Dutch Baseball

The previous World Port Tournament was held in 2003. Last year, the event didn't took place because of the World Cup Baseball, which was held in The Netherlands.
The inaugural edition of the World Port Tournament, which is held every two (odd) years, just as the Haarlem Baseball Week (in even years), was in 1985.
The participating teams in the eleventh edition of the WPT are not known yet, but includes the Dutch National Team.

Preceeding the tournament is the second edition of the European Baseball Series between the Dutch and Italian national teams. The three games to be played in the Netherlands are scheduled to be played in Haarlem.
Following the WPT will be the European Championships in Barcelona (Spain).
(August 2)

Van 't Klooster, who last week participated with the Dutch Team in the Haarlem Baseball Week, has been suspended, because he was suspected of having used cannabis early in the season, after being tested positive.
Van 't Klooster always has denied using cannabis and appealed a previous suspension, as not all report were available when that suspension was handed to him.
The outfielder, who played in 151 official games for the national squad, will miss the next six games of Kinheim, which is in first place in the big league. But after that, he will be available for the remainder of this competition, as well as the post season and coming games of the Dutch national team, which includes the Intercontinental Cup in November in Taiwan.
(August 2)

Coming Saturday, the second part of the season starts with four games and four more will follow on Sunday. All eight teams remain in the race for the four Play-Off spots, but Amsterdam Pirates and Instant Holland Almere '90 were eliminated for first place (and the KNBSB Cup) before the break.

Seven of the eight teams announced their starters for the weekend. Sparta/Feyenoord will name its pitchers on Friday. ADO added RHP Alex Smith to its pitching staff. Smith, who also pitched for ADO last season, was released recently in the Rookie League and is expected to arrive on Friday, making him available to throw in the weekend.

Most teams were unable to have a practice on Thursday-evening, as it has been raining almost constantly for four days now. Because of the heavy rain, the status of the playing fields is unknown for the upcoming games.

Some teams will not be complete coming weekend, due to absent players and suspensions.
Amsterdam Pirates will miss RHP Pim Walsma and RHP Tom Stuifbergen, who are in Italy participating in the Major League European Academy, as is DOOR Neptunus' 1B Jeffrey Arends. Neptunus also has to do without 2B Benjamin Dille, who participates this week with the Belgian national team in the European Championships, B-Pool, C Sape Wagenaar (injured), OF Jurriaan Korff, OF Johnny Balentina and LHP Diegomar Markwell (all three suspended for one game). Coach Paul van den Oever also has to sit out a one-game suspension. Corendon Kinheim has to play six games without OF Dirk van 't Klooster, because of his suspension. ADO will miss 1B Percy Isenia (one game), 3B Marvin Bleij (two games) and coaches Mike Crouwel and Robert John (both one game), due to suspensions.
(August 3)

Tridents, which leads the league, meets PSV twice in the weekend, while Omron Pioniers, the only remaining contender, is playing against Gryphons.
As the magic number is one, a Tridents-victory or a Pioniers-loss, gives the Rotterdam-squad the Dutch title for second teams. Last season, Tridents was dethroned as reigning champion and Mr. Cocker HCAW 2 won the title.
(August 3)

At Eindhoven, Tridents was beaten 11-7 by PSV, but was victorious after all, as Pioniers also lost.
On July 14, Tridents already had dethroned reigning champion Mr. Cocker HCAW 2. Because Tridents won on that date vs. Storks, they became unreachable for the Bussum-squad, which therefore was dethroned.
Last year, HCAW won the title after Tridents had captured the championship four years in a row, the last three of them also gave them the Dutch title for second teams.

The title this year is more or less a surprise, as Tridents played with a young team after some of its players left after last season. Despite that, Tridents, led by former national team-player Adonis Kemp, dominated in the season. Through Saturday, the team lost only five of its 27 games played so far.
On Sunday, Tridents will play at home vs. PSV.
(August 5)

At Hoofddorp, Amsterdam Pirates outhit Konica Minolta Pioniers, 9-8 in the afternoon, but was shutout 6-0, as the Amsterdam-squad also committed five errors and its starting pitcher had problems with his control, resulting in an early lead for Pioniers.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW failed to hold onto an early 3-1 lead vs. Sparta/Feyenoord, which came alongside twice and took a 5-4 lead in the eleventh inning. But HCAW then answered with two runs and won 6-5, scoring the winning run on a basesloaded walk.

At Almere, Instant Holland Almere '90 and ADO played a scoreless game in the evening, which was decided in the ninth when Ivanon Coffie homered to give Almere a 1-0 victory.

At Rotterdam, Corendon Kinheim took a 5-0 lead in the first inning and went on to win 9-3 vs. DOOR Neptunus.
(August 5)

Game Recaps, Line Scores & Box Scores

At The Hague, Akira Okamoto and Alex Smith combined on 16 strikeouts, as ADO nipped Instant Holland Almere '90, 2-1.

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord shutout Mr. Cocker HCAW, 4-0. Winning pitcher Satoru Fujii gave up nine hits, while his teammates had only four. Leading 1-0, Sparta/Feyenoord added three runs in the eighth inning.

At Amsterdam, Konica Minolta Pioniers won 5-3 vs. Amsterdam Pirates, which again made five errors, just as yesterday.
(August 6)

Game Recaps, Line Scores & Box Scores

Leoš Kubát appeared in seven games this season and was 1-1. In 21 innings, the righthanded Czech struckout 17 batters, but walked 29 and gave up 20 basehits. Of the 21 runs he allowed, 20 were earned to give him an 8.57 ERA. Because of this disappointing results, Neptunus and Kubát decided to separate for the remainder of the season. Kubát returned to the Czech Republic where he currently practices and plays with the national team.

With the Play-Offs approaching and currently being in second place, Neptunus on Tuesday also announced that RHP Calvin Maduro and RHP Ken Brauckmiller will join their pitching staff soon.

31 year old Calvin Maduro last played in the Dutch big league in 2004 when he threw for Mr. Cocker HCAW. In nine games, the Aruban threw in 45 innings and struckout 36 batters. Maduro had a 5-1 record.
In 2003, Maduro made his debut in the Dutch national team during the World Championships in Cuba. Since then, he played seven official games, including two during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (Greece) and one earlier this year during the World Baseball Classic in Puerto Rico.
This season, Maduro pitched for the Bowie Baysox, the double-A team of the Baltimore Orioles. He threw in 24 games (one as a starter) and was 1-5. In 38 innings, the righthander struckout 47 batters. On June 9, he announced his retirement and threw his last game the next day. Maduro then joined the Aberdeen IronBirds (single-A Orioles) to become their Pitching Coach when their season started a few days later.
Maduro played professionally for 14 seasons in the organisations of the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. With the Orioles and Phillies, he threw in 68 games in the Major League in a period of five years and was 10-19.
During the transfer period of last year, Maduro came to Neptunus from HCAW. He is expected to arrive in Rotterdam in early September.

Veteran Ken Brauckmiller, who turned 40 in April, appeared in only three games last season (6 2/3 inning, 0-0), but threw in eleven games (5-1) in 2004.
The righthander made his Dutch big league-debut in 1989 and has played for Neptunus ever since, except for 1992 and 1993 when he played for ADO. In 17 seasons, Brauckmiller has an 84-30 record and struckout 789 batters.
Former national team-pitcher Brauckmiller is already practicing with the team and is expected to throw soon.
(August 8)

Eric de Bruin will be in charge of the technical staff and takes over from Paul van den Oever, who announced his retirement recently. Jan Collins and Pitching Coach Steve Janssen will return to the coaching staff in 2007.
Neptunus' last Head Coach was Robert Eenhoorn, who took over during the 1998 season and retired after the 2000 season to become Manager of the Dutch National Team. Since the 2001 season, a 3-man coaching staff led the team, without a Head Coach being named. In 2001, coaches Collins (a coach since 1989) and Van den Oever (since 1998) were joined by Ben Thijssen, who left after last season to become Head Coach of current league-leader Corendon Kinheim. Steve Janssen joined the staff this season.

Eric de Bruin played for Neptunus in 12 seasons from 1987-1998, winning the Dutch title three times and the European Cup five times. He made his Dutch big league-debut in 1982 while playing for Sparta, then went to Neptunus after the 1986 season. In 1999 and 2000, De Bruin concluded his career with Sparta/Feyenoord. In 19 seasons, De Bruin played in 654 games and was the league's best hitter in 1992 when he hit .410. Between 1986 and 1996, De Bruin, who started his career in the outfield, but finished as a first baseman, played in 106 games for the Dutch Nationnal Team, with whom he participated in two Olympic Games (Seoul-1988 and Atlanta-1996), amongst other events.
From 2001-2004, De Bruin was Hitting Coach and 1B Coach with the Dutch national team and is the Field Manager of the National AAA Team (Jong Oranje) since 2005. Last year, he captured the European title with the Dutch Juniors. Next month, this team will participate in the World Championships in Cuba.
(August 8)

On March 10, Shairon Martis made his official international debut in the Netherlands National Team and threw a 7-inning No-Hitter against Panama on the World Baseball Classic, won by the Dutch, 10-0.

This year, the 19-year old Martis, who is from Curaçao, started the season with the Augusta GreenJackets, the single-A team of the San Francisco Giants. In 15 games (all starts), the righthander threw 76 2/3 inning and struckout 66 batters. He was 6-4, but was 5-0 in his last six starts. On July 28, Martis was part of a Major League-trade in which LHP Mike Stanton was acquired by the San Francisco Giants from the Washington Nationals. Martis went to the Nationals and was assigned to the Savannah Sand Gnats, which plays in the same single-A class as his previous team. After making a start last week, Martis started again last Monday vs. the Hickory Crawdads (Pittsburgh Pirates), but lost 11-2.
(August 8)

IN MEMORIAM ...Judsel Baranco... (1963 - 2006) (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Judsel Baranco played in the Dutch big league between 1981 and 1991 for six different teams. In this period, Baranco was one of the best, if not the best, allround Dutch players active in the highest league. He was a great powerhitter, could play all positions in the infield and outfield and also was a very effective pitcher.

Baranco made his big league-debut in 1981 while playing for Quick Amersfoort. The next year, Baranco played in his first season for UVV in Utrecht and it was there, that he started to develop into the fantastic player, the way we will remember him. After hitting .191 in 1981 and .279 in 1982, Baranco hit well above .300 in his next eight big league-seasons, including seven above .330. Between 1987 and 1989, he had three consective seasons above .350, the last two even above .400.
His best season came in 1988 when he played for Almere Giants '24, which was the continuation of Giants Diemen, after that club moved to Almere after the 1987 season. In 1988, Baranco led the league with a .441 batting average, 78 basehits and 53 RBI's and was named Most Valuable Player.
The next season, Baranco hit .424 for Giants, which was renamed New Giants during the season and had to withdraw its team after internal problems, while playing in the promotion/relegation pool in the second half of the season.

After his debut for Quick Amersfoort, Judsel Baranco played four seasons for UVV (1982-1985), then played one season for Neptunus (1986), where he scored 58 runs in 35 games and hit .347. In 1987, he played for Giants Diemen and moved with the team to Almere the next season. After the team withdraw in 1989, Baranco went to De Spartaan in Amsterdam for the 1990 season, but didn't play that year, due to health problems. He made a comeback in 1991 with De Spartaan and played in 25 games, hitting .346 and scoring 23 runs, before retiring. Baranco returned to Curaçao, where he recovered from his health problems and started to play baseball again, which he did until recently.

In 10 years in the Dutch big league, Baranco played in 345 games in which he hit 414 basehits, including 58 homeruns. Baranco scored 304 runs, had 243 RBI's and finished with a career batting average of .349. As a pitcher, he threw in 114 games, 76 of which he started. The righthander had a 40-35 record and struckout 536 batters.

In 1984, Judsel Baranco made his debut in the Dutch national team during the Haarlem Baseball Week. Baranco went on to play in 41 official international games between 1984 and 1987 and participated with the Dutch team in two World Championships (1984-Cuba and 1986-Netherlands), two European Championships (1985-Netherlands and 1987-Spain), three Chung Hua Tournaments in Taiwan, one Golden Cup Tournament in Curaçao, one Haarlem Baseball Week, two World Port Tournaments and one Amsterdam Baseball Series.
(August 9)

At The Hague, RHP David Bergman will start for Corendon Kinheim vs. ADO and can become the first 10-game winner of the season, as he currently is 9-1.
Some teams also have announced their starters for coming weekend, in which the team will face different opponents on Saturday and Sunday, but most starters will be decided after completion of Thursday's games.
(August 9)

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus trailed 5-4 in the home ninth vs. Amsterdam Pirates, then got four hits with two outs to win 6-5. Because of the loss, Pirates became the first team to be eliminated for the Play-Offs.

At The Hague, ADO trailed 3-1 vs. Corendon Kinheim in the sixth, came alongide, took the lead, failed to hold onto it, then won the game in the tenth inning, 5-4.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW trailed 1-0 vs. Instant Holland Almere '90 when it tied the score on a walk in the home seventh, after which the game had to be called due to heavy rain, ending in a 1-1 tie.

At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers shutout Sparta/Feyenoord, 8-0.
(August 10)

Game Recaps, Line Scores & Box Scores

Last week, ADO expanded its roster with RHP Alex Smith, who last season also pitched for the team. Smith was scheduled to come back this season, but signed a professional contract a few weeks before the season started. He was replaced on the roster by Japanese RHP Akira Okomato. Smith started this season with the Sussex Skyhawks in the Can-Am League (independent). But on July 8, he was released and ADO brought him back to the Netherlands.
The Canadian, who holds a British passport, arrived on Friday, August 4, making him available to pitch in the following weekend. As Smith had remained a member of the club and thinking it handled according to the league-rules concerning his playing eligibility, ADO used Smith three innings in relief last Sunday in the home game against Instant Holland Almere '90. ADO won the game 2-1 and Smith threw the last three innings to earn a save. Last Thursday-evening, Smith again threw three innings in relief, this time in the home game vs. league-leader Corendon Kinheim. ADO came back from behind and won 5-4 in ten innings, ending Kinheim's 9-game winning streak.

However, on Friday, the club was informed that the eligibility of Smith didn't comply with the league-rules. Article 4.5-sub 2 of the League's Game Regulations states that players who are added to the roster after May 31 and have played in a foreign competition are only eligible to play when they not only are a member of the club as of November 1 of the previous year, but also hold a Dutch passport. Article 4.2 states that players with passports from countries who are affiliated with the European Baseball Confederation (CEB) are eligible to play. But players, who are added after May 31 are falling under Article 4.5 and are only eligible when holding a Dutch passport.

The subtraction of the eight points not only means that Kinheim's winning streak is still intact, but that there now is a complete different situation concerning the Play-Offs. Of the four bottom teams, only HCAW, which played a tie game vs. Almere, had a small chance of reaching the Play-Offs after Thursday-evening, while Amsterdam Pirates was officially eliminated after Thursday's loss to DOOR Neptunus. But now, HCAW suddenly is back in the race, as it has the same amount of points as ADO (30), while both teams will meet each other four more times. Also, because of all this, Pirates, which is in last place, is not yet eliminated and still holds a theoretical chance of reaching the top-four. This means all eight clubs still are in the Play-Off race.
But there is more. Before the start of the season, ADO announced that it not only planned to bring Smith back after his professional season, but also might bring back LHP Manny Olivera, who holds a Spanish passport, late in the season or before the Play-Offs. Olivera also pitched for ADO in the past and also remained a member of the club. He currently plays professionally in the USA (minor league). But as Smith is ineligible to play, it means Olivera also is not allowed to play for the club (after May 31) in the remainder of this season.
(August 11)

Earlier in the week, some of the starters already were announced for this weekend. Now, other have been added, while some have yet to be announced.
In the weekend, two pitchers have a chance to become a 10-game winner, both lefthanders. One is Patrick Beljaards, who is 9-1, will start on Saturday for Corendon Kinheim vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW. The other is Diegomar Markwell (9-2), who will make a start for DOOR Neptunus, but it is not yet announced on which day he will start.
(August 11)

At Haarlem, Kinheim had only two basehits off two pitchers, while HCAW collected 10 basehits.
With a win, Kinheim would have become the first team to clinch a spot in the Play-Offs, based on the results of the games played between Kinheim and HCAW. Kinheim now can reach the final-four on Sunday, but to do that they have to win themselves vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers, while HCAW has to loose vs. ADO.
Because of the win, HCAW is now in fourth place, two points ahead of ADO, which got four points subtracted for using an in-eligible player in two games. As those games were won, ADO lost a total of eight points.
(August 12)

Game Recaps, Line Scores & Box Scores

Corendon Kinheim named RHP Duko Jansen for Sunday's game vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers. Initially, LHP Jean-Paul Gulinck was planned, but he is sick and therefore not available. Jansen will make his first start of the season.

Sparta/Feyenoord kept its rotation intact and stays with RHP Elton Koeiman on Sunday vs. DOOR Neptunus. Saturday's scheduled starter vs. Amsterdam Pirates, RHP Satoru Fujii, moves with the game to Tuesday-evening.

ADO changed its rotation after Saturday's cancelation. RHP Rob Cordemans, who was to start on Saturday, now will start on Sunday vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW. Sunday's announced starter RHP Akira Okamoto is not scheduled to start on Tuesday-evening, but instead will first be used again in the 3-game series vs. Amsterdam Pirates next weekend.

DOOR Neptunus confirmed it will start with LHP Gregory Gustina on Sunday vs. Sparta/Feyenoord, while LHP Diegomar Markwell will be the possible starter next Tuesday vs. ADO.

Amsterdam Pirates moved RHP Kevin Miner, Saturday's scheduled starter, to Sunday's game vs. Instant Holland Almere '90. A starter for next Tuesday has not yet been announced, as that depends on who's needed in Sunday's game. After Tuesday's game, Pirates has a regular 3-game series and still has to without starters RHP Tom Stuifbergen and RHP Pim Walsma, who are still in Italy for the Major League Baseball European Academy.
(August 12)

At Bussum, ADO was left empty-handed, as is lost 3-2 in eleven innings vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, which therefore now holds a 4-point lead over ADO and is in fourth place. Which is a result of the subtraction of points for ADO. In the new situation, the three remaining games between ADO and HCAW become crucial, and maybe even the to be re-scheduled game between ADO and Kinheim.

At Amsterdam, Instant Holland Almere '90 shutout Amsterdam Pirates, 3-0, which therefore was eliminated for the Play-Offs for the second time in four days. Initially, the team was eliminated on Thursday, but got a new theoretical chance of clinching after the ruling on the ADO-points. But today, whatever the consequences of the appeal, Pirates became the first team to be eliminated. But there is more. When ADO would kept its points, Almere would have been eliminated for the Play-Offs on Saturday, but in the new situation, Almere still has a theoretical chance of finishing in fourth place.

At Hoofddorp, Corendon Kinheim won 6-1 vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers and could have become the first team to reach the Play-Offs this weekend, but that also changed as there is now a variety of combinations possible for teams to end in a tie, because of the changing in points. When the combination is right, the clinching could now occur next Thursday, but it likely to happen coming weekend. Besides that, Kinheim is one of the two teams whose game vs. ADO was declared invalid. Because of that, it will miss OF Dirk van 't Klooster, who sits out a 6-game suspension, an additional game.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus shutout Sparta/Feyenoord, 9-0. Any consequences here? Yes, in the old situation, Sparta/Feyenoord would have been eliminated for the Play-Offs today, but now still has a theoretical chance.

Is there more to come? Who knows. To be continued.
(August 13)

Game Recaps, Line Scores & Box Scores

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord had 13 basehits, including a homerun by Jeffrey Sprott, while Satoru Fujii went the distance and threw an 8-hitter.
(August 15)

Game Recap, Line Score & Box Score

Two pitchers are going after their 10th victory of the season on Thursday-evening.
At Haarlem, RHP David Bergman, who is 9-1, will start for league-leader Corendon Kinheim vs. Sparta/Feyenoord, who will send RHP Rudy Seebus to the mound for his first start of the season.
At Rotterdam, LHP Diegomar Markwell, who is 9-2, starts for DOOR Neptunus against Instant Holland Almere '90, which also assigned a lefthander as its starter, Nick Veltkamp.
(August 16)

In its appeal ADO stated that according to European rules, players who hold passports of countries which are members of the European Baseball Confederation (CEB), are equal and therefore eligible to play. According to KNBSB-rules however, these players are indeed eligible to play from the start of the season, but when new players are added after May 31 after having played in foreign competitions, they not only have to be on the memberlist on the respective club as of November 1 the previous year, but also must hold a Dutch passport.
As a result of the confirmation of the Jury of Appeal, the two games vs. Almere and Kinheim remained invalid and four points are subtracted because of that. Besides that, as both games were won, it means that ADO lost a total of eight points. The two (home) games have been re-scheduled and have to be played at the site of the opponent. ADO will play vs. Kinheim on Tuesday, August 22 at Haarlem and vs. Almere on Tuesday, August 29 at Almere.
ADO, which was en route to qualifying for the Play-Offs, is now in fifth place, four points behind Mr. Cocker HCAW, which was almost eliminated, but now has gotten a new chance of reaching the top-four.
(August 17)

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus won 6-1 vs. Instant Holland Almere '90, scoring four runs in the first two innings. LHP Diegomar Markwell threw eight innings, gave up seven hits and struckout six to become the first 10-game winner of the season. He is now 10-2.

At Haarlem, Corendon Kinheim shutout Sparta/Feyenoord 7-0. In the ninth inning, Sparta/Feyenoord got the bases loaded on three one-out walks by a reliever, meaning the game lasted longer than needed and finished five minutes after the Neptunus-Almere game. Therefore, Kinheim-starter David Bergman became the second 10-game winner this season, but has the best record in the league, 10-1. Bergman threw seven innings in which he struckout eight and gave up only four basehits.

At The Hague, the game between ADO and Amsterdam Pirates was tied at 1-1 since the second inning. But in the home of the ninth, ADO, which needs every point now is got eight points subtracted, won 2-1 on a basesloaded walk with two outs.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW trailed 5-1 in the fourth inning vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers, but turned the game around and won 10-5.
(August 17)

The game recaps are in the making.
Line Scores & Box Scores

A third pitcher can become a 10-game winner on Saturday, as LHP Patrick Beljaards, who is 9-2, will take the mound for Corendon Kinheim in the game vs. Sparta/Feyenoord.
On Thursday, Diegomar Markwell (Neptunus) and David Bergman (Kinheim) were the first to win their tenth game of the season.
(August 18)

At Rotterdam, Corendon Kinheim also came from behind vs. Sparta/Feyenoord. After trailing 3-0, Kinheim turned the game around and won 4-3 to make Patrick Beljaards the third 10-game winner of the season. With the win, Kinheim became the first team to secure a spot in the Play-Offs.

At Amsterdam, ADO handed Amsterdam Pirates its eleventh loss in a row, winning 11-1.

At Almere, Instant Holland Almere '90 shutout DOOR Neptunus, 5-0. Neptunus had only four hits.
(August 19)

Game recaps are in the making.
Line Scores & Box Scores

In the First Division, all games also rained out.
(August 20)

At The Hague, Amsterdam Pirates ended an 11-game losing streak and won 5-2 vs. ADO, which therefore was eliminated for first place.

At Haarlem, Sparta/Feyenoord came from behind to defeat league-leader Corendon Kinheim, 3-2.

At Bussum, Konica Minolta Pioniers turned the game around vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW and won 11-5.

At Rotterdam, the game between DOOR Neptunus and Instant Holland Almere '90 was canceled and is not yet re-scheduled.
(August 22)

Game recaps are in the making.
Line Scores & Box Scores

Two pitchers will make their first start of the season after being added to their team.
LHP Conrad Orman returned to Konica Minolta Pioniers and arrived on Wednesday. He will start on Saturday.
RHP Sten van de Bedem was recalled from the second team and will start on Sunday for Mr. Cocker HCAW, who has some injuries with some of its pitchers.
(August 23)

Did HCAW lost its game, ADO failed to hold onto a lead vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers and also lost. After trailing initially, ADO came backm but ended up empty handed nevertheless, 6-5.

Instant Holland Almere '90 won 7-3 vs. Sparta/Feyenoord and Corendon Kinheim defeated Amsterdam Pirates, 9-1.
(August 24)

Game recaps are in the making.
Line Scores & Box Scores

,,Our goal has always been to return to the big league as soon as possible'', Head Coach Ramses Meering said after Monday's game. ,,We had a 3-year plan to come back, so maybe this championships comes a little too soon, but we want to take our chance. Yes, we want to play in the big league next year.'' Meering is in his first season as Head Coach and is assisted by Jeroen Roozen and Pitching Coach Dave Dusseau. Meering played with RCH-Pinguïns in the big league for six seasons (1997-2002), but made his debut in the highest league in 1992 when he appeared in one game for Amsterdam Pirates.

On Monday-evening, RCH-Pinguïns trailed 3-1 in the seventh inning, but succeeded in turning the game around and win it. Winning pitcher Al Morales hadn't his best stuff, but went the distance for the team from Heemstede.

RCH-Pinguïns relegated to the First Division after the 2002 season, then qualified for the Promotion Pool in 2003, but finished in sixth place. In 2004, the team finished in a tie for fifth place in the First Divison, before capturing the title in 2005 and this season again.
(August 28)

At Haarlem, 17 walks were issued, including eleven by the ADO-pitching. As there are some slight injuries in its pitching staff ADO, which is six points behind fourth placed Mr. Cocker HCAW, used three position players as pitcher tonight. Regular second baseman Berry van Driel started and later in the game infielder Marvin Bleij and outfielder Quensley Bazoer also pitched. ADO's regular pitchers got some rest tonight, as the team now will concentrate on the important 3-game series vs. HCAW, which start on Thursday-evening and will be decisive for the remaining fourth Play-Off spot. Next week, ADO still has two make-up games scheduled.
Leading 1-0, Kinheim added three runs in the fifth on five walks and only one basehit. Kinheim had 12 basehits, including four by René Cremer, who was 4-for-4.

Since the introduction of the Play-Off and Holland Series-system in 1987, Kinheim finished only once in first place in the regular season to win the KNBSB Cup, which was 1994. Before 1987, the team that finished in first place also was Dutch champion.
(August 29)

The complete recap is in the making.
Line Score & Box Score

The Line Scores & Box Scores of games played since last week Tuesday have been added. The game recaps are coming soon.
Line Scores & Box Scores Tuesday, August 22
Line Scores & Box Scores Thursday, August 24
Line Scores & Box Scores Saturday, August 26
Line Scores & Box Scores Sunday, August 27

The most important series will be that between Mr. Cocker HCAW (fourth place) and ADO (fifth place), as one of these teams will claim the fourth and remaining Play-Off spot and will meet league-leader Corendon Kinheim in the best-of-five Play-Offs. HCAW currently leads by six points and will be finished playing after the weekend. After this, ADO has still two make-up games left.
Of the first three games played between them, ADO won twice, meaning the results of the coming three games will decide the ranking in case of a tie and wether or not the remaining make-up games will be needed.
All starting pitchers for the HCAW-ADO series have been announced.

Two other series are also important and probably will decide which team will have the home advantage in the other Play-Off. DOOR Neptunus and Konica Minolta Pioniers will meet in this Plat-Off, but it is not decided yet which team will finish in second place. Neptunus currently leads by one point over Pioniers.
Neptunus will meet Sparta/Feyenoord in the remaining series of the season, while Pioniers is playing against Kinheim.
When these series are not decisive, Neptunus can claim second place in two remaining make-up games. In case of a tie between the two teams, Neptunus will finish in second place, as they are 4-2 in the six games played between them.
Kinheim announced all three starters, while Pioniers only named their Thursday-starter. Who will start in the weekend depends on Thursday's game.
Neptunus named its first two starters, while Sparta/Feyenoord announced the starters for Thursday and Sunday. For Saturday's game, Head Coach Wim Martinus will choose between RHP Daan Baecke or RHP Elton Koeiman, who is scheduled to return to Rotterdam on Friday after being in Saint Martin due to family circumstances.

In the fourth series, Amsterdam Pirates meets Instant Holland Almere '90. This series, and the Sparta/Feyenoord-series, will decide the ranking of the bottom three teams.
The only chance for Pirates to leave last place is to win the series, while Sparta/Feyenoord has to be swept by Neptunus. In that case, Pirates and Sparta/Feyenoord will end up in a tie. As the result of the games played between them is 3-3, the Run Average of those games will be the next tie-breaker and that's in favor of Pirates.
Almere only named its starter for Saturday, the pitchers for Thursday and Sunday have yet to be decided.
Pirates named its starters for Thursday and Sunday. On Saturday, RHP Tom Stuifbergen might start, but that depends if he is not bothered by an injury. Last weekend, he left after the first inning vs. Kinheim in which he gave up five runs. Another candidate is RHP Pim Walsma.
(August 30)

At Haarlem, Corendon Kinheim trailed 3-2 with two outs and two on in the home ninth vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers, but then closer Dave Draijer gave up an RBI-single to Danny Rombley, which not only produced the tying run, but also was followed by an outfield-error to give Kinheim the victory. David Bergman threw a complete game for Kinheim and raised his record to 12-1 which is the best in the league.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus shutout Sparta/Feyenoord, 9-0, on 14 basehits. Winning pitcher Diegomar Markwell threw six innings and is now 12-2.

At Almere, Amsterdam Pirates defeated Instant Holland Almere '90, 8-3, which was only their second victory in the last 16 games.
(August 31)

The complete recaps are in the making.
Line Scores & Box Scores

Dutch Softball Women

On Sunday, the Dutch team broke a 1-1 tie with a 4-run rally in the second inning on five basehits. The Dutch, however, were unable to hold onto the lead because of nervous play and unneccessary errors. Trailing 5-1, Venezuela scored twice in its second at bat, then added three runs in the third to take a 6-5 lead. A solo-homerun by Jineth Pimentel and a 2-run double by Mairet Perez then made it 9-5 in the fourth inning. In the last four innings, the Dutch team left seven runners behind. Daisy de Peinder had three hits, including a double and and triple.

On Monday, Chinese Taipei not only gave up no runs, but pitcher Chiayen Wu also threw a 6-inning No-Hitter vs. the Dutch. Only two Dutch players reached base, Debbie Connor on a hit by pitch and Marjan Smit on an error. Dutch starter Judith van Kampen gave up eight hits and all seven runs (only three earned). Rebecca Soumeru, who started the first game, took over in the sixth.

On Tuesday, the Dutch team rallied for nine runs in the first inning and won 11-0 vs. Botswana. Dutch pitcher Kristi DeVries threw a 5-inning No-Hitter. After she walked lead-off hitter Constance Kollatano and next batter Marea Mosutlwa reached base on a sac-bunt, DeVries retired all other 15 batters she faced in a row, including nine with a strikeout. In the first at bat, Daisy de Peinder opened the score with a 2-run triple, shortly after followed by a 2-run single by Sandra Gouverneur, that made it 4-0. After a pitching change, Marloes Fellinger added an RBI-double, followed by three more runs to take a quick 9-0 lead. The remaining two runs were scored in the fifth inning.
(August 29)

More details will be added later.

Against Japan, only two Dutch players reached base. In the first inning, Daisy de Peinder when she was hit by a pitch with two outs, and in the third inning Marjan Smit, who the led off with a single. She advanced to third base after sac-bunts by Ellen Venker and Noèmi Boekel, but stranded at third after Saskia Kosterink flied out.
At that moment, the Dutch team trailed only 1-0, as Eri Yamada homered with two outs in the first inning off starter Judith van Kampen. In the home third, Japan scored three runs on three RBI-doubles, then rallied for six runs in the fourth inning to take a 10-0 lead. In that at bat, Judith van Kampen was relieved by Rebecca Soumeru, who gave up a 2-run homerun to Sachiko Ito that made it 10-0.

During the press conference after the game, Dutch Manager Liz Kelly stated: ,,I think the first innings were good and our pitchers did a very good job. Then they capitalized on some mistake pitches. I really thought the game would have been closer. Well, I feel like we played well for three innings, and we have to play for seven innings.''
Trailing 1-0, Kelly opted to bring Marjan Smit over to third base with two sac-bunts in the third inning. Asked why she opted for two sac-bunts at that moment, Kelly answered: ,,We just tried to earn runs. We could get a run across the plate. We had the basehit and moved the runner to second on a bunt, then the next batter had two strikes on her and I thought we would just move over the runner again to third and let the next batter hit the runner in from third.''
(August 30)

Dutch Softball Men

In Haarlem, besides DeMo EHS, the other participating teams are Carrousel (Russia), Chicaboo's Stabroek (Belgium), Odense Giants (Denmark), Raiders Eysines (France) and Spectrum Praha (Czech Republic). The Russian team was added later, as three teams withdraw from the tournament in June: Medvednica MRKI Medvedi (Croatia), London Meteors (Great Britain) and MaSK Pezinok (Slovakia).

Last year, the tournament was won by Krc Altron Prague (Czech Republic), which won the final vs. then-Cupholder Raggers Thamen (Netherlands), 6-3. In that tournament, EHS finished in third place after losing the bronze medal game to Thamen, 6-3. The only other team of the nine that played in Prague which now also will play in Haarlem is Carrousel (Russia), which finished in seventh place a year ago. Cupholder Krc Altron Prague will play in the European Cup Tournament next week.

This will be the fifth time a tournament is organized for the European CupWinners Cup and first in the Netherlands after the Czech Republic (2002, 2004, 2005) and Belgium (2003).
Of the 16 European Cup-tournaments so far, eight have been played in the Netherlands. Three by Thamen (Uithoorn, 1993, 1997, 2001), two by Hilversum (Hilversum, 1991, 1992) and one each by Alphians (Alpen a/d Rijn, 1995), Schiedam (Schiedam, 1999) and EHS (Haarlem, 2004).
In 2004, EHS organized this tournament on its former complex at the Van der Aart Sportpark. This season, EHS plays its home game on the Noordersportpark, which in the past was the home of the Haarlem Softball Week. Besides that international event, an Olympic Qualifying Tournament, European Championships and European Cup-tournaments have been staged on that complex, which also is the home of Dutch women champion Sparks Haarlem.
(August 14)

Complete Game Schedule

Complete Recap & Box Score
Game Schedule, Standings & Scores

At Prague, Storks on Tuesday won vs. Stenlose Bulls (Denmark), 7-1, and Krc Altron Prague (Czech Republic), 5-1 in the European Cup Tournament.
(August 22)

Complete Recaps & Box Scores
Game Schedule, Standings, Scores & Box Scores CupWinners Cup

Complete Recaps & Box Scores
Game Schedule, Standings, Scores & Box Scores CupWinners Cup

Earlier on Friday, Raiders Eysines (France) was leading 17-2 vs. Carrousel (Russia) and needed only three outs to end the game with a 15-run difference. But the French team then made a pitching change. The new pitcher gave up 10 runs in one inning, meaning that the game, which was played mostly in the rain, continued. Eventually, Raiders won with a 7-run difference, 19-12.
Spectrum Praha won 8-4 vs. Odense Giants and Chicaboo's Stabroek defeated Carrousel, 15-0.
(August 24)

Complete Recaps & Box Scores
Game Schedule, Standings, Scores & Box Scores CupWinners Cup

At Prague, Storks reached the European Cup-final with an 8-0 shutout win vs. Cupholder Chomutov Beavers (Czech Republic).
(August 25)

Complete Recaps & Box Scores
Game Schedule, Standings, Scores & Box Scores CupWinners Cup

Game Schedule, Final Standings, Scores & Box Scores CupWinners Cup

In April 2000, the Women's International Baseball Association was formed and organised a Women's World Series annually. In 2001 (Toronto, Canada), 2002 (St. Petersburg, USA), 2003 (Gold Coast, Australia) and 2004 (Uozu-City, Japan), the USA and Japan were the strongest teams and underscored that during the World Cup in Canada. Since 2005, the World Series are being held in Florida (USA) and are also open to club teams. Recently, the International BAseball Federation (IBAF) sanctioned the Women's World Cup through 2012 and renamed it into Women's World Championships.

Some huge scores were registered in the first two days of this years event, when Hong Kong was beaten 22-2 by Australia and shutout 43-0 by Japan. In this game, Japan collected 32 basehits, while Hong Kong had only one and committed 13 errors. Japan scored 17 runs in the second and eleven in the fourth inning. ,,Luckily, I didn't had to score that game'', Linda reacted. On the opening day, reigning champion USA lost 5-2 to Canada, which also won its next two games, beating Cuba (10-8) and Japan (6-3).
In their opening game, the game between the USA and Canada was tied, 2-2 when the latter scored twice in the fourth inning op a 2-out, 2-run single by Kate Psota. The USA won their next game vs. Australia, 7-2, with 15-year old pitcher Jennifer Hunter throwing a 2-hitter and retiring the last 12 batters she faced. On Thursday, the USA shutout Hong Kong, 12-0 and on Friday, they won big vs. Cuba, 14-4.
On Friday, Canada lost it first game when host Chinese Taipei won 7-1 and held Canada to only one basehit.
With two days to go, five teams remain in contention for a medal. Japan, which won four of its five games, currently is in first place, followed by Canada, USA, Australia and Chinese Taipei. Cuba and Hong Kong both are 0-4. This weekend, Australia meets Canada and the USA faces Japan. Linda Steijger has been assigned as the Official Scorer for both games.

Teams are playing with aluminum bats and games last seven innings with a mercy rule (10-run difference) becoming active in the fifth inning. All games are broadcasted live on Taiwanese television.
,,We're working the games with three Official Scorers'', Linda Steijger said. ,,The international scorer and two local scorers. We're working together good. The organisation here is wonderful, we're looked after very good. The quality of the teams varies, but some games are on a high level with good baseball.'' Linda has little time to do anything else, besides being in the stadium, as she does the morning and evening games, with Pablo doing the afternoon game and does the statistics in the evening. Linda: ,,On Thursday, I came back to the hotel after the morning game and was lucky to join a city tour. So, I was able to see the most important things in the city, like the Chiang-kai Shek Memorial. We were just in time to see the changing of the guard there. A very beautiful place. It's warm here, about 35 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, we don't have any contacts with the umpires, as Pablo and I are in another hotel. The umpires are leaving in about 15 minutes after the game, but then we still have to check the scorecard with the local scorers. In our hotel, some of the tournament officials are staying, like the umpire commissioner.''
(August 4)

Because of the win, Ireland now will play in the final on Saturday-evening and again will face Croatia, which remained unbeaten. After winning all three games in Pool A, Croatia won the semi-final vs. Switzerland on Friday-evening, 13-3, behind the pitching of Jimmy Summers.
The winner of the final will promote and participate in the European Championships next year in Barcelona (Spain) from September 7-16, with the Netherlands defending its title.
Belgium, which won vs. San Marino, Slovenia and Switzerland in Pool B, will play for third place against the Swiss team on Saturday-evening.

Last Saturday, Russia became the first team to return to the European Championships in the first Qualifying Tournament. In Moscow, the Russians shutout Austria, 17-0 in the final. In the semi-finals, Austria had won big vs. Belarus, 15-5, to reach the final, while Russia had won 11-1 vs. Lithuania.
In the preliminary round, Russia won Pool A, beating Georgia, Poland and Austria. In Pool B, Belarus went unbeaten and won against Lithuania, Turkey and Finland.
In this tournament, Turkey made its international debut, but lost all games. In the preliminary round, the Turkish national team lost to Finland (16-23), Belarus (11-1) and Lithuania (8-5).
(August 4)

Croatia won the tournament in Belgium by defeating surprising Ireland, 12-2, and remained unbeaten. Earlier in the day, Belgium finished in third place after winning 15-2 vs. Switzerland.

Now Croatia has won today, it will join Russia to promote back to the tournament for the European title, to be played in Barcelona September 7-16 next year. Russia last week won the Qualifying tournament in Moscow.
Last year, Croatia and Russia both relegated during the Championships in Prague (Czech Republic), where the Netherlands won the title.
(August 5)

The USA scored three runs in the first inning, two in the second and five in the third inning to take a 10-0 lead and appeared to be en route to a simple victory. But then Japan started to come back. The Asian squad scored twice in the fourth inning, then rallied for eight runs in the fifth inning to tie the score, 10-10. In the home sixth, the USA broke the 10-10 score by scoring three runs. Now trailing 13-10, Japan was able to score only one more run in the seventh inning and had to settle for the silver medal.
Eight pitchers were used in the game, including five by the USA. Trista Russo threw the last 2 2/3 inning and won her second game of the event to become the Best Pitcher (based on W-L percentage).
3B Donna Mills went 2-for-3, scored twice and had four RBI's, as had Tamara Holmes. Mills was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Japan won four individual awards, including Best Hitter (Tomomo Nishi).
Linda Steijger from the Netherlands was one of the three Official Scorers in the deciding game.

In the afternoon, Canada shutout Hong Kong 10-0 to win the bronze medal.
(August 6)

Final Standings
1. USA, 2. Japan, 3. Canada, 4. Australia, 5. Chinese Taipei, 6. Cuba, 7. Hong Kong.

Official Scorer Feiko Drost was assigned for the opening game of the event last Friday between host Cuba and Colombia, which was played in the immense Estadio Latino Americano. Cuba won the game, 14-0 and needed only 6 1/2 innings. Rudy Reyes and Alexander Mayeta (twice) homered for Cuba, which outhit Colombia, 11-3. Cuba rallied for seven runs in the fifth inning.
Accompanying Feiko Drost were Cuban scorers Victor Rodriguez Diaz and Nicholas Pitt Rodriguez. Feiko is one of six international scorers assigned for this tournament. The others are Andres De Leon (Panama), Marco Battistella, Marco Travagli (both Italy), Benseni Martin and Susana Santos (both Spain).

On Saturday, Edwin van den Berk was the 1B Umpire in the game between Nicaragua and Ecuador, won by the first, 11-1. André Schrijber was the TC on Saturday for the game between Panama and Dominican Republic, won by Panama, 3-2.

On Sunday, Feiko Drost was the Official Scorer when Nicaragua shutout Colombia, 4-0.
Edwin van den Berk was the Home Plate Umpire and Jan Esselman the Technical Commissioner in the exciting game between the professional squad (minor leaguers) of the USA vs. Brazil. In the fifth inning, Brazil led 4-2 and re-took the lead (6-5) in the seventh after the USA came ahead (5-4) in the home fifth. In the home seventh, the USA took the lead again (7-6), but again Brazil came back and this time tied the score (7-7) in the ninth. Finally, in the tenth inning, the Americans won 8-7.
André Schrijber was the TC in another game that was decided in the last inning. Canada trailed 5-2 in the ninth, then rallied for four runs in the home ninth to win 6-5. The winning runs were scored on a 2-run double by Stubby Clapp.
Two other games were also decided late in the game. Mexico trailed 3-1 after two innings vs. Venezuela, scored three runs in the sixth, but broke a 4-4 tie in the home ninth to win 5-4. Cuba trailed 5-0 in the third inning and 6-4 after seven innings vs. Panama, but came alongside in the seventh and added a run in the eighth to win 7-6.

On Monday, Feiko Drost was the OS and André Schrijber the TC in a 10-6 win for Puerto Rico vs. Brazil.
Edwin van den Berk was the 2B Umpire in the game between the USA and Mexico. This time, the USA won convincingly, 15-3 in eight innings.

,,I'm having a good time here in Havana. It's very warm and that bothers me sometimes'', said Official Scorer Feiko Drost, who for the first time in his life made a plane flight. ,,No, I was not nervous. For the first part of the journey from Amsterdam to Madrid, I asked to sit near the window, but unfortunately there were two sleeping women sitting there. On the flight from Madrid to Havana there was not much to see. But I enjoyed it.'' When not scoring a game, Feiko is in his hotel. ,,No, I don't stay in the stadium for another game. I go back to the hotel and then I'm walking around to see the city or stay in my room. Things are going fine. In each game, the international scorers are working together with two local scorers. For the first few games, one of these two scorers is the same, as he speaks a little English. The scoring goes well.''

Hurricane threathens Olympic Qualifier
Part of the Caribbean area is currently under a hurricane warning, as Hurricane Ernesto is gaining strength. The hurricane made land in the southeastern part of Cuba and will travel to the northern part en route to Florida in the USA. Ernesto, which probably will not hit Havana, is expected on Tuesday in north Cuba. As there will be heavy rain then for a few days, the game schedule has been adjusted. ,,To play as much games as possible, we moved the games up earlier in the day for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday'', Technical Commissioner Jan Esselman said. ,,We're now playing at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, instead of in the evening. When the hurricane and the rain comes, the stadiums probably will be closed for a few days. We'll wait and see what happens.''
(August 29)

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