferday, made his big league-debut in 2000 while with Neptunus and played three seasons for PSV, before going to Kinheim for the 2004 season. Van Elswijk plays in the big league since 2001.
Another experienced player added is OF Edsel Martis, who comes out of retirement. Martis last played in the Dutch big league in 1996. The lefthanded hitter already played before with Pirates, making his debut on the highest level in 1982, the year in which the Amsterdam-club first played in the Dutch big league. After playing six seasons for Pirates, Martis also played for Almere Giants, Haarlem Nicols, HCAW/Tijgers and Hoofddorp Pioniers.
Talented newcomers are RHP Jan-Willem Geerts (Pirates-2), RHP Robbert v.d. Pol (Sparks Haarlem), C Bas Nooij (Pirates-2), C/OF Maxim Picauly (Vreeburg Kinheim), IF Kevin Gerard (Pirates-2) and OF Remco Draijer (RCH-Pinguïns), who all will make their big league-debut in 2006, except for Nooij, who played his first game on the highest level early last season.

The departure of C Tjerk Smeets to DPA Kinheim already was reported earlier. Also mentioned before were 1B/LHP Mark-Jan Moorman, who is going to Konica Minolta Pioniers, IF Sjoerd Hermans and OF Jeroen Hermans, who are to play for Sparta/Feyenoord and C Jason Halman, IF Sidney Ensermo, OF Shaldimar Daantji, all went to Instant Holland Almere '90.
Also leaving are RHP Alexander Plakke (Omron Pioniers) and OF Jeroen Stentler (Euro Stars). IF Bas Kuijer and OF/P Rikkert Faneyte retired. RHP Jeroen Deken decided to return to Second Divisionist The Herons, where he started his career.
(October 31)

Complete Listing Baseball Transfers 2005

Dutch Softball Women

Terrasvogels took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Hannah Owings hit a 2-run homerun. Sparks-starter Rebecca Soumeru, who also went the distance last night in Game One, had given up only one basehit and faced only nine batters in the first three innings, before giving up a lead-off single to Linda Hoenderdos in the fourth. A force play-grounder by Petra van Heijst resulted in a putout, but the Hannah Owings homered.
In the sixth inning, Soumeru was supported with a double play when Linda Hoenderdos lined out to third baseman Noémi Boekel with a runner on first, resulting in the double play.

Terrasvogels-starter Kirsten Scheele didn't encounter much problems in the first six innings. She allowed only four batters to reach base and only two of them reached second base. From the third inning through the end of the sixth, she retired eleven batters in a row and was supported with some fine defensive plays. In the fourth, centerfielder Marissa Wienholds made a nice catch on a lead-off fly by Jolanda Kroesen and in the fifth, second baseman Petra van Heijst made a great play on a lead-off grounder by Kinge Bouma.

But in the seventh, Kirsten Scheele gave up lead-off singles to Jolanda Kroesen and Mariska Greve and was relieved by Judith van Kampen. The two runners advanced on a sac-bunt by Noémi Boekel, after which Kinge Bouma popped out. With pinch-hitter Sandra Catoen in the box, Judith van Kampen threw a wild pitch, enabling Jolanda Kroesen to score. Next, Catoen doubled to bring in Mariska Greve with the tying run. Pinch-hitter Andrea Lindgren then strukout, ending the inning, but the score was tied and a tie-break had to be played.

In the eighth, runner Nathalie Gosewehr moved on a sac-bunt by Nina van Huissteden and scored on a force play-grounder by Marije Bakker. The ball was hit to short stop Kinge Bouma, who threw the ball to the plate, but Gosewehr beat the throw and gave Terrasvogels a renewed lead.
In the home eighth, Sparks left three runners behind. Tie-break runner Sabine Franssen moved on a grounder, then a fly out accounted for the second putout. Marloes Fellinger then walked and Jolanda Kroesen was walked intentionally, loading the bases. Next batter Mariska Greve then flied out to center to end the game.
Line Score & Box Score Game Two Holland Series
(October 1)

Sparks took a 1-0 lead in the third inning off of Maaike Zijlstra, who also was the losing pitcher in Game One last Friday. She walked lead-off batter Sabine Franssen, who moved on a sac-bunt by Kim Kluijskens, then scored on a 2-out single by Marloes Fellinger.
In the sixth inning, Sparks increased its lead to 3-0. With one out, Jolanda Kroesen and Mariska Greve singled and both scored when Noémi Boekel followed with a 2-run triple.

Terrasvogels was close to the opening run in the second inning when Hannah Owings walked and advanced on a sac-bunt and a grounder, but another grounder ended the at bat.
In the sixth inning, Terrasvogels did score its first run. Maaike Zijlstra led off with a single off of starter Andrea Lindgren, who was then relieved by Rebecca Soumeru, who had thrown two complete games on Friday and Saturday in Game One and Two and today earned a save. After a flyout, Soumeru gave up a single to Hannah Owings, who was replaced by pinch-runner Marije Bakker. Another flyout followed and it appeared that Nathalie Gosewehr was to become the third out when she hit the ball towards centerfield, but there Jolanda Kroesen missed the ball, enabling Zijlstra to score. Moments later, Bakker was eliminated at home when she tried to score after the ball when passed the catcher on a following pitch.
Line Score & Box Score Game Three Holland Series
(October 2)

Sparks settled right away in the first at bat by scoring two runs. Kim Kluijskens led off with a double, moved on an infield-hit by next batter Lynn Geertman and scored on a single by Marloes Fellinger. The bases were loaded when a throwing error was made on a force play-grounder by Jolanda Kroesen, but then Geertman was forced out at the plate on a grounder by Mariska Greve. Noémi Boekel followed with an RBI-single on which Kroesen also tried to score, but she was thrown out at the plate. After Boekel's single, Terrasvogels-starter Kirsten Scheele was relieved by Maaike Zijlstra, who ended the inning when Kinge Bouma popped out.
After a scoreless second inning, Sparks added three runs in the third on some hard hits. With one out, Marloes Fellinger tripled and scored when Jolanda Kroesen followed with a double. Judith van Kampen was brought in to become the third pitcher for Terrasvogels and saw Mariska Greve fly out, but then Noémi Boekel hit a 2-run homerun to make it 5-0.

Terrasvogels scored its run in the fourth inning when pitcher Andrea Lindgren gave up three consecutive singles with one out. First, Marissa Wienholds singled and moved on a single by Dana Horeman, before scoring on a single by Hannah Owings. But then Lindgren retired the next two batters and gave up only one more hit in the remainder of the game.
Sparks got the run back in the fourth when Sabine Franssen walked and scored on a 2-out single by Marloes Fellinger. Another run was added in the sixth. Mariska Greve then walked and scored on a 2-out, infield-hit by Sabine Franssen, who retired after this game. Terrasvogels-pitcher Maaike Zijlstra also retired after a long career in the Dutch big league and the national team.

It was also announced that Johan Kluijskens, who last year filled in with Sparks as Head Coach and let Sparks to the European Cup-win and the Dutch championship, will return next season as the Assistant Coach of Bas Langezaal, who this season celebrated his coaching debut with a championship.
Terrasvogels Head Coach Michel Croes, who also made his big league-debut, and his assistant Renée van den Berg, were let go last week after Game Two. Former player Ingeborg Berk-Cleeren and Marco Molleman took over for the last two games.
Line Score & Box Score Game Four Holland Series
(October 8)

On Saturday, Birds opened with a 14-4 win at Amsterdam.
The team already had an 8-0 lead in the third inning. Birds collected 15 basehits off of two pitchers, including former national pitcher Mirjam Hellinga-Sluijters, who was recalled from a lower team. Amongst the 15 hits, there were four triples, including two by Chantal Versluis, who had four RBI's. In the second inning, she cleared the bases with a 3-run triple. In the first inning, she tripled in the opening run after Kim Kafoè had led off with a single. Claire Lutz and Daisy Verstappen also tripled.
Pirates came back with two runs in the home of the third and fourth inning to cut the deficit to 8-4, but was unable to add more runs in the remainder of the game after Marjan Verhart had relieved starter Rebecca Antonissen in the fourth inning.

On Sunday, Pirates trailed 4-0 after one inning, but came alongside in the third inning.
In the fifth at bat, Pirates got the bases loaded with two outs. Judith Stoovelaar-Van Erk, another former national team-player on the Pirates-roster, who was recalled from a lower team, then hit a baseclearing, 3-run double to give Pirates a 7-4 lead.
Birds answered with a run in the home fifth, but Pirates got that run back in the seventh inning on a single by Chantal van Loosdrecht to win 8-5 and even the Series.
Birds stranded 12 runners, including three in the sixth. Pirates left six runners behind, including two in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Birds took a 4-0 lead in the first inning on singles by Michelle van Driel and former Pirate Sandra Rusman, a wild pitch and a sac-bunt. In the third, Pirates scored four runs on a 2-run single by Gallieth Haaker, an error and a passed ball.
Line Scores & Box Scores Relegation Play-Off
(October 1-2)

Pirates arrived in time in Zoetemeer and was close to a run in the second inning when lead-off hitter Chantal van Loosdrecht was on third base with two outs, but a grounder ended the at bat.
Birds, which left a runner on third base in the first inning, rallied for four (unearned) runs in the home of the second inning. Michelle van Driel and Claire Lutz led off with singles and both advanced two bases when an error was made on a sac-bunt by Sandra Rusman, resulting in a 1-0 lead. A pop-fly and a strikeout then accounted for two outs, but Kim Kafoè then followed with a 3-run homerun to make it 4-0. A bunt-single and an infield-hit followed, but now a flyout ended the inning.
Birds threatened to add more runs in the third inning. An error and a walk put two runners on base, who then moved on a double-steal. After a flyout, Pauline van Leeuwen's bunt resulted in an out at the plate, followed by another flyout.

Pirates narrowed the deficit to 4-3 in the fifth inning by scoring three runs. Maartje Fontani led off with a triple and scored on a passed ball. Iris Kolman then singled and scored when Gallieth Haaker singled with one out. Next, Astrid Crebas also singled, enabling Haaker to score, but two groundouts prevented more runs.
Pirates was unable to add more runs in the remaining two innings.

Birds got one run back in the fifth. Claire Lutz led off with a walk and moved on a single by Sandra Rusman. The two advanced on a sac-bunt. A bunted ball by Valerie Grampon was then thrown to the plate, resulting in Lutz returning to third, by Rusman was thrown out at scond base. Grampon advanced on a fielder's choice after which Kim Kafoè was walked intentionally to load the bases and create a force play. However, a 'regular' walk for Marsha Smulders then did gave Birds an extra run, but the team left three runners behind.
In the sixth, Birds scored its sixth run when Daisy Verstappen singled and went on to score on an infield-hit by Sandra Rusman.
Line Score & Box Score
(October 4)

Birds was the better team on Saturday-afternoon, as Pirates committed four errors defensively, which led to three unearned runs.
Birds opened the score in the second inning. With Michelle van Driel on base, Claudia Ansems doubled to left field, which led to the first run.
The team from Zoetermeer added three unearned runs in the next at bat. With two outs and a runner on first, Daisy Verstappen singled, but then a line drive by Michelle van Driel was missed to load the bases. Then, a basesloaded walk and a 2-run error gave Birds the three additional runs.

Pirates got its lone run in the home fourth. With one out, former national team-player Judith van Erk (who helped Pirates promote to the big league in 1988 and was the MVP in the 1996 CupWinners Cup-tournament) and Martine van Axel Dongen singled. After a strikeout, a single Manon Scholte produced Pirates' only run.
Birds put the game out of reach in the fifth inning by scoring four more runs to take a 7-run difference and end the game after five innings. All runs were scored with two outs. Sandra Rusman had an RBI-single, Kim Kafoé walked with the bases loaded and Mascha Smulders followed with a 2-run single to make it 8-1.
Line Score & Box Score
(October 8)

Dutch Softball Men

In the opening game, Storks scored both runs in the first inning. Rob van der Vlist led off with a single and was able to score all the way from first base when a throwing error was made on a force play-grounder by next batter Joost Droog, who also continued running, before being thrown out after rounding second base. Next, Kenny Dame followed with a homerun off of Argentinian starter Roberto Bahler, who recovered and retired the next seven batters in a row. After he struckout Rob van der Vlist for the second out in the third inning, Bahler was relieved by Erik Zomerdijk. He would allow only three more Storks-players to reach base, only one on a basehit, a single by Ed Hoet in the fourth inning.
EHS outhit Storks 4-3, but was unable to score off of Tony Moyo, who struckout 16 batters. The Botswanian pitcher struckout the first seven batters (including a batter who reached base when the third strike was a wild pitch) he faced and ten of the first eleven!
In the fourth inning, EHS came close to a run when it got the bases loaded with only one out. After Moyo struckout his tenth batter, Anthony Beaumont broke his No-Hitter with a single, followed by a single from Ciro Ricardo. The bases were loaded when Milton Gilbert walked, but then a strikeout and a groundout ended the scoring opportunity.

In Game Two, Tony Moyo struckout ten batters and threw a one-hitter, giving up only a lead-off single to Anthony Beaumont in the fourth inning. Therefore, Beaumont twice broke Moyo's No-Hit bid in the fourth! He also was one of only two EHS-players to reach second base in this game. The other being Maurice Meijer, who led off the game with a walk and advanced on a sac-bunt.
In the third inning, Pim Winkel led off with a walk, but then Jeffrey Visser lined into a double play.
Storks scored its first run in the second inning. Steven Ketting led off with a bunt-single and advanced when a throwing error followed. After he stole third base, Ketting scored on a one-out single by René Nieveld, who went 2-for-3.
In the fourth inning, Kenny Dame led off with a homerun, his second of the day.
EHS-pitcher Glen Moreland then retired the next six batters in a row, before Rob van der Vlist singled in the sixth inning. Joost Droog then reached on a fielder's choice-grounder, after which the bases were loaded on a walk for Kenny Dame and an infield-hit by Steven Ketting. After a strikeout, René Nieveld again delivered an RBI-single to make it 3-0, but Storks stranded three runners, as the next batter also struckout.
Line Scores & Box Scores Games One & Two Holland Series
(October 1)

In the first game on Saturday, Roberto Bahler (EHS) and Tony Moyo (Storks) signed for a pitchingduel. The two pitching aces struckout 27 batters combined and gave up only three hits. Bahler threw a one-hitter and struckout 11. Moyo struckout sixteen batters and gave up two basehits.
EHS opened the score in the first inning when Anthony Beaumont doubled with one out, moved on a grounder and scored on a passed ball. In the third inning, after Moyo struckout the first two batters, Michel Groenhart homered to make it 2-0. Two innings later, Groenhart was ejected, after arguing a strikeout call by Home Plate Umpire Rob Veldkamp.
The last six batters in the EHS-batting order struckout eleven times and received the five walks Moyo threw, which were the only times those batters reached base. One of the walks was a lead-off (!) intentional walk for Milton Gilbert in the fourth inning.
Storks had runners on first and second with one out in the first inning, but then Steven Ketting grounded into a double play. In the second inning, Storks stranded a runner at third base.
In the third inning, Kenny Dame walked with two outs, but then Roberto Bahler retired the next eight batters in a row, before walking Dame again in the sixth at bat. Dame went on to advance to third base after a sac-bunt and a passed ball, but Bahler ended the inning with another strikeout.
The lone hit, Bahler gave up was hit by Ed Hoet, who led off the second inning with a single.

In the next game, Storks recovered from the loss and won 5-0 to win the Holland Series and the title.
After leaving runners in the first and second inning, Storks scored its first run in the third inning, but again stranded two runners. In the third, Robert van der Vlist led off with a walk, moved on a sac-bunt and scored on a single by Kenny Dame.
In the fifth, Storks added two runs. Van der Vlist again led off with a walk and moved to third base on a 2-out single by Steven Ketting. He then scored on a wild pitch, which brought Ketting to second base. Next, Ed Hoet walked. Ketting then scored on a single by Ronald Romijn, after which starter Roberto Bahler was relieved by Glen Moreland, who enabled Hoet to score on a wild pitch.
With two outs in the sixth, Robert van der Vlist singled and, after stealing second, scored his third run in the game on a single by Joost Droog.
Storks-pitcher Tony Moyo struckout eleven batters and gave up three hits. The biggest scoring opportunity for EHS came in the seventh inning. Before that at bat, Anthony Beaumont led off the third inning with an infield-hit, but then Moyo retired the next nine batters. Beaumont was left at second base in the third. In the seventh, Michel Groenhart led off with a walk and Ciro Ricardo was hit by a pitch, but Moyo then struckout the next batter. The two runners advanced on a grounder, but the game ended in style when Moyo got a called strikeout on Etiënne Meijer, after which the celebration started.

Tony Moyo (3-1) pitched all four games for Storks. In the 27 innings he threw, Moyo struckout 53 batters, walked eleven, gave up only ten basehits and allowed only two runs (one earned). Moyo was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series.
Tony Moyo afterwards: ,,After winning the title in 2004, we were the team to beat this year. It's more difficult to keep a championship than to win it for the first time. I'm very happy with this and I will return to Botswana in a few weeks with a very good feeling.''
Centerfielder Robert van der Vlist, who scored the first run in the last game: ,,That first run is important. Most times the team that scores first, wins. The fact that we scored this run in a tactical way, we also gave EHS a little bit of softball-lesson.''
Head Coach Fred Bergenhenegouwen: ,,I never doubted for a moment that we would win the championship here today''.
Coach/player Peter Noordermeer: ,,A title like this is fantastic. But more important, is again is a ticket to participate in the European Cup, so a new challenge for next year''.
Line Scores & Box Scores Games Three & Four Holland Series
(October 8)

At St. Louis, the Cardinals, which won 100 games in the regular season to win the title in the National League Central Division, defeated NL-West champion San Diego Padres, 8-3.
In the first inning, Jim Edmonds gave the Cards a 1-0 lead with a homerun.
In the fourth, a run was added on a wild pitch, then two more on a 2-run single by Reggie Sanders, who missed almost two months due to an injury. In the next inning, Sanders hit the ball well again, as he hit a grand slam homerun to make it 8-0 and set a NLDS record with six RBI's.
The Padres came back with a run in the seventh and eighth (pinch-hit HR by Eric Young), then added three runs in the ninth and got the bases loaded with two outs, but ended up empty handed.
San Diego-starter Jake Peavy was troubled with an injury and left in the fifth inning. Later, it was diagnosed he had a fractured rib.

At Chicago, the White Sox hammered last year World Series-winner Boston Red Sox and won 14-2. The White Sox won 99 games and captured the title in the American League Central Division. The Red Sox secured itself of postseason-play last Sunday on the last day of the regular season by capturing the wild card.
The White Sox hit five homeruns, including two by A.J. Pierzynski, who hit a 3-run homerun in a 5-run first inning. Paul Konerko (solo), Juan Uribe (2-run) and Scott Podsednik (3-run) also homered. Podsednik didn't homer in the entire season.
Winning pitcher was Cuban José Contreras, who was relieved in the eighth inning.

At Anaheim, AL-East champion Yankees (which won the title for the eighth year in a row) won 4-2 vs. AL-West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The Yankees took a 3-0 lead when Robinson Cano hit a 2-out, 3-run double in the first inning.
In the seventh inning, Bengie Molina homered for the Angels.

The Division Series between NL-East champion Atlanta Braves and NL-Wild Card Houston Astros opens on Wednesday in Atlanta.
(October 5)

At Chicago, the Red Sox held a 4-0 lead after three innings, but the White Sox rallied for five runs in the fifth inning to turn the game in its favor.
Boston opened the score in the first at bat when Johnny Damon led off with a single and Edgar Renteria followed with a double. The two then scored on a 2-out single by Manny Ramirez. In the third inning, Damon singled again and David Ortiz doubled with one out. After Manny Ramirez was walked intentionally to load the bases, Jason Varitek delivered an RBI-single, then another run was scored on a grounder by Trot Nixon. But that happened to be all for the BoSox, who had only three more basehits in the last six innings.
The White Sox came back in the fifth inning, but were helped by an error. Boston-starter David Wells first gave up a single to Carl Everett, who went on to score on a double by Aaron Rowand. After a groundout, Rowand scored on a single by Joe Crede. Next, Juan Uribe grounded to second baseman Tony Graffanino for what appeared to become an inning-ending double play. However, the ball went through the legs of Graffanino and everyone was safe. Scott Podsednik then flied out, but Tadahito Iguchi followed with a 3-run homerun to give Chicago a 5-4 lead. The Japanese player in a Major League-rookie, but already had played eight seasons professionally in Japan, where he won the championship title twice with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.
Bobby Jenks took over for Chicago-starter Mark Buehrle in the eighth and closed the game, despite giving up a double to Graffanino in the ninth inning.

At Anaheim, the Yankees were leading 2-0 when the Angels came back to tie the score and went on to win.
Robinson Cano doubled in a run in the second inning and a grounder by Gary Sheffield gave New York a 2-0 lead in the fifth. In the home fifth, former Yankee Juan Rivera homered for Anaheim off Taiwanese starter Chien-Ming Wang. In the next at bat, Orlando Cabrera reached base on an error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez, then scored the tying run on a single by Bengie Molina.
The Angels broke the 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. Juan Rivera led off with an infield-hit and Steve Finley was safe when Wang made a throwing error on his sac-bunt. The two went on to score on a 2-run single by Cabrera.
In the eighth, Molina made it 5-2 by hitting a homerun. The Yankees added a run in the ninth when Jorge Posada homered.

At Atlanta, Morgan Ensberg had five RBI's in leading the Astros to a 10-5 win vs. the Braves.
Ensberg's RBI-single in the first and 2-run single in the third gave the Astros its first three runs. In the home first, Chipper Jones had homered for the Braves to tie the score, but after Ensberg's 2-run single in the third, another run was scored on a sac-fly by Craig Biggio in the fourth. The Braves narrowed the deficit when Andruw Jones hit a 2-run homerun in the home fourth.
In the seventh inning, Houston got a run back on another RBI-single by Ensberg, then rallied for five runs in the eighth inning to take a 10-3 lead. The runs were scored on an RBI-single by Jeff Bagwell, a basesloaded walk for Ensberg, a wild pitch and a 2-run single by Orlando Palmeiro.
Atlanta could score only two more runs in the eighth inning.
(October 6)

At St. Louis, the Cardinals scored twice in the third and fourth inning, but all runs were scored without the ball leaving the infield. A grounder and a squeeze by David Eckstein, a grounder by Yadier Molina and a basesloaded walk for Albert Pujols accounted for the first four runs.
After the Padres scored their first run in the seventh, the Cardinals added two run in the home seventh on a 2-run double by Reggie Sanders.
Winning pitcher Mark Mulder, who was hit on the shoulder by a line drive in the second inning, didn't gave up a run before being lifted in the seventh inning. The Cardinals turned four double plays, involving short stop David Eckstein.

At Atlanta, rookie Brian McCann hit a 3-run homerun in the second inning off veteran Roger Clemens to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Atlanta added two runs in the third on a double by Adam LaRoche.
In the seventh inning, RBI-singles by Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur made it 7-1.
Houston had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Starting pitchers John Smoltz (Braves) (38) and Roger Clemens (Astros) (43) combined for the oldest starting pitching duo in Play-Off history. But in the second inning, it was a rookie that decided the game. 21 year old Brian McCann, who was not even three months old when Clemens made his Major League-debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1984 and started the season in double-A, gave the Braves the lead with his homerun, which he hit in his first Play-Off at bat.
Andruw Jones went 3-for-4 and scored three runs.
(October 7)

At Boston, the White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a double by Scott Podsednik and a single by Tadahito Iguchi, but in the home fourth, the Red Sox tied the score on back-to-back homeruns by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.
The sixth inning then became a turning point in the game.
In the top of the sixth, Paul Konerko hit a 2-run homerun to give Chicago a 4-2 lead.
In the home of the sixth, Manny Ramirez hit his second homer of the game to narrow the deficit to 4-3. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Red Sox appeared to come back and take a lead. Cuban Orlando Hernandez came on in relief and did an outstanding job. 'El Duque' came out of the inning unharmed and added three scoreless innings to secure the victory.
Chicago added an insurance run in the ninth inning on a squeeze by Juan Uribe.

At New York, the Angels took an early 5-0 lead, but then the Yankees came back for a 6-5 lead, before the Angels won it 11-7. It rained the entire game, but depite sometimes heavy showers, it could be played without interruptions. And despite the weather, it was a great game with some fine defensive plays.
Yankee-lefthander Randy Johnson was hit hard in the first three innings. He gave up a 3-run homerun to Garret Anderson (four hits, five RBI's) in the first and a 2-run homerun to Bengie Molina in the third, which gave the Angels a 5-0 lead. Johnson left in the fourth inning and was booed by the fanatic Yankee-crowd.
In the fourth and fifh inning, New York came back strongly. In the fourth, the Yanks rallied for four runs. After Hideki Matsui led off with a homerun, an RBI-grounder and two RBI-singles put New York within one run. But then centerfielder Chone Figgins made an outstanding, diving catch to end the inning. In the fifth, Robinson Cano doubled in the tying run. Moments later, New York took a 6-5 lead on sac-fly by Bernie Williams.
The Angels answered with two runs in the sixth inning, then added two more runs in the seventh and eighth at bat to taken 11-6 lead.
In the eighth, Derek Jeter homered for the Yankees, but that was all for the Bronx Bombers.
The Angels collected 19 basehits.
(october 8)

At San Diego, the Cardinals already led 5-0 after two innings.
The team opened the score in the first on an RBI-double by Albert Pujols, then added four runs in the second at bat. David Eckstein hit a 2-run homerun in this inning, followed by a 2-run double by offensive hero Reggie Sanders, who set a series-record with ten RBI's. He already had six in the first game and two in the next.
In the fifth inning, St. Louis increased the lead to 7-0 on a 2-run single by Yadier Molina, before San Diego finally was able to do something back.
In the home fifth, the Padres scored twice on RBI-singles by Eric Young and Mark Loretta, then Dave Roberts (seventh inning) and Ramon Hernandez (eighth) homered, but the team was unable to turn the game around.

At Houston, the Astros took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a double by Morgan Ensberg and a sac-fly by Jason Lane, but the Braves tied the score in the next inning. Brian McCann and pitcher Jorge Sosa then singled in the two runs.
Houston broke the 2-2 tie in the third when Mike Lamb hit a homerun.
Atlanta-pitcher Jorge Sosa then recovered and threw three scoreless innings, before being relieved by Chris Reitsma, who started the seventh inning, but didn't last long. In that at bat, the Astros rallied for four runs off of four different pitchers and decided the game.
Atlanta added only one more run in the eighth inning on a double by Andruw Jones.
(October 9)

At Houston, it appeared that Atlanta was en route to tying the best-of-five, as the Braves were leading 6-1 in the eighth inning. Adam LaRoche had hit a grand slam homerun for Atlanta, but the lead wasn't enough.
In the home eighth, Lance Berkman also hit a grand slam to narrow the deficit to only 6-5. In the ninth, Brad Ausmus, who had hit only three homeruns in the entire season, homered to tie the score. The ball hit the left-centerfield fence just above the yellow marker and just out of reach of centerfielder Andruw Jones.
Then, an entire extra game needed to be played to decide it. Finally, in the eighteenth inning, it was rookie Chris Burke, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the tenth inning, who homered to give the Astros a 7-6 win and also the Series-win. The victory came after almost six hours of playing.

It was a game of records, a classic game. Houston-manager Phil Garner used every available player, all 23 of them. He didn't use pitcher Roy Oswalt, who had started the day before, and pitcher Andy Pettitte, who already was in Atlanta to start an eventual fifth game. Atlanta-manager Bobby Cox used 19 players. It also was the longest postseason game ever and it was the first postseason game with two grand slams.
43-year old Roger Clemens even was used as a pinch-hitter for the first time in his 22-year old career and pitched the last three innings in relief. His last and only other relief appearance dates back to 21 years ago! Clemens became the winning pitcher, as he gave up only one hit and struckout four batters. To find a pitcher with a comparable career as Clemens, who has 341 career victories, throwing in relief in the postseason, you have to go back 81 years. Back then, it was the great and famous Walter Johnson, who won 377 games, who pitched the last four innings and was the winner in Game 7 of the World Series for the Washington Senators.
Just like last year, the Astros will meet the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. The Series opens on Wedsnesday in st. Louis.

At New York, the Yankees trailed 2-0 in the sixth inning, but came back to win 3-2.
In the sixth, RBI-doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera gave the Angels a 2-0 lead.
In the home sixth, Gary Sheffield hit a 2-out, RBI-single for the first Yankee-run.
Then, in the seventh inning, New York took a 3-2 lead. Robinson Cano led off with an infield-hit and Jorge Posada walked. Pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra then followed with an RBI-single to tie the score. Next, Derek Jeter grounded to third baseman Figgins, who threw the ball to catcher Bengie Molina, but Posada just beat the tag and scored the go-ahead run.
After the game, both teams went to the airport for a red-eye flight back to Anaheim, where Game Five will be played on Monday.
(October 10)

First, it appeared to go the Yankee-way. After giving up two runs in the second inning, Anaheim-starter Bartolo Colon left the mound with a 3-2 count on the batter with a shoulder-injury. Ervin Santana took over, started with some control problems, but then never ran into problems for the next 5 1/3 inning to become the winning pitcher.
In the second, the Yankees took the lead on a single by Bubba Crosby and a sac-fly by Derek Jeter.
The lead didn't last long. In the home second, Garret Anderson first led off with a homerun to make it 2-1. Then, with two runners on base, Adam Kennedy hit the ball into right-centerfield where centerfielder Bubba Crosby and rightfielder Gary Sheffield collided. Kennedy was credited with a 2-run triple and the Angels were leading 3-2. In the third inning, the lead was expanded to 5-2 on a sac-fly and a grounder.
The third Yankee-run was produced in the seventh inning when Derek Jeter homered.
The Yankees therefore were eliminated in the play-offs for the fifth year in a row, despite having the highest paid team with a 203 million dollar payroll.
(October 11)

The Angels opened the score in the second inning when Garret Anderson led off with a homerun. In the next inning, the lead was increased to 3-0 on an infield-hit by Orlando Cabrera and a fielder's choice grounder by Vladimir Guerrero.
The White Sox came back with a run in the third inning when Joe Crede homered. The homerun was the first hit off starter Paul Byrd, who had retired the first seven batters he faced. In the fourth inning, Chicago narrowed the deficit to 3-2 when Chad Everett singled and scored on a 2-out single by A.J. Pierzynski. But in the remainder of the game, the White Sox were unable to add more runs and reached second base only one more time.

Anaheim-starter Paul Byrd was named Monday-evening by Manager Mike Scioscia, who on Tuesday-evening didn't know yet who his starter will be in Game 2 on Wednesday. Ace Bartolon Colon left the mound Monday in the second inning in Game 5 vs. the New York Yankees with an inflamed shoulder. He will not pitch in the ALCS and is not even on the roster for the Angels in this series. Number two-pitcher Jarrod Washburn is on a day-to-day status as he is suffering from a throat infection. But Byrd did an outstanding job and was relieved in the seventh.
Cuban José Ariel Contreras threw 8 1/3 inning for the White Sox, but didn't get enought offensive support after trailing already early in the game.
(October 12)

At Chicago, the score was tied 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when ChiSox-catcher A.J. Pierzynski struckout by swinging on a low pitch. However, he ran towards first base and was allowed to remain there, triggering an arguement. Catcher Josh Paul, thinking Pierzynski was out, rolled the ball back towards the mound and was leaving the field, as were most of his teammates. Pierzynski was replaced by pinch-runner Pablo Osuna, who stole second base and then scored the winning run on a deep double by Joe Crede. Home Plate Umpire Doug Eddings stated that the ball had touched the ground, before if was caught by Catcher Josh Paul.
Eddings clearly had made a strike-signal (pumping his right fist) when Pierzynski missed the ball. However, Eddings never said that the batter was out, but also never said that the ball had touched the ground and therefore remained in play. By making the signal with his right-arm, Angels-Manager Mike Scioscia stated that Eddings called Pierzynski out. Eddings also consulted 3B Umpire Ed Rapuano, who confirmed his vision, that of the ball touching the ground. The call was controversial, as television replays appear to show that the ball never touched the ground. It was also said that the catcher should have tagged Pierzynski or throw the ball to first base, just to make sure, because it was that low and close to the ground. After the game, Eddings said that the signal he gave was his normal mechanism he used the entire game and stuck to his decision, also after reviewing replays.
The White Sox had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning when lead-off hitter Scott Podsednik grounded back to pitcher Jarrod Washburn, but reached second base on a throwing error. Podsednik advanced on a sac-bunt and scored on a grounder by Jermaine Dye.
The Angels tied the score in the sixth inning when Robb Quinlan homered.

At St. Louis, Reggie Sanders remained hot at bat, hitting a 2-run homerun in the first inning to give the Cardinals an early lead. A run was added in the next at bat on a squeeze by pitcher Chris Carpenter, then two more were scored in the fifth.
Trailing 5-0, Houston came back with two runs in the seventh inning when pinch-hitter Chris Burke hit a 2-run homerun. Last Sunday, Burke hit the game-winning homerun in the 18-inning marathon. In the ninth inning, Houston made it 5-3.
(October 13)

Houston opened the score in the second inning. With one out, Chris Burke tripled and scored on a passed ball.
Two innings later, the lead was doubled when Brad Ausmus doubled and scored on a grounder by Craig Biggio, but then the Cardinals came back with a run in the sixth when Albert Pujols homered. But that was all Houston-starter Roy Oswalt gave up in the eight innings he pitched. Besides Pujols, no other Cardinal reached third base.
Houston added two insurance runs in the eighth inning after St. Louis-starter Mark Mulder was relieved. Lance Berkman scored on a 2-out single by Chris Burke, who in turn scored on a triple by Adam Everett. In trying to catch the ball hit by Everett, Cardinals-leftfielder Reggie Sanders injured himself and left the game. Sanders has been the offensive star for the Cards in this Play-offs so far.
(October 14)

The White Sox took charge of the game right in the first inning by scoring three runs. Scott Podsednik led off with a single, moved on a sac-bunt and scored on a double by Jermaine Dye, which was followed by a 2-run homerun by Paul Konerko.
In the third inning, Tadahito Iguchi singled and made it 4-0 by scoring on a single by Carl Everett.
Two innings later, the lead was increased to 5-0 when Iguchi doubled and scored on a 2-out single by Konerko.

Chicago-starter Jon Garland dominated and went the distance. He only gave up a 2-run homerun to Orlando Cabrera in the sixth inning and never ran into problems, as he gave up only four hits. Garland allowed only five Angels to reach base, none of which ever was in scoring position. In the second inning, Darrin Erstad hit a 2-out double, but was thrown out when he tried to stretch it into a triple. In the sixth inning, Adam Kennedy singled with one out, then scored on the 2-out, 2-run homerun by Cabrera. Garland retired the last ten batters he faced.
(October 15)

At Anaheim, the game again was 'highlighted' by some disputable umpiring decisions.
In the first inning, Chicago had runners on second and third with one out when Paul Konerko was the batter. In Game 3, he hit a 2-run homerun in the first inning. Now, with a 2-2 count, he checked his swing, but first base umpire Ed Rapuano decided he didn't went to far, so Konerko's count ran to 3-2. On the next pitch, he hit a 3-run homerun to give the ChiSox a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, the Angels came back to 3-1 and had runners on first and third base with one out. Steve Finley then grounded to second base, but while running towards first base, he signaled that something was wrong. In his swing, Finley had hit the mitt of catcher A.J. Pierzynski, but this catcher's interference wasn't noticed by Home Plate Umpire Ron Kulpa. Otherwise, Finley was awarded first base and the Angels would have the bases loaded with only one out. But now, Finley's grounder ended in an inning-ending double play.
In the third inning, Jermaine Dye reached first base on a high throw by short stop Orlando Cabrera. Despite the high throw, it appeared that first baseman Darin Erstad tagged Dye on his bag just before he stepped on first base. Moments later, Dye scored the fourth Chicago-run on a 2-out single by Carl Everett.
In the fourth inning, no one could discuss the fifth Chicago-run as A.J. Pierzynski homered to deep centerfield. In the home fourth, Anaheim added a run on a 2-out, RBI-double.
In the fifth inning, Scott Podsednik led off with a walk. Next batter Tadahito Iguchi then flied out to centerfield, after which starter Ervin Santana was relieved by Scot Shields. On a pick-off attempt by Shields, it appeared Podsednik was tagged out, before diving back into first base, but 1B Umpire Ed Rapuano didn't saw it that way. Moments later, Podsednik stole second base and scored the sixth run on a 2-out single by Everett.
In the eighth inning, Chicago added two non-questionable runs on a 1-out, 2-run single by Joe Crede.
But despite all the umpiring breaks in favor of Chicago, the Angels were silenced by Freddy Garcia, who went the distance. Garcia gave up only six basehits and became the third Chicago-starter in a row to throw a complete game. The last time three pitchers threw three consecutive pitchers in the Play-Offs was in 1973 when Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman did the same for the New York Mets.

At Houston, Roger Clemens threw six strong innings, despite having a hamstring-problem. The 43-year old righthander was relieved when the Astros were leading 4-2 and therefore became the winning pitcher.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Mike Lamb hit a 2-run homerun, but St. Louis came back to tie the score. In the fifth inning, Yadier Molina singled and scored on a sac-fly and in the sixth at bat, Albert Pujols also scored on a sac-fly.
In the home sixth, the Astros re-took the lead by scoring twice. With one out, Mike Lamb doubled and scored on a single by Jason Lane, who moved to third on a single by Brad Ausmus. Lane collided with third baseman Abraham Nunez, who had to leave the game. After a pitching change, Lane scored on a throwing error by new third baseman Hector Luna to make it 4-2.
The Cardinals were unable to do something off Chad Qualls, who took over for Clemens and threw two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth. In the ninth, Brad Lidge took over and got two quick out, but, after a walk, gave up a double to pinch-hitter John Mabry that producd the third Cardinal-run. But a flyout by David Eckstein then ended the game.
(October 16)

At Anaheim, where it rained lightly, Joe Crede contributed with three RBI's and José Ariel Contreras became the fourth consecutive Chicago-starter to throw a complete game. The last time four complete games were thrown in the postseason was in 1956 when the New York Yankees did it in the World Series. The Chicago-bullpen pitched only 2/3 inning in this series, facing only two batters! In the opener, Contreras threw 8 1/3 inning, followed by complete games by Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia.
The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Aaron Rowand doubled and scored on a sac-fly by Joe Crede. In the third inning, the Angels came alongside. Juan Rivera led off with a double, moved on a failed pick-off and scored on a single by Adam Kennedy, who later was left at third base.
Chicago re-took the lead in the fifth when Juan Uribe doubled and scored on a 2-out single by Jermaine Dye, but in the home fifth, the Angels scored twice. Adam Kennedy singled and scored on a double by Chone Figgins, who himself scored on a sac-fly by Garret Anderson.
The White Sox tied the score thanks to Joe Crede, who homered in the seventh inning. In the next at bat, it was Crede again that gave the ChiSox its third lead in the game, this time to keep. With two outs in the eighth inning and Aaron Rowand on first base, A.J. Pierzynski again was involved in a crucial play. In Game Two, he scored the winning run after reaching base on the controversial non-strikeout call by HP Umpire Doug Eddings, in Game Four his catcher's interference (he admitted that his mitt touched the bat) wasn't noticed, turning a basesloaded, one-out situation for the Angels into an inning-ending double play. But this time, the call was right. Pierzynski grounded to pitcher Kelvim Escobar, who picked up the ball, ran towards base and tagged Pierzynski, after which he was called out (which would have end the inning). But after Chicago-manager Ozzie Guillen argued the call, the umpires talked it over and reversed the decision, as Escobar had tagged Pierzynki with his glove, while he hold the ball in his bare hand. Escobar was relieved by Francisco Rodriguez, who gave up a single to Joe Crede, enabling Rowand to score the go-ahead run.
In the ninth inning, Chicago added two insurance runs on a double by Paul Konerko (the Series MVP) and a sac-fly by Aaron Rowand, which ended in an inning-ending double play, as Konerko was thrown out at third, but not before the run had scored.

At Houston, there also were critical sounds towards one of the umpires. Some of the batters of both teams reacted to the large strike zone of Home Plate Umpire Phil Cuzzi. In the seventh inning, the Astros had runners on first and second with one out, when Lance Berkman walked to load the bases. Cardinal-Manager Tony LaRussa reacted on the last call from the dug-out and was ejected, triggering a heated discussion between LaRussa and Cuzzi. In the eighth inning, with a runner on first and two outs, Cardinal-centerfielder Jim Edmonds had a 3-1 count when the next pitch was called a strike. Edmonds reacted and also was ejected, meaning a pinch-hitter had to take over with a 3-2 count. That pinch-hitter drove the ball into deep centerfield, where Willy Taveras, who had just entered the game, made a great catch on the hill in centerfield.
The Cardinals opened the score in the fourth inning. David Eckstein led off with a walk, moved to third on a double by Jim Edmonds and scored on a sac-fly by Albert Pujols.
In the home fourth, the Astros tied the score when Jason Lane homered.
In the seventh inning, Houston took a 2-1 lead. Pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro led off with a walk and moved when pitcher Jason Marquis misplayed a sac-bunt by Craig Biggio. With one out, Lance Berkman walked to load the bases, resulting in a reaction from Manager Tony LaRussa, who was then ejected. Willy Taveras then came in to run for Palmeiro at third base and scored the go-ahead run on a sac-fly by Morgan Ensberg. Moments later, Taveras made his possible game-saving catch in centerfield.
A tense inning followed in the ninth. Closer Brad Lidge took the mount for the Astros and gave up lead-off singles to Albert Pujols and Larry Walker to put runners on first and third base. Next, Reggie Sanders grounded towards third where Morgan Ensberg made a great play and threw the ball to the plate where catcher Brad Ausmus tagged out Pujols. Next batter John Mabry then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with a close call at first base to end the game. It triggered a big celebration on the field as if the Astros already had won the World Series. But they first need to win another game to reach the final.
(October 17)

Houston took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Jason Lane led off with a single and Brad Ausmus followed with a double. With one out, pitcher Andy Pettitte grounded towards first base where Albert Pujols fielded the ball and threw out Lane at the plate. But then Craig Biggio singled to bring in Ausmus and give the Astros an early lead.
In the third inning, David Eckstein and Jim Edmonds led off with singles for the Cardinals. Pettitte then struckout the next two batters, before walking Larry Walker to load the bases. With a 2-2 count, Pettitte missed the strike zone twice to walk Walker. Mark Grudzielanek then followed with a bloop single to rightfield to score two runners, resulting in a 2-1 lead for St. Louis.

That lead remained on the scoreboard until the seventh inning. In the home seventh, Craig Biggio reached base on an error with one out, then Chris Burke singled. Next, Lance Berkman homered to leftfield to bring in three runs and give the Astros a 4-2 lead. The 43.000 plus spectators in Minute Maid Park became even more louder than before, as the World Series were coming into vision.
Celebrations continued in the stands and even in Houston's dug-outs some high-fives were visible. Especially when top-closer Brad Lidge took the mound in the ninth inning and struckout the first two batters he faced. But then, the laws of sports decided otherwise and once again Berra's quote was underscored. With two outs, Lidge had two strikes on David Eckstein, one of the players who is most difficult to strike out. And it didn't happen this time, as Eckstein singled passed third into leftfield. Lidge lost his control for a moment and walked next batter Jim Edmonds to set up a classic confrontation. Lidge, often labeled as the best closer, had to face Albert Pujols, being one of the best, if not the best, hitter in the Major League. After Houston-Manager Phil Garner talked to Lidge, Pujols swung miss at the first delivery, but then made full contact on the next pitch, a slider that didn't drop. Pujols knew he had hit the ball well and watched it sailing towards leftfield, where it cleared the wall and hit the glass behind it for a 3-run homerun. It gave the Cardinals a 5-4 lead and resulted in a complete silence in the stadium. The Astros were unable to turn the game around again and now have to travel back to St. Louis where they have two more chances to win one and go to the World Series.
(October 18)

Roy Oswalt dominated, threw seven solid innings and was named the Series MVP. Oswalt gave up his first basehit in the fifth inning and was the driving force en route to the clinching.
After the Cardinals dealt a blow in Game 5 when Albert Pujols hit a 3-run homerun in the ninth inning to turn a 4-2 lead into a 5-4 loss, everyone was anxious to see how the Astros would recover. The Astros recovered perfectly and took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Brad Ausmus (Who had three hits) led off with a single and moved on an infield-hit by Adam Everett. The two advanced after a sac-bunt by Roy Oswalt. Ausmus then scored the first run when Mark Mulder threw a wild pitch. Moments later, Everett scored when Craig Biggio singled.
In the fourth inning, the lead was increased to 3-0 when Jason Lane homered.

The Cardinals came back with a run in the fifth at bat. Oswalt, who had pitched four hitless innings, hit lead-off batter Mark Grudzielanek with a pitch, then gave up his first basehit when Yadier Molina singled. After a force-play grounder, Grudzielanek moved to third base and scored on a sac-fly.
Houston got the run back right away in the next inning. With one out, Chris Burke and Brad Ausmus singled to put runners on first and third. Burke scored on a perfectly executed squeeze by Adam Everett to bring in the extra run.
In the seventh, Houston added another run when Craig Biggio singled and scored on a 2-out single by Morgan Ensberg.
Besides Grudzielanek, the Cardinals reached second base only one more time when Larry Walker doubled in the sixth inning.

For veterans Craig Biggio (39) and Jeff Bagwell (37) this will be there first trip to the World Series. The two have played their entire career for the Astros. Biggio appeared in 2564 games in 18 season since 1998 and Bagwell played in 2150 games in 15 seasons sinds 1991, but the two never reached the all-deciding final. For them, a dream will come true next Saturday.
The game was the last played in Busch Stadium in St. Louis, which will be replaced by a new stadium next season. It also might have been the last game for St. Louis-outfielder Larry Walker, who is considering retirement.
(October 20)

Starting pitchers were former teammates Roger Clemens (Houston) and José Contreras (Chicago), who played together in 2003 for the New York Yankees when Andy Pettitte (Houston's Game 2 starter) also wore the Yankee-pinstripes. But both pitchers gave up basehits and runs in the first three innings, resulting in a 3-3 tie. Clemens needed a lot of pitches and was bothered by a hamstring-injury. The veteran left after two innings when he strained his left hamstring. The 43-year old Clemens became the second oldest pitcher in World Series-history. Only Jake Quinn was three years older when he threw for the Philadelphia Athletics on October 12, 1929 against the Chicago Cubs. In the first inning, Clemens gave up a 2-out homerun to Jermaine Dye, but in the second inning Mike Lamb tied the score by hitting a homerun off Contreras.

In the home second, Chicago again brought Clemens into problems. Carl Everett led off with a single and moved to third base on a hit-and-run single by Aaron Rowand. A grounder by A.J. Pierzynski resulted in a force play on second base, but enabled Everett to score. After a groundout, Pierzynski scored when Juan Uribe doubled.
Again the score was tied in the third inning. With one out and Adam Everett (fielder's choice) on first, Craig Biggio singled. The two moved on a sac-bunt by Willy Taveras, then scored on a double by Lance Berkman.

In the fourth inning, Joe Crede homered off Wandy Rodriguez, who relieved Clemens in the third inning. Contreras recovered and retired seven batters in a row after Berkman's double, before giving up a lead-off double to Willy Taveras in the sixth. Taveras was left at third base.
In the seventh inning, Houston again was close to the tying run. Contreras hit two batters with a pitch and had runners on first and third with two outs when Biggio grounded out to end the inning.
In the eighth, Contreras again gave up a lead-off double to Taveras and was relieved by Neal Cotts. After four complete games in a row in the American League Championship Series, Chicago-Manager Ozzie Guillen went to his bullpen for the first time since Game One of the ALCS. Neal Cotts came in, but gave up a single to Lance Berkman, but then struckout the next two batters. Bobby Jenks was then brought in to face Jeff Bagwell and also registered a strikeout to save the lead for Contreras.
The White Sox added an insurance run in the eighth inning. A.J. Pierzynski led off with a single and stole second base. With two outs, he scored on a triple by Scott Podsednik to make it 5-3.
(October 23)

Again, the starting pitchers gave up enough basehits and runs early in the game. Was the score tied 3-3 after three innings in Game One, this time it was 2-2. The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Morgan Ensberg homered on the first delivery by pitcher Mark Buehrle. In the home of the second, the White Sox scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. With one out, Aaron Rowand and A.J. Pierzynski singled, then Joe Crede (the hero of Game One) followed with an RBI-single to tie the score. Next, Juan Uribe popped up towards second baseman Craig Biggio, who dropped the ball, but rightfielder Jason Lane was able to force out Crede at second base. In the meantime, Pierzynski scored the go-ahead run. In the third inning, Houston came alongside when speedy Willy Taveras tripled with one out and scored on a sac-fly by Lance Berkman.
Two innings later, the Astros re-took the lead by scoring two runs. Brad Ausmus led off with a double and moved to third base on a two-out infield-hit by Willy Taveras. The two scored on a double by Lance Berkman.

It appeared Houston was en route to its first win, as starter Andy Pettitte recovered after giving up the runs in the second inning and pitched six solid innings. In the seventh inning, Dan Wheeler took over the pitching, instead of Chad Qualls, who already was warming up in the bullpen. The decision wasn't successful, as Wheeler left the mound after facing only five batters and had the bases loaded. With one out, Juan Uribe doubled and with two outs, Tadahito Iguchi walked. Next, a pitch by Wheeler hit the bat of Jermaine Dye (as was visible on replays), but instead Home Plate Umpire Jeff Nelson decided that it was not a foul ball, but that Dye was hit by the pitch, awarding him first base and loading the bases. Qualls then came in to relief Wheeler, but fis first pitch to Paul Konerko ended in a grand slam homerun (the 18th in World Series-history) and a 6-4 lead for Chicago.

In the ninth inning, Houston was able to come back and tie the score. After Berkman's double in the fifth inning, ten batters were retired in a row. Rookie closer Bobby Jenks came in to pitch the ninth and save the game for the White Sox. In Game One, Jenks was impressive, but this time, it went the other way. He gave up a lead-off single to veteran Jeff Bagwell, then struckout Jason Lane. But next he walked Chris Burke, before Brad Ausmus grounded out. José Vizcaino was brought in as pinch-hitter for Adam Everett and singled over third base into leftfield. Bagwell and Burke both raced towards home to score, with Burke narrowly beating the tag by catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
As everyone was preparing for extra innings, the game was decided earlier than expected. In the home ninth, Juan Uribe flied out, but then Scott Podsednik became the hero by hitting a homerun. In the regular season, Podsednik was unable to hit a homerun. He also homered in Game One of the American League Division Series vs. the Boston Red Sox.
(October 24)

The two teams used a record 43 players (Chicago 22, Houston 21), including 17 pitchers (Chicago 9, Houston 8), who combined threw 482 pitches. The first-ever World Series-game in Texas became very memorable and with five hours and 41 minutes was the longest ever. It ended at 1:20 in the morning. In 2000, the New York Yankees and New York Mets played the previous longer game, which lasted 4 hours and 51 minutes. The 14 innings equals the World Series-record. On October 6, 1916, the Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers also played fourteen innings in Game Two of that Series. The Red Sox won that game 2-1 and Babe Ruth was the winning pitcher. Ruth went the distance, as did Sherry Smith for the Dodgers. But Game Three between the Astros and White Sox was far from a pitching duel.

The game started as a 'normal' game and saw four great double plays in the first two innings. The Astros started strong and had a 4-0 lead after four innings. Veteran Craig Biggio contributed in three runs. He led off the first inning with a double and scored on a one-out single by Lance Berkman.
In the third inning, Adam Everett led off with a single. He was then caught in a rundown, but short stop Juan Uribe threw the ball on Everett's back, enabling him to return safely to first base. He then moved on a sac-bunt by Roy Oswalt and scored on a single by Craig Biggio. With two outs, Biggio advanced to third on a single by Lance Berkman and scored on a single by Morgan Ensberg.
In the fourth inning, Jason Lane led off with a homerun which lifted the score to 4-0. However, enlarged TV-replays showed that the ball hit a playable area and wasn't a homerun at all. The outfield in Minute Maid Park has a strange construction. Not only is there a playable hill behind (!) the warning track in centerfield, but there also is a corner in leftfield, where the yellow horizontal homerun-line on the wall moves takes a vertical route, before it continues again horizontally. The left part of the vertical line is playable area, the right part is not, so when the ball hits the wall there, it is a homerun. But the replays show that the ball hit the wall left from the line, making it in play.

The turning point in the game came in the fifth inning when the White Sox rallied for five runs off Oswalt, who needed 46 pitches to complete this inning. Despite giving up six hits, walking a batter and hitting another, Manager Phil Garner left Oswalt in the game and didn't turn to bis bullpen, which failed in recent games. But this time, his starter also didn't do the job. Oswalt, who won 40 games in the last two seasons, simply appeared not to have his regular stuff and didn't pitch as dominating as before, like in the Play-Offs.
Joe Crede opened the inning with a homerun, then Juan Uribe followed with a single. After a strikeout, Scott Podsednik also singled, followed by RBI-singles from Tadahito Iguchi and Jermaine Dye. Next, Paul Konerko flied out, but then A.J. Pierzynski hit a 2-run double to make it 5-4 in Chicago's favor. The bases were then loaded when Aaron Rowand walked and Joe Crede was hit by a pitch, before the inning finally ended when Juan Uribe flied out.
The blow was big, especially as Chicago-starter Jon Garland recovered. After giving up the homerun to Jason Lane in the fourth, Garland retired the next nine batters in a row and 12 of the last 13 he faced.

In the seventh inning, the Astros tied the score. New pitcher Cliff Politte got two quick outs, but then walked Morgan Ensberg. Politte was relieved by Neal Cotts, who also walked Mike Lamb, who was then replaced by pinch-runner Eric Brunkett. Cotts also was relieved and Dustin Hermanson took over. He gave up a double to Jason Lane, which tied the score. Lane's double not only was the first basehit since he homered himself in the fourth inning, but also was to be the lone hit by the Astros in the last ten (!) innings of the game. With runners on second and third, Brad Ausmus struckout to end the inning.

In the ninth inning, Houston got another chance to score the winning run off of Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez, who was the new Chicago-pitcher when the inning started. With one out, Hernandez walked Chris Burke, who advanced to second base on a failed pick-off by the Cuban pitcher. After Burke stole third base, Craig Biggio (by the way, one of only three Astros without a beard!) also walked. Willy Taveras then struckout. Next, Lance Berkman was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Hernandez then struckout powerhitter Morgan Ensberg.
In the tenth and eleventh inning, the Astros again stranded two runners. The White Sox left two runners behind in the eleventh at bat and became the victim of a fine double play in the 13th inning.

But then, in the fourteenth inning, Chicago struck off of Ezequiel Astacio, one of two possible starters for Game Five if Roger Clemens would not be able to start because of his injury. After Paul Konerko grounded into a great double play, back-up infielder Geoff Blum homered to rightfield in his first ever World Series at bat. Aaron Rowand and Joe Crede then followed with two infield-hits, after which the bases were loaded when Juan Uribe walked. Astacio then also walked Chris Widger, the back-up catcher, who had entered the game in the ninth. With the walk, Rowand scored and made it 7-5.
In the home 14th Orlando Palmeiro walked with one out and Brad Ausmus reached on an error with two outs. Chicago-Manager Ozzie Guillen then brought in Mark Buehrle, the starting pitcher of Game Two to face Adam Everett. The longest game in World Series-history then ended three pitches later when Everett popped out to short stop Juan Uribe.
In the game, a record 30 runners were left behind on the bases.
(October 26)

For the first time in this Series, we had a pitching duel. Brendan Backe (Houston) and Freddy Garcia held each other in balance, pitching seven strong innings and were supported by fantastic defense plays. When the Series started, it was expected that the pitchers would be dominant, but that wasn't the way in the first three games. The two teams were equal, had the same style of playing (small ball, situation hitting, bunts, hit-and-run), great pitching, power hitting and fine defense. The final scores were small, the games were tense, but the ChiSox worked their way around the bases better than the Astros, who left too much runners behind in scoring position. ,,We simply didn't hit'', Houston-Manager Phil Garner stated frequently and was visibly frustrated at times during the games. His Chicago-colleague Ozzie Guillen also grimaced sometimes when things didn't went the way he wanted. But his players did place the basehits when it was needed.

The lone of the fourth game was scored in the eighth inning and came in a characteristic way. Pinch-hitter Willie Harris led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Scott Podsednik. A groundout by pinch-hitter Carl Everett moved Harris to third base, followed by a single from Jermaine Dye, which produced the run. Another important contribution from Dye, who was named the Series Most Valuable Player.

The White Sox got their first scoring opportunity in the first inning when Jermaine Dye doubled with two outs, but then Paul Konerko grounded out. In the third inning, Scott Podsednik triple with two outs, but this time Tadahito Iguchi ended the at bat with a groundout. After Jermaine Dye led off the fourth inning with a single, Houston-starter Brendan Backe retired the next eleven batters in a row (including the first five on a strikeout), before giving up a single to Aaron Rowand and a double to Joe Crede in the seventh, but then struckout Juan Uribe.
In the eighth inning, Brad Lidge took over for Backe and gave up the lone run. In the ninth, A.J. Pierzynski led off with a double, but this time the ChiSox failed to add an insurance run, but they wouldn't need that.

Houston also got scoring opportunities, but again failed to move the runners around and score runs. In this game, the Astros were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. In the first inning, Craig Biggio led off with a single, but stranded at second base. In the second inning, Mike Lamb led off with a double, but remained at second base. In the fourth, Lance Berkman led off with a walk and three batters reached base, but none of them went beyond first base. In the fifth, Brad Ausmus led off with a single, but then Adam Everett grounded into a double play. In the sixth, Willy Taveras singled with one out and Lance Berkman walked. The bases were loaded when Mike Lamb was walked with two outs, but Freddy Garcia ended the at bat by striking out Jason Lane, the most productive hitter for the Astros in the Series. In the eighth inning, the Astros again got two runners on base. With one out, Willy Taveras was hit by a pitch by reliever Cliff Politte and moved on a wild pitch. Powerhitter Lance Berkman was then walked intentionally. Taveras moved to third on a flyout by Morgan Ensberg, but the inning ended after reliever Neal Cotts took over and got pinch-hitter José Vizcaino to groundout. Taveras was the only Astro-runner to reach third base (twice) in this game.
In the ninth inning, the Chicago-defense saved the game for closer Bobby Jenks, who save the lead. Jenks gave up a lead-off single to Jason Lane, who moved to second base on a sac-bunt by Brad Ausmus. Pinch-hitter Chris Burke then popped up into foul territory behind third base where short stop Juan Uribe made an outstanding catch, while falling in the stands, but held onto the ball for the second putout. Next, Orlando Palmeiro was brought in as a pinch-hitter and grounded to Uribe, who made a fine fielding play and threw out Palmeiro in a close play at first to end the game. The celebrations could begin!

For the White Sox, this was their eighth win in a row in the postseason, which they closed with an 11-1 record. Manager Ozzie Guillen stated before the Play-Offs: ,,You have to win eleven games to become champion''. But it is something to indeed win those eleven games and win the title!
With the World Series-title, the White Sox also turned a black page in its history. After winning the World Series in 1917, the team again reached the final in 1919, but then lost to the Cincinnati Reds. During the Series, it already was rumored that some players were bribed for intentionally losing the Series. Two years later, a Judge, Kenesaw Mountain Landis was named Commissioner to look into the case. Indeed, eight players, including top-player 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson, had accepted money to throw the Series and were suspended for life. Since then, Major League Baseball is headed by a Commissioner. The case was nicknamed the Black Sox-scandal. In 1988, the movie 'Eight Men Out' focused on this scandal.
(October 27)

Bologna and San Marino shared first place after the regular season in the Serie A/1 with the same record (35-19), closely followed by Caffè Danesi Nettuno and Telemarket Rimini, who also had the same record (34-20) and shared third place.
In the semi-finals, Bologna won the best-of-seven vs. Rimini, 4-1. Bologna opened at home with 8-2 and 6-4 victories, but then lost the first game in Rimini, 2-0. Bologna recovered and also won Game 4 and 5 in Rimini, 1-0 and 8-4, to advance to the final.
San Marino needed six games to eliminate Nettuno, 4-2. Playing at home in Serravalle, San Marino split the first two games. After a 3-1 victory, the next game was lost 4-1. At Nettuno, San Marino re-took the lead with a 4-3 win, but then lost big in Game 4, 19-6. Again San Marino was able to come back and won the next two games. After winning Game 5 in Nettuno 4-1, San Marino also won Game 6 at home, 2-1, to clinch the final.

The best-of-five final opened on Friday, September 30 and was bothered by rain in the middle, resulting in three postponements.
The first two games were played in Bologna. In the opener, Bologna shutout San Marino 4-0. The next day, San Marino evened the series by winning 5-4.
The next three games were scheduled to be played in the tiny Republic of San Marino. On Monday, October 3, Bologna came back with a 14-6 win, but again San Marino won the next game, 2-0. Game 5 on Wednesday rained out and was postponed to Thursday, but then again rain made playing impossible. The game finally was played on Friday and San Marino won again, 7-6, to take the Series-lead for the first time (3-2). With the cancellation of Game 5, the sixth game, which was to be played on Friday in Bologna, was moved to Saturday.
The Series moved back to Bologna for the next two games, but on Saturday it rained again. It was decided to move that game to Sunday-afternoon (all games were scheduled for 9:00 PM in the evening) and play the seventh game, if needed, in the evening. It became a long day, as both teams indeed were needed. First, Bologna evened the Series by winning 9-2. In the evening, Bologna ended in the same matter as they started, with a shutout, this time winning 2-0. Pitcher Jesus Matos went the distance, struckout 15 batters and gave up only four hits. Matos and Claudio Liverziani were both named Series MVP.

For Bologna, coached by Mauro Mazzoti, this was its seventh overall Italian title. Two years ago, Bologna also won the title, but last season the champion was Prink Grosseto, but they didn't even qualify for the Play-Offs this time. Bologna won its other titles in 1969, 1972, 1974, 1978 and 1984.
(October 12)

In the six-country tournament, the United States is setting its first steps for qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (China). Last year, the Americans didn't participate in the Athens Olympics, as they were eliminated in 2003 during the Qualifying Tournament in Panama.
Since then, the rules have been changed, resulting in Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be played in every region.
The top-four teams of the qualifying tournaments in North and South America and the Caribbean region will qualify for the Americas Qualifier Event, which will be played August next year in Havana (Cuba). The two best teams will qualify for the 2008 Olympics, while the third and fourth placed teams will get a second chance in a Qualifying Tournament to be played in 2007.

Next month, Team USA will meet Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama in the North American qualifier, which will be played November 15-19 in three Spring Training stadiums in Phoenix, Mesa and Maryvale.
Currently, the Caribbean Qualifier is underway in San Juan (Puerto Rico). Playing in that event are American Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

Davey Johnson, who has been the Bench Coach for Dutch Manager Robert Eenhoorn in 2003 and 2004 and also served as interim-Manager for the Dutch squad, probably will select most of his players from the Arizona Fall League, which is an Instructional League and is currently underway. Those players will be active throughout this month and therefore be in form, as the other professional leagues have closed there season. The 62-year old Johnson played 13 seasons in the Major League and was a manager in the big league for 14 seasons, leading the New York Mets to the World Series-title in 1986.
(October 12)

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