The eleventh year again was closed with several visitor-records for days, weeks and months, it's eleventh record-setting year in a row. In this year, the magical milestone of one million visitors also was passed!

In November 1997, the site was created and in the next month, the first articles were published. Initially, only in English, to make the site also available for international visitors. Since 2000, all articles on Grand Slam * Stats & News appear in both Dutch and English.

Grand Slam * Stats & News still is the only site which combines the news of baseball and softball in one site and in both Dutch and English, making the site accessible and interesting for everyone, also from outside the Netherlands.

The Webmaster again thanks everyone for visiting this site, hopes you liked what you found and that you will return again (frequently) in a new and exciting baseball and softball-season in 2009. But also in the coming winter months, there will be a lot of (international) baseball and softball news. So, come back soon!
(November 30)

KNBSB-Member of the Board for Game Officials Gerben Hardeveld and KNBSB-President Ruud van Zetten stated the importance of the work umpires and scorers are doing and thanked everyone for the time they put into their work. The initiative to ensemble all the game officials at the KNBSB Head Office was well received and much appreciated, as a lot of them came to Nieuwegein to close the 2008 season and look ahead to the new season. All umpires and official scorers went through a fitting session for new uniforms for the 2009 season.

...Decorated Henk Leeflang, Mario Blaauw and Henny Jansen... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

The three umpires who received a decoration are:

Henk Leeflang, who started his 30-year umpiring career in baseball and softball in the then-called Rayon Rotterdam/Zeeland (District Rotterdam/Zeeland), which later became the Rayon Zuidwest-Nederland (District Southwest Netherlands). He then promoted to the national leagues in both baseball and softball.

Mario Blaauw, who is a baseball umpire for 27 years. After starting in the Rayon Den Haag (District The Hague), he became an umpire on the national level and made his big league-debut in 1991. Blaauw also served as a member of the Umpiring Committee in the Rayon Den Haag.

Henny Jansen, who enters his 25th year as baseball umpire next season. He started his umpiring career in Rayon Het Oosten (District East), where he also served as chairman of the board and was a member of the Umpiring Committee. In 1989, he made his debut in the Dutch big league.

...Henk Meerleveld (right) with Fred de Kramer,... ...his colleague in his first big league-game in 1983... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

A special word of thanks was for veteran umpire Henk Meerleveld, who retired after 36 seasons, including 26 in the Dutch big league. After making his debut on the highest level in 1983, Meerleveld went on to officiate more than 700 games in the Dutch big league and also participated in several international events, such as the World Cup 2005 in the Netherlands, the Haarlem Baseball Week and World Port Tournament. Besides his umpiring career, Meerleveld was a member of several committees in Rayon Het Oosten (District East), where he also served as a member of the board. Meerleveld will not be lost, as he currently follows a course to become an Official Scorer.

Henk's debut in the Dutch big league was a special one, as his assignment changed three times and he became one of only a few umpires to make his debut behing the plate. Initially, Henk was to be the 3B Umpire on August 21, 1983 for the game between The Herons and Sparta with Aad Mooldijk behind the plate and Ton Bodaan at first base in the 3-man crew. However, both Mooldijk and Bodaan were unable to do the game due to injuries, so Fred de Kramer got an assignment to be the Home Plate Umpire with Henk working in the field, as it now had become a 2-man crew. On game day, De Kramer arrived limping on the field, as he injured his foot in the morning. 45 minutes before the game started it was decided that Henk would move behind the plate and Fred did the field work.

KNBSB-President Ruud van Zetten also thanked Commissioners Anne de Bruijne (umpires softball), Fred van Groningen Schinkel (umpires baseball) and Linda Steijger (official scorers) for their work in the past season.
(November 15)

...Wreaths in the five Olympic colors... ...are placed at the Statue... ...of Prometheus in front of the... ...Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

One of the ceremonies also takes place annually in front of the Olympic Stadium in Dutch capital Amsterdam. This ceremony starts at 12:30 PM, a symbolic time, as this was the time when the Dutch sports world first learned of the war on September 3, 1939 when, during a soccer match in Rotterdam, word came that war was declared. For the fourth time, on this ceremony the sports athletes were remembered, who fell during World War II. Erica Terpstra, chairman of the Netherlands Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF), Carolien Gehrels, alderman for sports of the Municipality of Amsterdam and Egbert de Vries, chairman of the Amsterdam-borough Oud-Zuid, all held speeches, remembering the athletes.

After the speeches, five wreaths in the Olympic colors were place in front of the Statue of Prometheus, followed by a 2-minute period of silence and the playing of the Dutch national anthem.
(May 4)

...NOC*NSF Chairman Erica Terpstra addresses the attendees and places a wreath... (Photos: Marco Stoovelaar)

...Amongst the attendees in Amsterdam were comedian Freek de Jonge (at left)... ...and former National Team Pitcher Han Urbanus (second from left) and his wife... ...Also attending were TV-host Frits Barend and cartoonist Dik Bruynesteyn... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Besides discussing the re-instatement of baseball and softball as an Olympic sport, five more sports will be talked about regarding the possibility of being included as an Olympic sport in 2016, being golf, squash, karate, rugby and roller sports (inline-skating).

Baseball and softball are part of the upcoming Olympic Games in August in Beijing (China), but that will be the last time for now. In 2005, during the IOC-Congress in Singapore, it was voted that both baseball and softball were not to be part of the Olympic Games of 2012. The two sports ended up only a few votes short, softball even only one vote! The other five sports didn't got enough votes to be included for 2012 when 26 sports will be played on the Olympics in London (Great Britain).

Baseball and softball are both working hard for their return to the Olympic Games. The International Softball Federation (ISF) launched the 'BackSoftball'-campaign last year, which had been very successful ever since. The International BAseball Fedeartion (IBAF) also is campaigning to get baseball back in to the Olympics. Recently, the IBAF announced the ambitious plans of staging next years World Cup in seven European countries. Baseball and softball are being played worldwide in more than 100 countries.
(April 25)

Cees Groot will be responsible for Topsport Baseball, Medical and Doping Affairs, while Anton Kops will handle Player Development. The latter replaces Mrs. Leny Jansen-van de Gevel, who withdraw. Cees Groot, who was the Chairman of the Board for Hoofddorp Pioniers until April 2007 and is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, takes over from Ruud van Zetten, who was temporarily filling in the position after Gijs Langevoort withdraw in November 2006. Edwin van den Berk, who did the Game Officials in the Board, was up for re-election, but opted not to seek a new term. As there were no candidates, this position is currently vacant.

The KNBSB-Board is now compiled as follows:
Chairman: Ruud van Zetten. Secretary/Treasurer: Reinoud Wieling. Topsport Baseball, Medical & Doping Affairs: Cees Groot. Topsport Softball: André van Overbeek. Development: Anton Kops. Game Officials: Vacant.

The KNBSB also handed out Merit of Honor decorations to game officials Johan Brandsma and Pieter van der Ploeg.
Johan Brandsma is a baseball-umpire since 1985. In 1992, he made his debut in the Dutch big league and next week will begin his 17th season on the highest level. In the same year, he officiated in his first international tournament. In the eighties, Brandsma, who also is an umpire-instructor, was a member of the Umpire Committee in the Central-Netherlands Regio.
Pieter van der Ploeg was a softball-umpire from 1972-1991, becoming a highly regarded umpire in both the Dutch big league, as well as on international events. Since 1996, he is an Official Scorer in the softball big league. Besides this, Van der Ploeg has been an umpire-instructor, was a member of the Umpiring Committee in North Holland, where he also served as member of the regional board. From 1984 on, he is active is national committees for the KNBSB, including the Game Rules Committee Softball. Currently, Van der Ploeg is a member of the Protest Committee Softball (since 1990) and Committee for Penal Provisions (since 1992).

On the meeting in Nieuwegein, Dutch National Baseball Team Manager Robert Eenhoorn and baseball umpire Fred van Groningen Schinkel were handed their Coach of the Year and Umpire of the year decoration, which were awarded to them last weekend during the Congress of the European Baseball Confederation (CEB) in Malta.
(April 3)

In this Greek place, where the Olympic Games have their origin, High Priestess (actress) Maria Nafpliotou presided and handed the Torch to the first Torchbearer Alexandros Nikolaidis, the silver medalist taekwondo (80 kg) in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The coming days, the Olympic Flame travels through Greece, before it will be handed over on March 30 to the Beijing Organizing Committee during a transfer ceremony in Athens, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. The Olympic Flame will then be traveling around the world on all five continents, before it arrives in Beijing on August 8 for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame will come to five European cities: Almaty (Kazachstan) on April 2, Istanbul (Turkey) on April 3, St. Petersburg (Russia) on April 5, London (Great Britain) on April 6 and Paris (France) on April 7. This year, the Olympic Flame celebrates its 80th birthday, as it was first lighted during the Olympic Games of 1928 in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
(March 24)

Dutch Baseball

Catchers voted MVP
1957	Joop Geurts (Schoten)
1979, 1984	Paul Smit (Amstel Tijgers)
2002	Sidney de Jong (HCAW)
2006	Tjerk Smeets (Kinheim)
2008	Mark Duursma (Pioniers)
(Grand Slam * Stats & News / MS)

...Mark Duursma gets the MVP 2008 Award... ...from KNBSB-President Ruud van Zetten (right)... ...At left is Master of Ceremonies Andy Houtkamp... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Most Valuable Player
Mark Duursma, who plays for Konica Minolta Pioniers, was named the MVP of 2008 after having a solid season. Duursma, who already was nominated for MVP in 2005 and 2006, led the league with a .387 batting average and 60 basehits. He also led his team with 36 runs scored, which tied him for second place in the league and collected 30 RBI's. Duursma walked 29 times and batted .390 with runners in scoring position. Defensively, Duursma got 288 total chances as a catcher and committed only four errors. Duursma is the first player of Pioniers to be named Most Valuable Player and the fifth catcher in history since the first award was handed out in 1953. Also nominated for the Award were Bas de Jong (L&D Amsterdam) and Tjerk Smeets (Corendon Kinheim). This was the first nomination for De Jong, whose brother Jos was nominated last year for the Best Pitcher Award. For Smeets, this was his second nomination. His first was in 2006, when won the MVP-title.

The Holland Series MVP Award was to pitcher Ryan Murphy of Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam. In 2009, Murphy will play for Konica Minolta Pioniers.

Best Pitcher
Rob Cordemans of Sparta/Feyenoord won the Best Pitcher Award for the fifth time in his career. The righthander won the award earlier in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005 and was nominated in 2001. All his previous nominations came when he was pitching for DOOR Neptunus, but today, he became only the third pitcher of Sparta/Feyenoord in history to win the award, which he did in his first season pitching for this team. The last Sparta-pitcher was Flip le Cuivre, who was named Best Pitcher in 1969. In the three previous years (1966-1967-1968), the Award went to Rudi Dom. The national team-pitcher went 9-0 this season and had the lowest ERA in the league with 0.86. He also led the league in lowest Opponent Batting Average (.162) and most Strikeouts (112). Also nominated were Patrick Beljaards (Corendon Kinheim) and Leon Boyd (DOOR Neptunus). Beljaards won in 2000 and was also nominated in 2006. Boyd was also nominated last year.

Statistical Awards
Mark Duursma of Konica Minolta Pioniers led the league in hitting, going 60-for-155 for a .387 batting average. Duursma secured his title in the last weekend of the regular season, as he was unable to play in the last game due to an injury. The only other player of Pioniers to claim the batting title was Glenn Romney in 2003.

...The Baseball & Softball Stars of 2008... ...Back: Ciro Ricardo, Chantal Versluis, Robin van Eis and Kenny Dame... ...Center: Jaap Braakman, Roman Matuska, Michel Groenhart, Michel Aussems... ...Pim Walsma and Rikkert Faneyte... ...Front: Jessie van Aalst, Britt Vonk, Lindsey Meadows, Eric van Dorp... ...Dave Hazel, Rob Cordemans and Mark Duursma... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

The award for the Homerun King went to Jourick Blanco, also of Konica Minolta Pioniers. Blanco shared first place in this category with Sidney de Jong of L&D Amsterdam, as both hit six homeruns. The award went to Blanco, as he had three at bats less than De Jong, which is the criteria to win the award. It marks the first time that a player of Pioniers wins the Homerun-trophy.

Jermaine Esprit of Mr. Cocker HCAW was handed the award for Most Stolen Bases. The outfielder, who will play for ADO in 2009, stole 18 bases out of 21 attempts. Last years winner Raily Legito (DOOR Neptunus), this season ended in a tie for 15th place. Only one other HCAW-player had led the Stolen Base-category in history, being Arnold Smith, who stole the most in 1974 and 1975.

Pirates' Guus vd Heijden Trophy-winners
1989	Wismar Ansjeliena
1990	Rikkert Faneyte
2006	Tom Stuifbergen
2008	Pim Walsma
(Grand Slam * Stats & News / MS)

Guus van der Heijden Memorial Trophy
Pim Walsma of L&D Amsterdam was named Best International Player under 23 by the coaches of the national team. The righthanded pitcher, who turned from a starter into a closer the last two seasons, made his debut in the Dutch National Team this year and left an impression immediately, which led to him being elected into the Olympic squad for the Olympic Games in Beijing. It is the fourth time that a player from Amsterdam Pirates wins the award, which was handed out for the first time in 1987 and is named after former KNBSB-President Guus van der Heijden.

Ron Fraser Award
Erik van Dorp of First Divisionist DOOR Tridents won this years Ron Fraser Award, which is handed out annally to the most promising youth player. The catcher also served some time with the big league-team Neptunus, but didn't play on the highest level. Van Dorp also played for the National Junior Team in 2008.

Roel de Mon Award
The Roel de Mon Award was handed out for the 40th time this year and went to pitcher Robin van Eis of Corendon Kinheim. The lefthander initially started the season in the First Division-team of Kinheim, but was promoted to the big league-team in May and stayed there. In his first season on the highest level, Van Eis made a fine impresssion and he became the number three starter in his team's rotation.

Leen Volkerijk Award
The award for longtime contributions to the development of baseball players this year went to Michel Aussems, who since 1991 works for the Dutch Federation in player development. In the province of Northern Holland, Aussems coordinated the education and development throughout the years and since 2007, he is involved with the Baseball Academy Amsterdam.

Coach of the Year
Rikkert Faneyte of L&D Amsterdam was named Coach of the Year for leading his team to the Dutch title in his first year as Head Coach. After having played for Pirates in 1985-1991 and 1997-2001 and briefly in 2005, he was the team's Pitching Coach in 2006. In 1991-1996, Faneyte played professionally in the USA and became the second Dutch-born and raised player to reach the Major League, playing in 80 games for the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. The only other Pirates-coach who won the award was Ted Arnold in 1987. Back then, Arnold did the same. In his first year as Head Coach, he led Pirates to the championship.

(December 20)

Go here for the Award Photo Gallery

Awards Softball Women
Awards Softball Men

Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam has to travel to Nettuno in Italy for its tournament. There, it will meet organisor Danesi Caffè Nettuno from Italy, which last year won the Final Four in Barcelona, Rouen Huskies '76 (France), Port of Antwerp Royal Greys (Belgium), Regensburg Legionäre (Germany) and Tenerife Marlins (Spain).

Vice-champion Corendon Kinheim will play its tournament in the south of Italy in a yet to be decided site. Kinheim has to play against Fortitudo Bologna (Italy), Italian League-champion San Marino (San Marino), Tempeliers de Senart Savigny (France), Draci Brno (Czech Republic) and FC Barcelona (Spain).

game schedule
By means of drawings the six participating teams in the tournaments each were given a number, which coincides with the game schedule. In the Nettuno-group, the drawing was as follows: 1. Nettuno, 2. Greys, 3. Tenerife, 4. Amsterdam, 5. Regensburg, 6. Rouen.
As a result, Amsterdam will open the tournament on March 30 vs. Royal Greys in a home game. The team then will face Rouen the next day (away), to be followed by a game against Nettuno (away) on Wednesday, April 1. On Thursday, Amsterdam meets Tenerife (away), then closes the round robin-tournament vs. Regensburg (home). On Saturday, the teams in first and second place will face each other in the final game.

In the Southern Italy-group, the drawing was as follows: 1. Barcelona, 2. San Marino, 3. Kinheim, 4. Bologna, 5. Tempeliers, 6. Brno.
Kinheim opens vs. Brno (home), then meets Barcelona (away) the next day. On Wednesday, Kinheim will play against vs. Tempeliers (home), then faces Bologna (home) and ends vs. San Marino (away) on Friday. Here, the two top teams then also will play the final game on Saturday.

The two finalists of each tournament qualify for the Final Four, which will be played June 20-21 in Barcelona (Spain). The winner there will be the European Cup-champion.
(December 20)

Best Pitcher Baseball
Nominated are: Patrick Beljaards (Corendon Kinheim), Leon Boyd (DOOR Neptunus) and Rob Cordemans (Sparta/Feyenoord).

Best Pitcher Softball Women
Nominated are: Andrea Lindgren (Twins), Lindsey Meadows (Computer SOS Tex Town Tigers) and Rebecca Soumeru (Sparks Haarlem).

Best Pitcher Softball Men
Nominated are: Arjan Baanen (DVH), Roman Matuska (Centrals) and Jared Welsh (Decos EHS).

Most Valuable Player Baseball
Nominated are: Mark Duursma (Konica Minolta Pioniers), Bas de Jong (L&D Amsterdam) and Tjerk Smeets (Corendon Kinheim).

Most Valuable Player Softball Women
Nominated are: Dana Horeman (Terrasvogels), Kim Kluijskens (Sparks Haarlem) and Lindsey Meadows (Computer SOS Tex Town Tigers).

Most Valuable Player Softball Men
Nominated are: Michel Groenhart (Decos EHS), Ciro Ricardo (Centrals) and Julius Veeris (Kokolishi).

Also on Saturday, the winners in several statistical categories (Best Hitter, Most Homeruns, Most Stolen Bases) then also will be crowned, as are the MVP's of the Holland Series, the best youthplayers and best national team players under 23. Also announced will be the winners of the Coach of the Year Awards and the trophees for individuals in player development, both in baseball and softball.
(December 19)

...Andre Hughes...

Lefthanded pitcher Andre Hughes, who will turn 24 on January 1, played for German big league-club Solingen Alligators since 2002, one of the leading teams in the Bundesliga. From 2005-2007, he led the league in wins, going 10-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 2005, 10-1 with 1.41 in 2006 and 11-1 with 1.47 in 2007.

In 2005, Hughes made his debut in the German National Baseball Team during the European Championships in Prague (Czech Republic), where he went 0-1. He then had a 6.35 ERA during the Championships of 2007 in Barcelona (Spain) and started against the Netherlands during the World Cup later that year in Taiwan. In the first inning, the lefthander gave up a 3-run homerun to Dirk van't Klooster and a solo-homer to Tjerk Smeets becoming the losing pitcher. During the Championships, his ERA was 43.20. Earlier in the year, he was 0-2 for Solingen during the European Cup-tournament in San Marino. In March of this year, Hughes participated with the German national squad in the Olympic Qualifier in Taiwan, was 0-1, but struckout 10 in 15 innings. Hughes will be the first German player to play in the Dutch big league since Simon Gühring played for Tornado's in 2004. During the season, Hughes will travel back and forth from Solingen to Bussum weekly. He will practice with the Alligators during the week, then travels to Bussum on Friday to play in the weekend and returns home on Sunday-evening. He will join HCAW in January.

...Jason Rees...

Australian Jason Elliot Rees, who bats and throws righthanded and turns 25 in April, played baseball in the USA for two years on Cloud County Community College in Concordia (Kansas), then two more years for Fort Hays State University. In Concordia, he tied a school-record by playing in 104 games. Rees then went on to play for the Central Coast Marlins in the New South Wales Major League in Australia, before heading to Israel in 2007. There, he played in the Israel Baseball League for the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, which won the championship in the first professional season in Israel with a 29-12 record. The six teams were comprised of mostly American players and were coached by Americans. The Blue Sox-manager was former Major Leaguer Ron Blomberg (New York Yankees). In Israel, Rees led the league with 17 homeruns and 50 RBI's. He hit 47 basehits, stole 14 bases and batted .362.

In October of 2007, the New York Yankees signed Rees to a professional contract, but he was cut in March 2008 before playing his first game. Rees represented Australia as a player in the National AAA Team, which won the bronze medal during the World Junior Championships in 2001 in Taiwan. A year later, he played for the New South Wales Patriots in the Australian championship series, the Claxton Shield. Rees comes to Bussum in March.
(December 18)

In the announcement, Robert Eenhoorn, who will become the Federation's Technical Director on January 1, stated: ,,It's fantastic that someone with his background will join us. It will enlarge our credibility towards players, clubs and player agents''. On January 1, Eenhoorn hands over the duties as the Field Manager of the national team to American Rod Delmonico, who was named recently as his successor.

...Bert Blyleven, while being with Texas in 1977... ...during a game in Oakland... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

When he was 19 years old, Bert Blyleven made his Major League-debut on June 5, 1970 while pitching for the Minnesota Twins and was the winning pitcher vs. the Washington Senators, throwing seven innings. In his first big league-season, the righthander appeared in 27 games, struckout 135 and went 10-9. In 1976, Blyleven was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he also played the next year. In December 1977, he was then traded to and became a pitching ace for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1978-1980, before (after being traded in December 1980) becoming a member of the rotation of the Cleveland Indians from 1981-1985. In August 1985, he returned to the Twins (after another trade), where he remained until 1988 and then (after being traded again in November 1988) closed his career as a pitcher of the then-called California Angels (now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). After becoming a Free Agent after the 1991 season, Blyleven re-signed with the Angels for the 1992-season. He then became a Free Agent again after 1992 and signed a contract with the Twins for 1993, but eventually announced his retirement. In his impressive 23-year big league-career, Blyleven threw in 692 games and finished with a 287-250 record.

In 4970 innings, he struckout 3701 batters, which is the fifth highest total on the All-Time list behind Noland Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, but is the third highest for a righthander behind Ryand and Clemens. In January, Bert Blyleven again is eligible to be elected in the Hall of Fame.

In 1979, he won the World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, beating the Baltimore Orioles 4-3, then won another one with the Minnesota Twins in 1987, beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3. Blyleven threw in two All Star Games, in 1973 and 1985.

Foreign Pitching Coaches Dutch National Team
1998-1999	Jim Hovorka	USA
1999-2000	Bernie Beckman	Canada
2001-2002	Brian Farley	USA
2002-2005	Steve Janssen	Belgium
2005-2008	Brian Farley	USA
2006	Bob Welch (WBC)	USA
2009	Bert Blyleven (WBC)	USA

In 1993, a few months after his retirement, Blyleven was a member of the Major League Baseball International All Stars-team which participated in the 5th World Port Tournament in Rotterdam (Netherlands). In the same team, current national team-player Sharnol Adriana played. Blyleven threw the first two innings of the first game vs. Canada, striking out three batters and that would be his only appearance in the event, which was won by MLBI. Currently, the 57-year old Blyleven is the Color TV-Commentator for the Twins-games.

Remarkable enough, the post of Pitching Coach with the Dutch National Team have been filled in by foreign coaches since 1998, including Americans Jim Hovorka, Brian Farley and Bob Welch, Dutch-born Canadian Bernie Beckman and Belgian Steve Janssen. In 1975, a Pitching Coach was named for the first time and it was Dutchman Leen Volkerijk who served in that capacity from 1975-1978 and returned in the same role in 1985-1988. Volkerijk was succeeded by Jan-Dick Leurs in 1979 and 1980, who returned in 1984. In 1981-1983, there was no official Pitching Coach named when the coachingstaff of the national team existed of only two coaches. While being named just Assistant Coach, Charles Urbanus served as the Pitching Coach from 1989-1991, then no coach was responsible for the pitchers from 1992-1997 when former pitcher Jan-Dick Leurs was the Manager and handled the pitching himself. Since 1998, a (foreign) Pitching Coach has been named for every event the Dutch team participated in.
(December 11)

...Host Alex Nelissen (right) interviews... ...Volunteer-winner Gerrit Ligtenberg... (Photo: Stichting Topsport Kennemerland)

The awards were handed out in a new set-up, in which the athletes were the middle of the attention. The Foundation Topsport Kennemerland exists since November 2007 and has as its goal to create an optimal topsport climate in the Haarlem-area. Athletes were nominated based on their accomplishments in the passed year by a panel. In all categories, the panel initially nominated five, except for Talent, which has seven nominees. Out of these nominees, everyone could then cast their votes, resulting in three finalists.

...The winning Organizing Committee... ...of the Haarlem Baseball Week... (Photo: Stichting Topsport Kennemerland)

The Haarlem Baseball Week, which had its first edition in 1961, became the first event to be named Sports Event of the Year, a new category. The complete Organizing Committee was in attendance to receive the award.

A suprise winner was Gerrit Ligtenberg, who was named Volunteer of the Year. Ligtenberg has been active in the Committees of the both the Haarlem Baseball Week and Haarlem Softball Week, but also numerous other Haarlem-bases events, being responsible for all things involved with the accomodations.

The other winners were:

Sports Male Athlete of the Year: Henk Grol (judo). Also nominated were Ruben Houkes (judo) and Simon Kuijpers (ice skating).
Sports Female Athlete of the Year: Jolanda Keizer (track & field, heptatlon). Also nominated: Femke van der Meij (track & field, sprint) and Karina de Wit (badminton).
Sports Talent of the Year: Marvin Huisman (judo). Also nominated: Natasja Blind (gymnastics) and Lara Dell'anna (field hockey).
Sports Team of the Year: HC Bloemendaal (field hockey). Also nominated: Corendon Kinheim (baseball) and Sparks Haarlem (softball women). Despite winning both the European Cup and the Dutch championship, the men softball-team of Decos EHS didn't make the final three.
(December 9)

...Rod Delmonico... (Photo: KNBSB)

The 50-year old Delmonico will head the Dutch team for the first time during the World Baseball Classic in March. The Dutch team then will face Cuba, Dominican Republic and Panama in the First Round of the event in San Juan (Puerto Rico). Three years ago, during the first WBC, the Dutch team also played its games on Puerto Rico. The inaugural edition was won by Japan. Bill Froberg and Wim Martinus have been appointed as Assistant Coach, while the naming of a Pitching Coach is expected shortly. Martinus has been with the team since November 2006, while Froberg was a member of the coachingstaff during the 2007 World Cup in Taiwan. Paul van den Oever, who served as both Bench Coach and 1B Coach since 2007, and Brian Farley, who was the Pitching Coach since August 2005, will not return in the coachingstaff. Farley has been named Head Coach of the National AAA-team.

Rod Delmonico is the 14th American, who will lead the Dutch national team, since Ron Fraser became the first in 1960. He is the first American to be appointed Manager since Pat Murphy led the squad for six months in 2000 and only the second since Jim Stoeckel was Manager in 1991. Since then, the national team was led by two successful Dutch coaches, Jan-Dick Leurs and Robert Eenhoorn. Leurs was Manager from 1992 until April 30, 2000, then Eenhoorn succeeded Murphy in November 2000 after the Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia). In 2003, Eenhoorn's American Bench Coach Davey Johnson took over briefly as interim-Manager during the World Port Tournament and European Championships. Jim Stoeckel holds the record for most seasons managed by an American (six full years). Jan-Dick Leurs holds the overall record with 8 years and 4 months. Eenhoorn has been Manager for 8 years and two months, but leads all coaches with games coaches and victories. Including Leurs and Eenhoorn, six Dutch coaches led the team since 1956 when Henk Keulemans was the first person to be appointed Coach of the national team, while four others filled in during a tournament. There also has been a Canadian coach briefly in 1959.

American Managers Dutch National Team
1960-1962	Ron Fraser
1963	Bill Arce
1964	Archie Allen
1965	Glenn Gostick
1966	Howard Fetz
1967	Hal Smeltzly
1968	Bill Alhouse
1971	Hal Smeltzly, Bill Arce
1972-1973	Ron Fraser
1974-78	Ernie Myers
1981-1983; 1984	Jim Stoeckel
1984-1986	Harvey Shapiro
1987	Pat Murphy
1988	Tom Petroff
1989-1991	Jim Stoeckel
2000	Pat Murphy
2003	Davey Johnson (interim)

Rodney James (Rod) Delmonico was born on May 14, 1958 and graduated in 1980 from Liberty University. In the same year, he made his coaching debut as an assistant at Gloucester County College in New Jersey. From 1981-1983, he was the Graduate Assistant Coach at Clemson University, then was named Assistant Coach at Florida State University, where he also was the head recruiter, worked with outfielders, first baseman and was the baserunning coach. The Seminoles led their league in stolen bases twice. In his six years at FSU, the team finished in the national top-15 annually and appeared in three College World Series, while 21 players were drafted by Major League-clubs.

In 1990, Delmonico was appointed Head Coach of the University of Tennessee and it was there, that he became one of the nations top coaches. At Tennessee, he became the winningest coach in school-history, breaking the record of longtime coach Bill Wright. Delmonico based his success on solid pitching and defense, along with agressive offense. Again, his team led in stolen bases twice, but also led in fielding twice.

In his years at Tennessee, Delmonico was named Coach of the Year six times, including National Coach of the Year in 1995. He was named Southeast Conference Coach of the Year twice and Tennessee Coach of the Year three times. In 1995, he led the Volunteers to the College World Series for the first time since 1951 and also played in the event in 2001 and 2005. After the team didn't qualify in 2006 and 2007, Delmonico was released from his duties by Tennessee in June 2007. In 18 seasons with the Volunteers, his record was 699-396, including nine seasons with 40-plus wins and two with 50 or more victories. Before he came to Tennessee, the team never had won 40 games in a season.

Overall, Delmonico's teams appeared in six College World Series and 14 NCAA Regional Championships, won 10 Conference or Division titles and nine Conference Tournament championships. He coached R.A. Dickey and Augie Ojeda, who in 1996 won the Bronze Medal with Team USA during the Olympic Games in Atlanta. During his 18 years at Tennessee, 73 players were drafted, including 10 first-round picks, while a total of 95 players signed a professional contract, including Todd Helton, Jimmy Key, Luis Alicea and Paul Sorrento. For Major League Baseball International, Delmonico was a speaker on clinics in the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia and Austria in the last two years. He also wrote four instruction books.

After leaving Tennessee, Delmonico was a volunteer Assistant Coach with Florida State University in 2007. Two months ago, Rod Delmonico joined the Florida International University to become an Assistant Coach of the Golden Panthers in the staff of Head Coach Turtle Thomas.
(December 1)

In London, it also was announced that both European Cup-tournaments will be held in Italy, but will be played one week earlier than announced. Initially, the tournaments were to be played April 6-11, but were moved one week earlier to March 30-April 4, as both the Netherlands and Italy open their regular season on April 11. The requests of the Dutch and Italian Federation to move the tournaments were honored by the CEB.

One of the tournaments will be played in Nettuno, which won the European Champions Cup in September by winning the Final Four. The other tournament will be played in the southern part of Italy in either Messina (on Sicily) or in Calabria, which is the region south of Naples. On December 19, the alignments of the two groups will be decided during a meeting in Frankfurt (Germany). The two finalists of each tournament will qualify for the Final Four, which is scheduled to be played June 19-21 in Barcelona.
(November 30)

The 42-year old Brown is coaching since 1997, including two with The Hague-based Storks, where he led current ADO-players Niels Weis and Jurrian Koks. In his playing days, Brown played for Euro Stars.
(November 6)

...Keino Perez... ...Back in 2009?... (Photo: Rouen Huskies)

Added to the team were infielders Rhiency Imperator (Robur '58), Sidney Ensermo (Mr. Cocker HCAW), Sergio Paulina (Alcmaria Victrix) and outfielder Linoy Croes (Alcmaria Victrix). Also expected is that RHP Keino Perez, who this season pitched for French champion Rouen '76 Huskies, will return in an Almere-uniform next season. Perez already pitched for Almere in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In these three seasons, he appeared in 41 games. This year, Perez participated with Rouen in the European Cup Tournament in Grosseto (Italy). He threw in two games, was 1-1 and struckout 13 in 16 innings.

Ensermo played for Almere in 2006 after making his big league-debut the year before with Amsterdan Pirates. The last two seasons, he played for HCAW, where he appeared in 33 games this season, hitting .214 (21-for-98) with one homerun, nine runs and five RBI's.

Besides the possible addition of Perez to the pitchingstaff, the team also added lefthanded youthpitcher Andy Nieuwenhuyse, as well as Jeroen Vos to the staff. The latter didn't play this season. Leaving Almere are RHP Shane Gnade, who will make his big league-debut next season with Konica Minolta Pioniers, RHP Derrick Isenia, IF Guilliano Benito (both to Euro Stars) and IF Sytze Visbeen (Mr. Cocker HCAW).

OF/1B Frank van Leeuwen concluded his playing career and becomes the new Assistant Coach in the staff of Head Coach Marco Wels. Van Leeuwen succeeds Rob Keur, who will be the Head Coach of the club's Junior-squad next year. Tom Groot remains on as Assistant Coach.
(November 6)

The most noticeable names to change clubs are Infielder Vince Rooi, Closer Dave Draijer, Pitcher/Infielder Ryan Murphy and Outfielder Johnny Balentina. As earlier announced, Rooi moves from Corendon Kinheim to Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam, while Draijer is going from Konica Minolta Pioniers to MediaMonks RCH and Murphy opted for Pioniers, leaving Amsterdam. Veteran player Johnny Balentina is coming back to the Dutch big league next season after spending the year on Curaçao.

Last season, Balentina played for DOOR Neptunus, the club where he also made his big league-debut in 1990. After playing one season for Sparta thereafter, Balentina returned to Neptunus, where he stayed until the 1999 season. He then went on to play four seasons for ADO (2000-2003), followed by two seasons for Kinheim (2004-2005), before coming back to Neptunus in 2006. In 2007, the outfielder/catcher played in 29 games, batting .350 (42-for-120).
(October 31)

Complete list baseball transfers 2008

...Leo Voogd... (Photo: Schiedam)

ADO will be coached by Leo Voogd next season. This season, the former pitcher was the Head Coach of Schiedam, which finished in eighth place in the Second Division B with an 11-11 record. As a pitcher, Voogd played himself for Vlaardingen Holy, Euro Stars and Feyenoord, before playing in the Dutch big league for Neptunus and Sparta/Feyenoord. In 1994, he participated with the Dutch National Team in the Haarlem Baseball Week, throwing in one game against Mexico and that remained his lone official game in the national squad. After conclusion of the Baseball Week, he also was a member of the national squad which participated a week later in the World Championships in Nicaragua, but there he didn't play. In 1999, Voogd set a big-league record by appearing in 32 games, but that was broken some years later. Leo Voogd succeeds Bart Volkerijk, who had taken over the squad from Ron Steward in mid-season.

Heading for ADO are five players with big league-experience: RHP Jurrian Koks, IF Michel Croes, IF Shurty Tremus, OF Jermaine Esprit and Utility Boudewijn van Elswijk. ADO added four players with no big league-experience to its roster: American RHP Andrew Kaiser (Colorado Christian University), RHP Lukas Reijnders (Storks), IF René Verbrugge (Schiedam) and OF Koen Meershoek (Storks).

...Andrew Kaiser... (Photo: CCU)

Jurrian Koks comes back to ADO after having pitched one season for Konica Minolta Pioniers. There, he appeared in 15 games, struckout 39 in 44 2/3 inning and finished with a 6.25 ERA, an 1-2 record and one save. Jermaine Esprit led Mr. Cocker HCAW this season with 18 stolen bases and batted .257. Shurty Tremus batted .218 for Mr.Cocker HCAW. Michel Croes this season played in 16 games for MediaMonks RCH, hitting .091 (4-for-44) with three runs scored and two RBI's. Croes earlier played in the big league for Amsterdam Pirates and Hoofddorp Pioniers. Boudewijn van Elswijk also played in the big league before for Amsterdam Pirates and ADO. After starting his career with Storks, Van Elswijk played two seasons for ADO, before moving to Amsterdam. He then came back to ADO for the 2007 season and playd again for Storks this year, making his return to ADO his third period with the club.

Andrew Kaiser played together with Jurrian Koks, when the latter also attended Colorado Christian University in 2007. In May of this year, the 21-year old Kaiser ended his career with the Cougars, where he became the first pitcher in school-history to throw a complete game shutout, as he went the distance on March 13 vs. New Mexico Highlands University, winning 4-0. In April, Kaiser became the first pitcher of the school to be named Pitcher of the Week in the Rocky Mountains Athletic Conference (RMAC) and earned the honors a second time later in the month. After completion of the season, Kaiser was named to the All-RMAC All Star Team. For next season, Kaiser will have to choose a new uniform-number, as he was wearing 21 while with the Cougars. At ADO, number 21 is retired and belongs to longtime pitcher Bart Volkerijk.

Leaving ADO are RHP Brent Henry (who returned to the USA), OF Quensley Bazoer, Utility Haily de Palm (both HCAW), IF Luigino Domacasse (Euro Stars) and OF Edison Bito (Tridents). Unsure is whether RHP Alex Smith is coming back to The Hague next season. At the moment, he returned back to the States. Experienced righthander Erik Remmerswaal was forced to end his career due to an injury.

Brent Henry was 1-9 with a 6.21 ERA in 15 games, striking out 28 and walking 54 in 58 innings. Luigino Domacasse played in 21 games in his first big leagues-season and batted .045 (1-for-22). Edison Bito will play for First Divisionist DOOR Tridents next season, the same team where he played in 2006, the year in which he also made his big league-debut playing for parent team DOOR Neptunus. Last season, he played for Sparta/Feyenoord and also was on their roster for this year. However, early in the season he transfered to ADO, where he played in 26 games, batting .202 (17-for-84), scored six runs and had seven RBI's. The transfers of Quensley Bazoer and Haily de Palm to Mr. Cocker HCAW were already announced and confirmed on Thursday-evening. Erik Remmerswaal this season was 0-10 with one save in 13 games, striking out 28 in 61 1/3 inning, finishing with a 6.16 ERA. Alex Smith was 4-9 and struckout 68 in 97 1/3 inning with a 3.79 ERA.
(October 31)

...Kevin Miner... ...Amsterdam => HCAW... (Photo: Henk Seppen)

Venezuelan pitchers Fernando José Gutierrez Gutierrez (who has a Spanish passport) and Oscar Eduardo Montero, who both alerady returned home in August, probably will not return to Bussum next season. Instead, HCAW might opt to acquire a new foreign pitcher. Gutierrez was 0-2 with six saves and a 4.29 ERA and struckout 23 batters in 21 innings, appearing in 17 games. Montero was 0-3 and threw 47 2/3 inning in 15 games, striking out 59, finishing with a 2.83 ERA. As Ralph Milliard, back-up Catcher Max Brevet left the team during the season and retired. Brevet played in seven games, going 3-for-13 (.231). Milliard played in only 14 games and was .256 (11-for-43) with eight runs and four RBI's, but he committed an unusual nine errors.

...Quensley Bazoer... ...ADO => HCAW... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

Infielder Shurty Tremus and Outfielder Jermaine Esprit both will play for ADO next season, while 3B Sidney Ensermo will wear the uniform of First Divisionist Almere Magpies. Tremus played in 41 games, was 29-for-133 (.218) with 19 runs and 4 RBI's. The speedy Esprit was 37-for-144 (.257) in 39 games, scoring 18 runs with 13 RBI's and led the team with 18 stolen bases. Last season, Esprit came to HCAW after having played for ADO. Ensermo went 21-for-98 (.214) with one homerun, scored nine runs and had five RBI's.

Four new players are coming to the Bussum-club. Utility-player Haily de Palm and Outfielder Quensley Bazoer are coming from ADO, which had to play a Promotion/Relegation Play-Off this season and secured its spot in the big league by winning the series 3-2 vs. First Division-champion Euro Stars. De Palm played in 29 games, batting .214 (21-for-98) with one homerun, scoring six runs and batting in four. Bazoer appeared in 39 games and finished with a .233 average (28-for-120) with six RBI's and eight runs scored. Also new is Infielder Michael Pluijmers, who this season made his big league-debut playing for MediaMonks RCH, after having played several seasons for First Divisionist Alcmaria Victrix. In his first big league-season, Pluijmers batted .215 (23-for-107) in 38 games. The second baseman scored 18 runs and had seven RBI's. RHP Kevin Miner comes to Bussum from Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam, where he threw 20 2/3 inning this season in 10 games. The righthander struckout seven batters and finished with a 2-1 record and 8.27 ERA. RHP Kyle Ward, who played the majority of the season for HCAW's second team in the First Division, is added to the big league-squad. This season, Ward already threw in seven games for the big league-team and struckout ten batters in 20 innings. He got one loss and finished with a 7.65 ERA.
(October 30)

In a new set-up, the Foundation Topsport Kennemerland exists since November 2007 and has as its goal to create an optimal topsport climate in the Haarlem-area. Athletes have been nominated based on their accomplishments in the passed year by a panel, which was compiled of Jan Vegter (chairman), Floris Jan Bovelander, Rob Ridder, Theo Plasschaert, Judith van Kampen and Ineke Pérukel. In all categories, the panel nominated five, except for Talent, which has seven nominees.

The nominees are:

Sports Male Athlete of the Year
Henk Grol (judo), Ruben Houkes (judo), Simon Kuijpers (ice skating), Reinier Saxton (golf) and Nicky Terpstra (cycling).

Sports Female Athlete of the Year
Kitty Bravik (judo), Naomi Halman (basketball), Jolanda Keizer (track & field, heptatlon), Femke van der Meij (track & field, sprint) and Karina de Wit (badminton).

Sports Talent of the Year
Jacco Arends (badminton), Natasja Blind (gymnastics), Lara Dell'anna (field hockey), Robin van Eis (baseball), Marvin Huisman (judo), Thierry Kruithof (track & field, shot put/discus throw) and Selena Piek (badminton).

Sports Team of the Year
HC Bloemendaal (field hockey), BC Duinwijck (badminton), Decos EHS (softball men), Corendon Kinheim (baseball) and Sparks Haarlem (softball women).

Sports Special
Jan Eichhoorn (swimming), Paul de Jong (rowing, Paralympics), Theo Joosten (cycling), Masha Kunst (track & field) and Wim Roosen (track & field).

Sports Event of the Year
BDO Schaaktoernooi (chess tournament), Haarlem Baseball Week, Haarlem Basketball Week, Letterenloop (running event) and ZKA Loop (running event).

Everyone now can vote for their favorite (only one vote per category is allowed). This will result in a top-3 in all categories with the panel then naming the winner. Voting can be done through November 23 at www.topsportkennemerland.nl/gala/stemmen.html.
(October 30)

...Vince Rooi playing at 3rd Base for Kinheim... ...A Pirate again in 2009... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Former pro Vince Rooi, who played at first base and third base for Corendon Kinheim the last two seasons, will return to the club where he has played in youth teams and made his debut in the Dutch big league in the 1998 season. Ten years ago, Rooi played in eleven games for Pirates, going 11-for-36 (.306) with one double and one homerun, three runs scored and six RBI's. Back then, current catcher Sidney de Jong and current Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte were his teammates in the Dutch capital. In 1998, Rooi signed a professional contract with the Montreal Expos-organisation and went on to play eight seasons in the minor leagues. The first seven of those seasons, he played in the organisation of Montreal, which transfered to Washington after the 2004 season. After playing the Rookie League in the 1999 season, Vince Rooi moved to Single-A and played for the Vermont Expos, Clinton Lumber Kings and Brevard County Manatees in three different Single-A leagues, before being promoted to the Double-A team Harrisburg Senators during the 2005 season. When the Expos have became the Washington Nationals, Rooi played one more season in the organisation, playing for the Potomac Nationals (A) and Harrisburg Senators (AA). The infielder was then released by the Nationals, but signed a new contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played for the Lynchburg Hillcats (Single-A) in 2006. In eight pro-seasons, Rooi played in 716 games and finished with a .233 batting average (558 hits in 2391 at bats) with 48 homeruns, 281 runs scored and 314 RBI's.

After his eighth professional season, Vince Rooi returned home to the Netherlands and went on to play for Kinheim. Since leaving for the USA, Rooi had remained a member of the Amsterdam Pirates-club and transfered to Kinheim after the 2005 season, making him eligible to play for the Haarlem-club. Shortly after returning after completion of his professional season in 2006, Rooi already played for Kinheim in the Play-Offs and Holland Series. In the 2006 Play-Offs, he went 3-for-10 (.300) and in the Holland Series, he was 7-for-17 (.412). In the Spring of 2007, Vince Rooi traveled with Kinheim to Turkey for a week of practice, followed by his first full season in the Dutch big league. In 40 games, he went 53-for-144 (.368), scored 43 runs and had 34 RBI's with three homeruns, helping Kinheim win the national championship. This season, he again played in 40 games, went 44-for-148 (.297) with 23 runs and 32 RBI's and two homeruns. Kinheim again reached the Holland Series, but this time was swept by Amsterdam, for whom he will play in the 2009 season.

...Louis Hofer... ...Back in uniform... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Veteran coach Louis Hofer will be back in uniform after not being active this year. Last season, Hofer was the Head Coach with Amsterdam Pirates and then guided the team to its first Play-Offs in 15 years. Hofer had three earlier periods with the Amsterdam-team. After being the Assistant Coach in 1983, Hofer was the Head Coach of the team in 1984 and 1985. His second (5-year) period started in 1990 when he again was the Assistant Coach. After three seasons, Hofer was the Head Coach again in 1993-1994. After 11 years, Hofer returned to the big league-team of Amsterdam for his third period, being the Head Coach in 2006 and 2007. In the eleven year span, Hofer coached three more years in the Pirates-organisation, then went on to coach seven seasons with Kinheim. In his first four seasons there, he was the assistent of Bernie Beckman, who next year also returns to the Dutch big league as the new Head Coach of MediaMonks RCH. Hofer then was Kinheim's Head Coach in 2003, but returned to being the assistent again in 2004. After initially retiring after the 2004 season, Hofer came back as Assistent Coach in 2005 and took over as Head Coach after 21 games.

After a playing career as catcher and third baseman (which started in 1962), Louis Hofer made his coaching debut in 1981 as the Assistant Coach of De Spartaan, which then also played in the Dutch big league on the same site where Pirates now has its home stadium. Since then, he also coached with the big league-teams Amstel Tijgers, Amsterdam Pirates and Kinheim, but also with Odiz Frogs (First and Second Division), OVVO (First Division), Boekaniers (First Division), Pirates Juniors and Bucs (= Pirates 2, District and First Division). Hofer had been Head Coach in nine big league-seasons with Amstel Tijgers, Amsterdam Pirates and Kinheim, leading these teams in 322 games. In 1990, Hofer was the Assistant Coach of Pirates when it captured its last Dutch title before this year. Since 1990, Hofer reached the Play-Offs in nine seasons, while being a member of a coaching staffs of Amsterdam Pirates or Kinheim. 2009 will be a special year for the experienced Louis Hofer, who will be the 1B Coach in the staff of Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte. When Hofer enters the field next year, it will mark the start of his 48th year in baseball, his 27th season as a coach in Dutch baseball, his 20th as coach in the big league and his fourth stint with Pirates. But he also will reach the mark of 750 games (head and assistent combined) on the big league-level and 400 games with Pirates. Besides that, two roles will be reversed. In 2006, Faneyte was the Pitching Coach in the staff of Hofer and now the latter will be a member of the Faneyte's staff.
(October 29)

...Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam opens Stock Exchange... (Photo: AEX Stock Exchange)

Amsterdam Pirates got the invitation to open Wednesday's Stock Exhange of NYSE Euronext after capturing its first Dutch baseball-title in 18 years, while playing in its 50th season. The club will celebrate its 50th anniversary next February.

Besides John Witte, the club's chairman and director of its main sponsor L&D Support, the team was represented by the club's secretary Kerstin Anthoni (on the photo front row right), Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte (center), Team Manager Peter Meijers (standing behind John Witte), Physical Therapist Sjoerd Kunstt (front row, second from right) and players (left to right) Bas de Jong, Kenny Berkenbosch, Jos de Jong, Kevin Miner, Raban Schalm and Nick Stuifbergen.

On October 8, Amsterdam Pirates shutout Corendon Kinheim, 12-0, in the third game of the Holland Series to conclude the final with a 3-0 sweep and dethrone Kinheim as Dutch champion. By winning the Dutch title, Amsterdam qualified for participation in next years European Cup Tournament. This year, the European Baseball Confederation introduced a new line of tournaments. The CupWinners Cup (in the past European Cup-2) was dropped and two pools were formed to play in tournaments for the European Cup. The finalists of these two tournaments then qualified for the Final Four, which was played in September in Barcelona (Spain). In Regensburg (Germany), FC Barcelona (Spain) and Danesi Caffè Nettuno (Italy) qualified, while Kinheim captured the Cup on the tournament in Grosseto (Italy), beating the host-team Grosseto Orioles. However, due to competition commitments, Kinheim was unable to participate in the Final Four and had to withdraw. In their place, San Marino went to Barcelona, where Nettuno won the European Champions Cup. Next years European Cup Tournament will be played somewhere in April. One of the events will be hosted by Final Four-winner Nettuno, while the other tournament probably will take place in Spain. The Final Four-weekend is scheduled for June. Both the two tournaments as well as the Final Four were moved up front, because the World Cup Baseball will be organized in seven European countries in September.
(October 23)

...Roy Berrevoets (right), coach in 2007-2008... ..and new Head Coach Jurjan Koenen... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

HCAW also announced that it has completed the coaching staff for its second team, which is playing in the First Division. In 2009, the team will be led again by Ray de Bruijn, who will then be assisted by Ralph Milliard. De Bruijn already is affiliated with the team for a while, first as an Assistant Coach, later as the Head Coach. Milliard played in the big league-team of HCAW until he retired in mid-season this year. Eric de Vries returns as the team's Pitching Coach. Maarten Verhoef, who has been De Bruijn's assistant until this season, steps down, but will remain involved in the winter practices of this team.

...Ronald Jaarsma... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Jurjan Koenen has been a longtime member of HCAW, where he has played his entire career. After making his debut in the Dutch big league with the team in 1988, he played in all of the 20 next seasons for HCAW on the highest level, appearing in 690 games, including four this year when he came (again) out of retirement. He initially retired after the 2005 season, but played in some games annually in the next three seasons. This year, he played his first game on May 31 at 3B-2B and went 1-for-4 with one run vs. Corendon Kinheim, then added three more appearances. On June 14, he went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter vs. Sparta/Feyenoord, walked as a pinch-hitter on June 28 vs. L&D Amsterdam and was 0-for-2 as the designated hitter on July 22 vs. Kinheim. Jurjan Koenen, who the league's MVP in 2003, is one of only seven players to have played in at least 500 games for one club. On April 17 last year, his uniform number 12 was retired by HCAW. Your webmaster thinks that Koenen will reach the 700-mark in a HCAW-uniform in the future. Hey Jurjan, it's only ten games... From 1992-1998 and in 2000-2001, Koenen played in 65 games for the Dutch National Team. With the orange squad, Koenen participated in three Europan Championships, Haarlem Baseball Weeks and World Port Tournaments and two World Championships.

Ronald Jaarsma also began his career with HCAW, but in 1993-1994 played two seasons for Tridents, the second team of Neptunus. He then returned to HCAW, playing in the second team of the club in 1995, but went back to Neptunus again for the 1996 season. In that year, Jaarsma played again for Tridents, but also made his big Dutch league-debut, while playing for Neptunus in a game against HCAW. Jaarsma then played in two full seasons for Neptunus in 1997-1998 and was on the roster for the 1999 season, but came back to HCAW shortly after the competition had started.

...Ralph Milliard in action as short stop... (Photo: www.eott.nl)

From 1999, he remained with the club until this season. In 13 big league-seasons, the outfielder played in 498 games on the highest level. Next season, he will play at least two more games to reach the 500-mark, before retiring. In 2001 and 2002, Jaarsma played in 12 games for the Dutch National Team, participating with then in one European Championship, World Port Tournament and Haarlem Baseball Week.

Ralph Milliard also has a long affiliation with HCAW, with whom he made his debut in the Dutch big league in 1990. In 1992, the short stop signed a contract with the Major League-organisation of the Florida Marlins, where he started his professional career in 1993. On May 12 1996, Milliard made his debut in the Major League with the Marlins, becoming the fourth Dutch-raised player to reach the highest professional level after Win Remmerswaal, Rikkert Faneyte and Robert Eenhoorn and the second Curaçao-born player after Hensley Meulens. He later also played in the Majors for the New York Mets. In three seasons (1996-1998), Milliard played in 42 Major League-games. After five years in the organisation of the Marlins (1993-1997) and one with the Mets (1998), Milliard also played in the organisations of the Cincinnati Reds (AA, 1999), San Diego Padres (AAA, 2000) and Cleveland Indians, where he played in five games for the triple-A in 2001, before returning back to the Netherlands. There, he played again for HCAW until this season, being the outstanding defensive short stop he has always been. On June 5 of this season, Ralph Milliard played in what would be his last big league-game. Against MediaMonks RCH, he went 2-for-2, scored twice, walked twice, but also was credited with four defensive errors. In 1992, he made his debut in the Dutch National Team, then returned to the national squad in 2000 when active professional players became eligible. Except for 2003, Milliard played for the Dutch squad until 2004, appearing in 72 games and participating in the Olympic Games of 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens), three Haarlem Baseball Weeks and one World Championship, Intercontinental Cup, European Championship and World Port Tournament.

Roy Berrevoets will not be lost for HCAW, as he will remain with the club as a scout and advisor for the top-section. Under the guidance of Berrevoets, HCAW finished in fifth place last year sixth in this season with a combined record of 31-50 and one tie.
(October 22)

...Departing coaches Ben Thijssen (left) and Eric de Bruin... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

...Eelco Jansen to coach Kinheim... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Eelco Jansen was the Pitching Coach for Kinheim the last three seasons when Ben Thijssen headed the coaching staff of the Haarlem-based team. Before coming to Kinheim, Thijssen was the 3B coach for Neptunus for four years and also served in that capacity with the Dutch National Team until 2006. Shortly before the end of the season, Thijssen announced he would retire to return to Curaçao. In three seasons with Kinheim, Thijssen was 98-24 with two ties and led the team to first place in the regular season in each of the three seasons. In this years Holland Series, Kinheim was swept in three games by L&D Amsterdam and was dethroned as Dutch champion. Kinheim won the title in 2006 and 2007.
Before coming to Kinheim, Jansen was the Pitching Coach for Amsterdam Pirates, after he had concluded his pitching career the year before. In 1993, the righthanded pitcher made his debut in the Dutch big league, pitching for Haarlem Nicols, which had to withdraw its team after conclusion of that season due to financial reasons. From 1994-2001, Jansen then pitched eight seasons for Kinheim, then added three more seasons throwing for Neptunus, before retiring after the end of the 2004 season. In 12 big league-seasons, Jansen threw in 205 games and had a career 105-44 record with 1121 strikeouts. On July 27, 1997, he became the first Dutch pitcher to throw a Perfect Game in the highest Dutch baseball-league. After making his debut in 1994, Jansen appeared in 94 official games for the Dutch National Team, with whom he participated in the Olympic Games of 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens), three World Championships, six European Championships, six Haarlem Baseball Weeks and five World Port Tournaments.

...Steve Janssen to coach Neptunus... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Steve Janssen, who is from Belgium, succeeds Eric de Bruin, who led Neptunus the last two seasons. In his two seasons with the club, De Bruin's record was 63-18 with one tie. In both years, the team finished in second place in the regular seasons, but was then both times eliminated in the Play-Offs by Pioniers and Amsterdam respectively. In a statement, released on October 17, the Board of Neptunus said ''that playing on the highest level, DOOR Neptunus has the need for a manager who is available the entire year for the club''. As member of the direction of the Dutch affiliate of AIG, De Bruin could not be fullfill this wish, resulting in a separation 'in good harmony'. In the past, De Bruin, who himself played for Sparta and Neptunus, also has been a member of the coaching staff of the Dutch National Team and led the National Junior Team.
Janssen is no stranger to the Neptunus-organization, as he coached for the club four years before. As a player, Steve Janssen was the catcher for Luchtbal Greys from 1987-1992 and for Brasschaat Braves in 1993-1997, winning the Belgian title seven times, including all five with Brasschaat. After his playing career, Janssen, who also played for the Belgian National Team, was the Head Coach for Brasschaat Braves in 1998 and 1999, leading them to one title. He then went on to coach DOOR Tridents from 2000-2002, the second team of Neptunus in the First Division, with whom he won the national title twice. In 2002, Janssen was added to the coaching staff of the Dutch National Team and served as its Pitching Coach until the European Championships of 2005. In the 2006 season, Janssen was one of the coaches of the big league-team of Neptunus, before being named Technical Director of the Belgian Federation for the 2007 season. This year, Janssen made his debut in the Dutch big league as Head Coach, leading Sparta/Feyenoord to fifth place with a 21-21 record. The team was in the race for the fourth play-off spot a long time, but in the end ended up short.

Neptunus also announced that Paul van den Oever, who was a member of its coachingstaff from 1998-2006, has been named coordinator for its Top Sport Section. From 1994-1997, Van den Oever was the Head Coach for Tridents, then was the Head Coach of Neptunus since 2002. In 2007, Van den Oever was named Bench Coach for the Dutch National Baseball Team, with whom he participated in this years Olympic Games in Beijing.

Neptunus also added two players to its roster.
Outfielder Shaldimar Daantji returns the to club where he played from 2002-2004. The speedy player then went on to play for Amsterdam Pirates (2005) and Almere '90 (2006), before going to Sparta/Feyenoord, where he played the last two seasons. In seven big league-seasons, Daantji appeared in 217 games, collecting 175 basehits. This season, Daantji batted .278 (44-for-158) for Sparta/Feyenoord, with four doubles and four triples, scoring 18 runs and having nine RBI's.
Neptunus also acquired righthanded pitcher Jorian van Acker, who played for First Divisionist Euro Stars since 2005, after having played for Quick Amersfoort in the 2004 season. This year, Euro Stars won the title in the First Division, but missed promotion to the big league after losing an exciting 5-game series 3-2 to ADO. Euro Stars lost the first two games, then came back to win the next two, but was left empty-handed in the fifth game. In this Promotion/Relegation Play-Off, Van Acker threw in four games. In the opener, he threw the last 4 2/3 inning (six strikeouts) and was the losing pitcher in a 18-inning, 2-1 loss. The next day, he had a Blown Save, throwing 2/3 inning in a 9-8, 14-inning loss. After not throwing in Game Three, he went the distance in the fourth game, striking eleven batters and giving up only three hits in a 4-1 win to even the series. In Game Five, he threw the last 3 2/3 inning (five strikeouts) of a 3-2 loss.
(October 21)

...Dave Draijer... ...back to RCH... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

...Ryan Murphy celebrating the title with L&D Amsterdam... ...Third club in three years in 2009... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Ryan Murphy will play in his third different team in three years next season when he wears the blue-and-white of Pioniers. Last year, the Canadian made his big league-debut playing for MediaMonks RCH, which then finished in eighth place. In 2007, Murphy dominated for RCH, playing in 35 games. With a .365 batting average, he led the team in hitting, going 46-for-126 with three homeruns. He scored 19 runs and had 20 RBI's. As a pitcher, he appeared in 16 games and finished with a 6-6 record and one save. In 112 2/3 inning, he struckout 65 and had a 2.64 ERA. This season, his stats were down. He played in all 42 games for Amsterdam, hitting .309 (34-for-110) with no homeruns, 17 runs scored and 18 RBI's. As a pitcher, he again appeared in 16 games and finished with a 5-5 record with three saves and a 3.89 ERA. In 81 innings, he struckout 42 batters.

In the Holland Series, Murphy was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series. The righthander was the winning pitcher in the championship-clinching game, allowing only two hits in six innings to Corendon Kinheim. Besides that, as a first baseman, he belted a homerun in Game Two on an important moment and had three hits in the first game, when he played at third base.

Veteran pitcher Dave Draijer is moving back to the club where he started his baseball-career. In 1990, he made his debut in the main squad of the club, with whom he promoted to the big league in 1996, leading to his Dutch Major League-debut in 1997. After having played in three seasons for RCH, the righthander went to play for Mr. Cocker HCAW. There, he left after the 2004 season and became a member of the pitching staff of Konica Minolta Pioniers. Draijer began his career as a starting pitcher, but switched to the bullpen in the 2004 season. He first was a reliever, then evolved into a closer to become a leader in saves. Did he earn only four saves in his seven starting years, he collected 40 in the last five seasons. In 12 big league-seasons, Draijer's record is 73-48 with 44 saves and 556 strikeouts. This season, he was 3-0 with seven saves, throwing 22 1/3 inning in which he struckouts 21 batters.

In 1998, Draijer made his debut in the Dutch National Team, then became a regular after a 2-year absence, participating in all international events since 2001. With the Orange squad he participated in five World Championships and Haarlem Baseball Weeks, four European Championships, three World Port Tournaments, two Olympic Games and Intercontinental Cups and one World Baseball Classic and European Baseball Series. After the Haarlem Baseball Week of this year, Draijer initially was dropped of the roster for the Olympic Games in Beijing. However, a few days before the start of the tournament, he was added to take the place of injured pitcher Loek van Mil.
(October 16)

As expected, Kinheim send Game One-starter David Bergman to the mound on three days rest, while Amsterdam stick with its rotation and started with RHP Ryan Murphy. As it did on Tuesday-evening, the Amsterdam-squad set the tone in the first inning and then immediately dealt a possible deciding blow. Bergman initially struckout lead-off hitter Wesley Connor, but then gave up a single to Maikel Benner and walked Marvin Bleij on nine pitches. Next, 47-year old Cuban Fausto Álvarez Rizo drove the ball into deep rightfield for a 3-run homerun. After connecting, Álvarez remained standing just outside the batter's box, watched the ball leaving the stadium and put his arms in the air, before starting circling the bases. At home plate, he was greeted by his teammates, who again showed their enthousiasm the entire game. It was one of the great strenghth of the Amsterdam-squad this season, which responded enthousiastically and loyal to their teammates on every run, every hit and every great defensive play. Besides that, the team played relaxed and showed condifence. Everyone accepted their role in the team, whether it was being a starting player, pitching a few batters, being used as a pinch-hitter, or just being the back-up player in the dug-out. Last season, that already characterized the team, when then-Head Coach Louis Hofer and his staff led the team to the Play-Offs for the first time since the 1992 season and built de basement for the success of this season.

Rookie Head Coaches Holland Series, Title
1987	Ted Arnold	Amsterdam Pirates
1991	Charles Urbanus	Neptunus
1992	Robert Niggebrugge	ADO
1995	Jan Collins	Neptunus
1999	Robert Eenhoorn	Neptunus
2008	Rikkert Faneyte	Amsterdam Pirates

Current Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte was a player of the Amsterdam-team when it captured its first title in 1987, which was the first season in which the Holland Series became part of the season-formula. In the title-clinching game, Faneyte was the winning pitcher in a 4-0 shutout vs. Neptunus. In previous years, the team that won the regular season also was the national champion. In 1990, Faneyte also played for the team when Amsterdam won its second national title and this time contributed with a homerun in the championship-game vs. Neptunus. This season, Faneyte completed his first season as a Head Coach in the Dutch big league and became the sixth rookie Head Coach to win the title through a Holland Series. In 1987, Ted Arnold was the first when he led Pirates to the championship, the last was Robert Eenhoorn in 1999 with Neptunus. The Amsterdam-team then reached the Play-Offs again in 1992, but in then took until last year for the team to qualify again for the top-four. This year, Amsterdam, which finished in third place in the regular season, defeated the first and second placed teams of the competition, Corendon Kinheim and DOOR Neptunus en route to the title.

Holland Series Sweeps
1990	Amsterdam Pirates	3-0 vs. Neptunus
1991	Neptunus	3-0, vs. HCAW/Tijgers
2002	Neptunus	3-0, vs. HCAW
2007	Kinheim	3-0, vs. Hoofddorp Pioniers
2008	Amsterdam Pirates	3-0, vs. Kinheim

With the 12-0 shutout, Amsterdam completed a 3-0 sweep, which was the fifth in history. In 1990, Amsterdam also was the first team to do this, sweeping Neptunus in three games. Last year, Kinheim swept Konica Minolta Pioniers. It was the seventh time that a team won the championship on the road. In 1990, Amsterdam also won its last title in an away-game, beating Neptunus, 7-4. With today's victory, Amsterdam Pirates extended its Holland Series winning streak to eight games. In 1987, it won the last two games to win the then best-of-three, then added three in 1990, before this years Series.

The first inning homerun by Fausto Álvarez Rizo brought the Series-total to four, which is the highest total since Neptunus and HCAW combined on eight in 1999, which was the last season in which aluminum bats were used. In the next eight Holland Series, only six homeruns were hit. The record was set in 1996 when HCAW and Kinheim combined on ten homeruns.

...The Amsterdam-squad celebrates after the game... (Photo: www.eott.nl)

After Fausto Álvarez Rizo hit his 3-run homerun in the first inning, Amsterdam added another run. First, Bas de Jong singled, then Kenny Berkenbosch drove the ball into deep leftfield, barely missing a homerun, but settled for a double. Next, De Jong scored on a grounder by Pavèl van Zaane to give Amsterdam an early comfortable lead. Hereafter, a hitting show followed with Amsterdam dominating on all fronts, also in pitching and defense. After collecting four basehits in the first inning, the team added 18 hits in the next six innings. All nine players in the Amsterdam line-up hit a basehit, with eight of them collecting at least two. The offense was led by Maikel Benner and Marvin Bleij, who both had four basehits.

In the second inning, Wesley Connor singled and scored on a basesloaded walk for Fausto Álvarez Rizo, then a scoreless inning followed in which Kinheim turned a double play. In the fourth, two runs were added on a sac-fly by Bas de Jong and an error. Another run followed in the fifth when Zaïr Koeiman led off with a double and later scored on a single by Marvin Bleij. The lead was increased to 9-0 in the sixth when Bas de Jong opened with a double, moved on an error and scored on a single by Pavèl van Zaane. The 10-run difference was reached in the seventh inning by adding three more runs on RBI-singles by Kenny Berkenbosch and Zaïr Koeiman and a sac-fly by Pavèl van Zaane. The inning ended with a grounder to first baseman Jeffrey Verbij, who then threw the ball away out of frustration. It underscored how the Kinheim-team must have felt during this game in which it was blown away on its own field.

Kinheim produced only three basehits in the game, including only two on a strong-throwing Ryan Murphy, who faced only one runscoring thread in the six innings he threw. In the fourth, he walked two batters and hit another, but then the solid defense turned a double play on a great pick by short stop Marvin Bleij on a grounder by Wouter Heemskerk. Murphy let his defense do the work, as he struckout only one batter and became the winning pitcher. In the opener, Murphy played at third base and collected three hits and an RBI, then in Game Two, he was the first baseman, had two RBI's and hit an important homerun in the ninth inning for an insurance run. Therefore, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series.

On Wednesday-evening another streak ended, as Kinheim's rightfielder Dirk van 't Klooster had been part of a championship-team in the last eight consecutive years, six with Neptunus, two with Kinheim.
(October 8)

Line Score, Box Score & Play-by-Play
Photo-Recap of Game Three
Final Standings

For two players the season have ended. Amsterdam-catcher Sidney de Jong, who injured his left wrist last Saturday in a tag-situation, has a probable fracture in his wrist. On Monday, an MRI-scan hinted in that direction, but wasn't clear yet. Whatever the diagnose will be, De Jong will not play again this season. On the side of Kinheim, Bryan Engelhardt was handed a 6-game suspension. Last weekend, during the Play-Offs, he was ejected after an argument and was suspended. Kinheim appealed the suspension, but on Monday, the Jury of Appeal confirmed the suspension.

...Ryan Murphy is welcomed after his... ...homerun in the 9th inning... (Photo: Alfred Cop Fotografie)

After the previous two tries to play the game failed because of rain and the condition of the field in the Pim Mulier Stadium, it finally was a 'Go' on Tuesday-evening. However, about an hour before game time, some drizzle started to fall and it became somewhat heavier moments later, but it cleared before the game started. So, the game started on time, with Amsterdam setting the tone immediately. Wesley Connor led off with a single and stole second base, then Kinheim-starter Patrick Beljaards walked next batter Maikel Benner. In the meantime, it started to rain heavier again, so after only 6 1/2 minutes of play, Home Plate Umpire Marlo Remilia gave the signal to interrupt the game. After an 11-minute delay, the umpire-crew returned, the game continued and it remained dry until the last putout was made. At that moment, the rain started to fall again. When the game resumed, Beljaards made a throwing error on a sac-bunt by Marvin Bleij to load the bases. It then appeared that Beljaards threw around next batter Fausto Álvarez Rizo, who walked and brought in the first Amsterdam-run. Next, Bas de Jong lined out to short and Ryan Murphy followed with a sacrifice fly in rightfield to bring in the second run.

Kinheim got one run back in the second inning when Vince Rooi led off with a homerun. Hereafter, Roel Koolen reached on a bunt-single, who then advanced on a grounder by Jeffrey Verbij. But then a crucial and possible deciding double play followed which not only ended the inning, but also a scoring opportunity for Kinheim. Jason Halman grounded back to pitcher Kenny Berkenbosch, who was able to eliminate Koolen between second and third base on a throw to 3B Pavèl van Zaane, then Halman, who tried to advance, also was eliminated when Van Zaane threw the ball into to 2B Zaïr Koeiman, who tagged out Halman just before second base.

Amsterdam reacted immediately by adding two more runs with two outs in the third at bat. With one out, Fausto Álvarez Rizo singled, then Ryan Murphy walked with two outs. Hereafter, Pavèl van Zaane and Zaïr Koeiman followed with RBI-singles to increase the lead to 4-1. In the home of the third, Kinheim got three batters on base, but stranded runners on second and third base when Tjerk Smeets struckout. Amsterdam also stranded a runner on second and third base in the fourth inning, but that happened after the team had scored another run. After Wesley Connor flied to centerfield where Danny Rombley made a nice running catch, Maikel Benner walked, moved on a grounder and a throwing error, then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.

...Pim Walsma closes the game and earns his second save of the Series... (Photo: Alfred Cop Fotografie)

In the home of the fourth, Vince Rooi was on first base when Roel Koolen flied out to deep leftfield where Wesley Connor made a running catch. Next, Jeffrey Verbij lined to third base where Pavèl van Zaane made a diving stop, preventing a double and possible run and held Verbij to a single. With runners on first and second base, Jason Halman lined out to first baseman Ryan Murphy, which resulted in a double play, as Verbij returned too late to first base, so 1B Umpire Fred Groenewegen, who celebrated his birthday today, could signal another out. In the home of the fifth, Kinheim got one run back. With one out, Danny Rombley singled, moved on a sac-bunt by René Cremer and scored when Dirk van 't Klooster followed with a single.

In the sixth at bat, it was Amsterdam which ran itself out of the inning with some overanxious baserunning. Wesley Connor led off with a double to deep centerfield, but was thrown out at third, when he tried to stretch it into a triple. Next batter Maikel Benner singled into short leftfield, but also was thrown out when he tried to add an extra base. A grounder then ended the at bat.

In the seventh, rookie Onno Baur took over the pitching for Kinheim and saw Amsterdam strand runners on second and third base, then ran into problems in the eighth inning. Remco Draijer led off with a walk, then Wesley Connor (who was 4-for-6) singled. After the two moved on a sac-bunt by Maikel Benner, Marvin Bleij grounded to short. Draijer was send home and was eliminated there on a throw by short stop Roel Koolen. Fausto Álvarez Rizo then drove the ball into deep rightfield for a foul-homerun, but then struckout to end the inning. In the home of the eighth, Tjerk Smeets homered to leftfield to narrow the deficit to 5-3 and Vince Rooi followed with an infield-hit, which marked the end for starter Kenny Berkenbosch. Closer Pim Walsma took over and was supported with the third Amsterdam double play.

As it did before, Amsterdam reacted immediately to get the run back when Ryan Murphy homered to deep leftfield, increasing the lead to 6-3. Hereafter, two more batters reached base, but then two flyouts followed, including a great running catch by leftfielder Denny Beljaards. In the home of the ninth, Pim Walsma retired the side to earn his second save of the Series.
(October 7)

Line Score, Box Score & Play-by-Play
Photo-Recap of Game Two
Standings
Schedule

In this Series, Game One in Haarlem was postponed by rain on Thursday and Friday and was re-scheduled for Monday-evening, making Saturday's game in Amsterdam the opener. Despite rain in the previous three days, Amsterdam's ground crew worked hard since 8:00 AM, but succeeded in making the field playable. In the afternoon, L&D Amsterdam opened with a 4-3 victory to take an 1-0 lead in the Series. Then on Sunday, Game Two, to be played Haarlem, was canceled due to the condition of the playing field, moving the game to Tuesday-evening.

On Monday, it appeared that there would be a game in Haarlem after several days of rain and uncomfortable weather, as the sun was shining and it looked like a good day to play ball. However, in the afternoon, it was announced that the game was scrubbed again, as the field in the Pim Mulier Stadium was still in poor condition after the rain of the previous day and the ground crew could do nothing about that. Besides that, parts of the field were damaged by some hooligans who had entered the field on Sunday while there was no one in the stadium and had removed the tarpet. The KNBSB send a member of its Technical Committee to check the field and he found some wet spots on the field. Amsterdam's Chairman John Witte himself went to the field. ,,We have some question marks about the cancelation, as the field looked playable to us'', said Witte, who brought an independent groudskeeper with him. And so, everyone stayed home for another day and keep their fingers crossed for a game on Tuesday-evening. Weather predictions speak of some better conditions than on Monday, so a game could be possible. However, less favorable weather is predicted again for Wednesday.

With the cancelation, the total comes to four and that's a Holland Series-record. The previous was three and was set in 1993 when it was not possible to play a game for three consecutive days, two at Neptunus and one at Kinheim. Neptunus went on to win that Series, 3-1.

Because of the cancelation and having a game now on Wednesday, it means that the Game One-starters could become available again for that game, throwing three days rest. Last Saturday, RHP David Bergman started for Kinheim and threw 6 1/3 inning, while Amsterdam's RHP starter Jos de Jong went seven innings. Both had a no-decision. ,,David is an option for Wednesday, but that depends on how he recovers from Saturday'', Kinheim's Pitching Coach Eelco Jansen confirmed on Monday-evening. ,,I haven't decided yet'', reacted Amsterdam's Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte. LHP Patrick Beljaards (Kinheim) and RHP Kenny Berkenbosch (Amsterdam) will start on Tuesday-evening.
(October 6)

Standings
Schedule

On Friday, the Antillian squad won 10-5 vs. Aruba to secure a spot in the top-5. On Saturday, the team was beaten 14-4 by Puerto Rico, while Aruba was shutout 14-0 by Venezuela. The Copa America, the Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela, will close on Sunday.

Against Aruba, the Antillians had 12 basehits, including three by Andrelton Simmons. Lorvin Louisa and Ardley Jansen hit homeruns. Johnny Gregorius won his second game, throwing six innings. On Saturday, Puerto Rico outhit the Antillians 16-11. Roderick Eustatius went 4-for-4, including a double and triple for the Antillian team. Aruba had only two basehits against Venezuela, which collected 17.

More details will be added later.
(October 5)

Despite heavy rain in the previous three days, the ground crew in Amsterdam worked hard since 8:00 AM in the morning and succeeded in making the field playable. Shortly before game-time, there was some drizzling rain, but only briefly and so, the game, which now had become the opener of the Series, started on time. Before the game, Dutch Major League-pitcher Rick van den Hurk of the Florida Marlins threw out the ceremonial first pitch, accompanied by KNBSB-President Ruud van Zetten, who, by the way, celebrated his birthday today.

...Rick van den Hurk throws the... ...ceremonial first pitch... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

In the first inning, there were two great plays. Kinheim left a runner on second base, thanks to an inning-ending great play by 2B Zaïr Koeiman, then Amsterdam got two runners on base with two outs, but both stranded as centerfielder Danny Rombley made a great catch to end the inning. In the second inning, Kinheim opened the score. Amsterdam-starter Jos de Jong walked lead-off batter Bryan Engelhardt, but then struckout next batter Vince Rooi. Hereafter, Roel Koolen doubled into leftfield, enabling Engelhardt to score. The throw from leftfield hit Engelhardt on the back and while trying to catch the ball, Amsterdam-catcher Sidney de Jong twisted his wrist when hitting the runner. De Jong was unable to continue and left the game. Out of precaution, he went to the hospital for an X-Ray photo and it was diagnosed that he had a severely twisted left wrist. His status for the coming games will be day-by-day. On the throw, Koolen advanced to third base. Leftfielder Maikel Benner took over behind the plate, while Wesley Connor moved from centerfield to leftfield. De Jong was replaced by Remco Draijer, who took over in centerfield. Next, Jeffrey Verbij followed with a single to bring in Koolen and give Kinheim a 2-0 lead. Verbij was then caught stealing by new catcher Benner, followed by an inning-ending grounder. In its second inning, Amsterdam got its first two batters on base, but a flyout and double play followed.

After both teams were retired in order in the third at bat, Kinheim came close to another run in the fourth. With one out, Bryan Engelhardt walked, then Vince Rooi singled. After a foul-fly, the two runners advanced on a wild pitch and the bases got loaded when Jeffrey Verbij walked. But the three runners were all left when Denny Beljaards flied out. In the home of the fourth, Amsterdam came alongside. Remco Draijer, who had entered the game two innings before, led off with a nice bunt-single and advanced when Fausto Álvarez Rizo singled. With one out, Ryan Murphy also singled to bring in Draijer with the first Amsterdam-run. Moments later, Murphy was forced out on a grounder by Kenny Berkenbosch, but then Zaïr Koeiman reached on an infield-hit enabling Álvarez to score the tying run. A flyout ended the inning.

...The most spectacular moment of the game in Amsterdam in the 8th inning... ...Maikel Benner puts down a squeeze while Kenny Berkenbosch runs towards home... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

From the fifth through seventh inning, Amsterdam-starter Jos de Jong silenced Kinheim and retired nine batters in order. The Pirates-squad was more productive. In the fifth, two batters reached, but were left. Then in the sixth another runner stranded. In the seventh inning, Amsterdam took a 3-2 lead. With one out, Marvin Bleij doubled moments after a discussion whether he had touched the ball with his body on fair ground, but the umpire-crew determined that it was a foul ball. The double marked the end of Kinheim-starter David Bergman, who was relieved by Nick Veltkamp. On the first delivery by the lefthander, Bleij stole third base, then scored when Remco Draijer drove the ball info deep right-centerfield. It ended up inches short of a homerun and came back from the wall for an RBI-double. Hereafter, Veltkamp walked Fausto Álvarez Rizo intentionally and was replaced by Michiel van Kampen. The closer ended the inning with a strikeout and a groundout.

Kinheim brought the game in balance again in the top of the eighth inning off new pitcher Nick Stuifbergen. With two outs and Dirk van 't Klooster (fielder's choice) on first base, Stuifbergen appeared to strikeout Tjerk Smeets, but the delivery was determined a ball. On the next pitch, Smeets hit a double down the rightfield-line to bring in Van 't Klooster with the tying run. Smeets tried to advance to third base on the throw back to the infield, but was thrown out at third base to end the inning. However, the run counted, as it scored before the third out was made.

Amsterdam came back immediately and used the same weapon as last week in the fifth Play-Off game against DOOR Neptunus, the squeeze. Kenny Berkenbosch led off with a single, but then Zaïr Koeiman struckout. Wesley Connor singled to bring Berkenbosch to third base to set-up the squeeze. After the first squeeze fouled off and with two strikes on him, Maikel Benner put down a perfect bunt and Berkenbosch scored the go-ahead run. In the ninth, Amsterdam-closer Pim Walsma took over, struckout two batters and earned a save.
(October 4)

Line Score, Box Score & Play-by-Play
Photo-Recap of Game One
Standings
Schedule

...Pitcher Alex Smith and Catcher Michel Korzeniewski... ...celebrate the victory... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

In the first inning of the well-visited game in Capelle a/d IJssel, Euro Stars scored two runs to take an early lead off ADO-starter Alex Smith, who initially was to return to the USA last week. The righthander moved his return-flight a week ahead to be with ADO for today's game and his decision to do so proved successful, as he ended up as the winning pitcher, preventing ADO from relegation to the First Division. However, in the opening at bat, Smith faced an early deficit. He hit lead-off batter Idelgardo Raap with a pitch, who then advanced on a sac-bunt by Jeffrey Sprott and scored when Rutger Veugelers followed with a double. Next, Veugelers moved on a grounder by Aldrin Martis and scored the second run on a single by Stefan Venema, who ended the inning while being caught stealing. Hereafter, Smith recovered and allowed only two more basehits. The hits were registered in the second and third inning, then Smith threw six hitless innings in which he allowed only two batters to reach base. One of them stranded on third base in the seventh inning with ADO leading 3-2.

Trailing 2-0, ADO answered with its first run in the second inning. Michel Korzeniewski led off with an infield-hit, which was followed by a throwing error, enabling him to advanced to second base. Grounders by Ludwin Obispo and Dave Steward then resulted in the first run.

In the fourth, ADO left the bases loaded. With two runners on base and one out, Ludwin Obispo popped up for an infield-fly, but then Dave Steward reached with an infield-hit. The inning ended with a force play-grounder by Gregory Hassell.

In the fifth inning, ADO came alongside, but again stranded two runners. With two outs, Rodrinov Faries reached on an infield-hit, then Quensley Bazoer and veteran Harvey Gumbs followed with singles to tie the score, but then a groundout followed.

ADO got eight more runners in the next four innings, but scored only one more run, which was to be the winning run. In the sixth, the team had four basehits and scored the run. But that was accomplished in a special manner. Ludwin Obispo led off with a single, then scored when Dave Steward doubled. Euro Stars appealed that Steward had missed first base, which indeed was confirmed by the umpires. So, Steward was called out, annulling his double, but the run was valid. Hereafter, Euro Stars-starter Erik de Rijcke was relieved by Jorian van de Acker, who gave up two more hits with two outs, but then struckout Rodrinov Faries to end the inning. Another rare play happened in the eighth inning. With two outs, ADO's Rodrinov Faries popped up into foul territory and was ruled out, as the 3B Coach interfered with the third baseman trying to catch the ball.

In the seventh inning, ADO again got the bases loaded, but once more left all three runners. With one out, Van de Acker hit Harvey Gumbs with a pitch and then gave up a double to Michel Korzeniewski. After striking out Ludwin Obispo, Dave Steward was walked intentionally to set up a force play. Van de Acker then ended the at bat by striking out Gregory Hassell. In the home of seventh, Euro Stars came close to the tying run. Alex Smith walked lead-off batter Sjoerd Hermans, who then stole second base and advanced to third base on an one-out flyout. But then another flyout ended the inning.

In the eighth Euro Stars-at bat, ADO's rightfielder Gregory Hassell made a great catch on a fly by lead-off batter Jeffrey Sprott. Later in the inning, Aldrin Martis was by a pitch with two outs, but then his pinch-runner Marlon Sahetapy was caught stealing. A pinch-runner for ADO also didn't go beyond first base in the ninth inning. With one out, Harvey Gumbs walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Edison Bito, but he was doubled up on first base after Michel Korzeniewski flied out to centerfield. In the bottom of the ninth, Alex Smith retired the side to keep ADO in the Dutch big league.

And so it was celebration time for ADO, but a lot of disappointment for Euro Stars, which had come back after having lost the first two games in two extra inning marathons. When Euro Stars would have won today, the promotion to the big league had meant that the club would have played on the highest level next season for the first time since 1972.
(October 4)

Line Score & Box Score
Photos of Game Five
Final Standings

...No game today! The field in the Pim Mulier Stadium is covered... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

As the announced schedule for the weekend games remained intact, today's game has been re-scheduled for Monday-evening in Haarlem. This means the Series now will open on Saturday-afternoon in Amsterdam, starting at 2:00 PM, with Game Two and Three to be played in Haarlem. Sunday's game starts at 1:30 PM, then Monday's game starts at 7:45 PM.

The announced pitching rotations are expected to remain unchanged, meaning RHP David Bergman (Kinheim) and RHP Jos de Jong (Amsterdam) now will start Saturday's match-up, then LHP Patrick Beljaards (Kinheim) and RHP Kenny Berkenbosch (Amsterdam) will throw on Sunday. The starters for Monday's game have yet to be announced.
(October 3)

The Antillian squad took an 1-0 lead in the fifth when veteran Mayron Wyman scored on a sacrifice fly by Ardley Jansen, but Brazil came alongside in the sixth on sacrifice fly by Vinicius Tanaka. In the eighth, the Netherlands Antilles took a decisive lead when Lorvin Louisa homered. Raymond Martis started and threw 6 1/3 inning in which he struckout five batters. Orsendo Clemencia then took over and became the winning pitcher. With the victory, the Antillian team closes in on qualifying for next years World Cup.

Aruba suffered another big loss, this time losing 15-2 to Nicaragua, which collected 20 basehits, including four by Ofilio Castro, who also had four RBI's. Aruba, which used four pitchers, had seven basehits, including a homerun by b>Joshua Ramada.
(October 2)

Starting Pitchers

Starting Pitchers Holland Series 2008

...Game One... ...David Bergman, Jos de Jong...

...Game Two... ...Patrick Beljaards, Kenny Berkenbosch...

In the meantime, the starting rotations have been set for the best-of-five Holland Series. After the cancelation of the opener on Thursday-evening, the Series now opens on Friday, October 3, weather permitting, as it has rained heavily sometimes the last few days and more bad weather is predicted for both the coming days.

There are no surprises in the rotations for the two teams. As expected, Corendon Kinheim will send RHP David Bergman to the mound for the opener, then will go with LHP Patrick Beljaards on Saturday. L&D Amsterdam opens with RHP Jos de Jong on Friday-evening and starts with RHP Kenny Berkenbosch on Saturday.

Both teams have not yet named a starting pitchers for Game Three on Sunday. In the regular season, RHP Robin van Eis (Kinheim) and RHP Ryan Murphy (Amsterdam) frequently have been the number 3 starters. However, Kinheim's Pitching Coach Eelco Jansen and Amsterdam's Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte didn't made a choice yet for Sunday, stating that it is depending on wich pitchers are needed for the first two games and also how the weather-circumstances will influece the game-schedule.

In the regular season, Jos de Jong was 7-0 and struckout 65 batters in 70 1/3 inning, ending with a 2.18 ERA. Kenny Berkenbosch was one of three 10-game winners this season, finishing with a 10-2 record. He struckout 49 in 76 1/3 inning and had a 2.24 ERA. David Bergman was 8-1 with an 1.47 ERA and struckout 47 batters in 76 innings. Patrick Beljaards led the league in wins and finished with an 11-0 record and a 2.44 ERA, while striking out 39 in 84 2/3 inning.

Holland Series on TV and Radio
A recap of Saturday's game at Amsterdam can be seen in the evening by NOS Studio Sport, starting at 9:56 PM on Nederland 3 (Channel 3), with commentary by Charles Urbanus. NOS Langs de Lijn will broadcast the game on radio with Theo Plasschaert doing the report.

Sunday's game in Haarlem, which will start at 1:30 PM, will be televised live by NOS Studio Sport on Nederland 1 (Channel 1) with Ronald Boot and Charles Urbanus doing the commentary. NOS Langs de Lijn will do the game on radio with Theo Plasschaert again behind the microphone.

It is expected that local TV-stations RTV Noord-Holland and AT5 also will be on hand to make reports of the Holland Series.
(October 2)

Schedule

In the preliminary round, the Netherlands Antilles won three games and finished in second place in Pool A, but had the same record (3-1) as pool-winner Nicaragua, which won only 2-1 vs. the Antillian squad. Besides Nicaragua and the Antilles, Venezuela and Panama (both 2-2) also advanced to the final round. Colombia, which lost all four games, was eliminated. In Pool B, Puerto Rico remained unbeaten (4-0) to win the pool and was followed by Mexico (3-1), Brazil (2-2) and Aruba (1-3). The lone Aruban win was vs. Guatemala, which went 0-4 and was eliminated.

...Didi Gregorius in his rookie season with... ...Amsterdam Pirates in 1984. At left is... ...then-Pitching Coach Martin Ronnenbergh... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

The Antillian squad is headed by a remarkable pitching duo, namely Didi Gregorius and his son Johnny Gregorius, who both won a game. The 45-year old Didi was the winning pitcher in a 5-1 victory against Colombia and earned a save in the opening game vs. Venezuela, which was won 6-5, while his son went the distance vs. Panama, registered a 5-0 shutout and threw a 3-hitter. After the preliminary round, Didi leads all pitchers with an 0.00 ERA, throwing 10 innings. His son is in second place with an 0.00 ERA in nine innings.

...Johnny Gregorius... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

Last year, Johnny Gregorius, who played in youth teams for Amsterdam Pirates, pitched in three games for ADO in the Dutch big league, throwing 10 innings and going 0-2. His father Didi Gregorius played in 15 seasons in the Dutch Major League through 2003, including ten for Amsterdam Pirates, where he won 43 games from 1984-1990, then added six more wins in 1994 and 2001-2002. In 1987, he was a member of the team which won the Dutch championship title. During the 1990 season, Didi returned to Curaçao, but came back the next year and then pitched three seasons for Haarlem Nicols, before returning to Pirates. In 1996, he pitched for Sparta, then again went back to Pirates for two more seasons, before concluding his Dutch career with Almere '90 in 2003. In 1984, Didi already was a member of the national team for the Netherlands Antilles, which the participated in the World Championships in Cuba. After the 2003 season, Didi again returned to Curaçao, this time for good, but he remained active as a player and is pitching in the same team as his son in the Antillian competition.

Also included on the Antillian roster is infielder Mayron Wyman, who played in 296 games in the Dutch big league for four different teams between 1989-2003. He made his debut with Almere Giants in 1989, then moved to De Spartaan the next season, but never played for the Amsterdam-squad, as he returned to Curaçao. In 1991, he came back to the Netherlands and went on to play for Celeritas in the Second Division. In 1992, he returned to the big league and went on to play for ADO in four different periods (1992; 1994; 1996; 2001-2003). Wyman also played for Kinheim (1993) and Neptunus (1995). From 1997-2000, he didn't play in the Dutch big league. Another player who played in the Dutch big league is catcher Sevard Seferina, who played in seven games last season for RCH.

Ten players on the Antillian roster and two on the Aruban squad last Summer were members of the Dutch Caribbean Team, which participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands, including Randolph Kirindongo, who was the best hitter of the event. They are: Luisgardo Alvares, Orsendo Clemencia, Ardley Jansen, Rafael Josefa, Randolph Kirindongo, Lorvin Louisa, Raymond Martis, Sevard Seferina, Andley Simmons, Andrelton Simmons (all Antilles), Eldrich Dijkhoff and Joshua Ramada (both Aruba).

...Father and son Rafael Josefa... ...during the Haarlem Baseball Week... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

...Estadio Enzo Hernández...

Preliminary Round
In the opening game, Raymond Martis was the winning pitcher for the Antilles in the 6-5 win vs. host Venezuela, throwing six innings, before he was relieved by Orsendo Clemencia. In the eighth, Didi Gregorius came on and threw 1 2/3 inning to earn a save. The next day, only one game was played due to rain, meaning the Antillian squad had to play two games the next day. First, it shutout Panama 5-0, behind the strong pitching of Johnny Gregorius, who was supported with two homeruns by former pro Ardley Jansen. Later on the day, the team lost only 2-1 to Nicaragua. Starting and losing pitcher Andley Simmons threw 5 2/3 inning. The Antilles then closed the preliminary round with a 5-1 victory vs. Colombia in which Didi Gregorius was the winning pitcher. The Antillian team played all its games in Estadio Enzo Hernández in the city of El Tigre in the eastern state of Anzoátegui.

...Estadio La Ceiba de San Felix...

At Puerto Ordaz, which is located in the state of Bolivar, Aruba played all its preliminary games in Estadio La Ceiba de San Felix. Aruba had no game scheduled on the first day, then the next their first game rained out, meaning they had to play a double-header the day after. In its first game, which lasted almost five hours, Aruba won big vs. Guatemala, 15-7. Alexander St. Jago had four hits, including a homerun, and seven RBI's for Aruba, while Derward Ruiz was the winning pitcher vs. Guatemala, which used seven pitchers. Next, Aruba was shutout by Puerto Rico, 7-0 with Alfred Lider being the losing pitcher. After another rainout the next day, Aruba again had to play two games the following day. They opened with a 6-3 loss vs. Brazil, which trailed 1-0 after three innings, but then scored three runs to take hold of the game. Julio Hernandez scored two of the three Aruban runs. Carlos Wester started for Aruba. Hereafter, Aruba suffered a big 15-0 loss vs. Mexico in a 4 1/2 inning, mercy-rule game. Starting pitcher Alfred Lider gave up eight runs, but only one was earned.

...Estadio Alfonso Carrasquel...

Final Round
Starting on Thursday, the top-4 of then two Pools will face each other with everyone playing against the teams from the other pool, thus four games. The Antilles open the final round vs. Brazil, then meets Aruba on Friday. In the weekend, Puerto Rico and Mexico will follow. Aruba opens vs. Nicaragua, then will play against the Antilles, followed by Venezuela and Panama. Looking back to the preliminary round and ahead to the final round, the Antillian squad has a good chance of finishing in the top-5 and therefore qualify for next years World Cup, while Aruba has a lesser chance of reaching the top-5.

The games in the final round will be played again in the stadium in El Tigre, but also in closeby Puerto La Cruz, both in the state of Anzoátegui. In the latter city, the games will be played in Estadio Alfonso Carrasquel, which is named after Alfonso 'El Chico' Carrasquel Colón, who was the third Venezuelan in history to reach the Major League. Carrasquel played for the Chicago White Sox (1950-1955), Cleveland Indians (1956-1958), Kansas City Athletics (1958) and Baltimore Orioles (1959). In 1951, Carrasquel, who was a short stop and passed away in 2005, was the first Latin-American player to play in an All Star Game.

After the preliminary round, Angel Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) and Carlos Valencia (Mexico) lead the batters with a .500 average.

ROSTER NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Pitchers:
Orsendo Clemencia, Rievelien Elisabeth, Johannes (Didi) Gregorius Sr., Johannes (Johnny) Gregorius Jr., Gerald Grigorius, Raymond Martis
Catchers:
Randolph Kirindongo, Sevard Seferina
Infielders:
Renato Anasagasti, Rafael Josefa, Djionny Joubert, Djuric Pieters, Andley Simmons, Andrelton Simmons, Mayron Wyman
Outfielders:
Luisgardo Alvares, Roderick Eustatius, Ardley Jansen, Jair Josepha, Lorvin Louisa, Ryan Ogenia, Merieldo Trinidad
Staff:
Raymond Van Gurp (manager), Renato Anasagasti (coach), Marlon Balentin (coach), Ronny Inecia (coach), Gerald Mathilda (delegate)

ROSTER ARUBA
Pitchers:
Javier Croes (+ IF), Christian Diaz (+ OF), Alfred Linder, Joshua Ramada (+ IF), Derward Ruiz (+ IF), Carlos Wester
Catchers:
Antonio Kelly, Jair Thompson (+ IF)
Infielders:
Eldrich Dijkhoff, Francis Kelly, Alexander St. Jago (+ OF), Enrique Tromp, Randy Young
Outfielders:
Sydney Curiel, Julio Hernandez (+ P), Jason Orman, Kumar Piar (+ IF), Sydney Romero, Dendrick Werleman (+ C)
(October 1)

Neptunus opened the score in the first inning, but again failed to take distance against Amsterdam, which turned the game around in its favor in the ninth inning. The victory was the sixth of the season for Amsterdam vs. Neptunus, which won five of the eleven games played between the two teams. In the regular season, the teams split their series, 3-3. For Amsterdam, the win meant the return to the Holland Series in 18 years.

...Winning pitcher Pim Walsma... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Back in 1990, Amsterdam Pirates defeated Neptunus in the final, as they did in 1987 when the first Holland Series was played, meaning Amsterdam captured the title in both Series it participated in. Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte was one of the players of the Pirates-squad which captured the title in 1987. Hereafter, Faneyte went on to play professionally in the USA where he became the second Dutch-born and raised player to reach the Major League, playing for the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. For Neptunus, the loss meant that they were left empty-handed for the third year in a row. In both 2006 and 2007, the Rotterdam-squad (which won the title a record seven years in a row, 1999-2005) was eliminated in the Play-Offs by Konica Minolta Pioniers. Last season, Amsterdam and Kinheim faced each other in an exciting Play-Off, which then was won by the latter in five games en route to its second title in a row.

...Sidney de Jong scores the tying run in the 9th... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

With two outs in the first inning, Raily Legito singled for Neptunus, then Amsterdam-starter Kenny Berkenbosch walked next batter Sharnol Adriana and gave up an RBI-single to Jeffrey Arends. Berkenbosch then also walked Martijn Meeuwis to load the bases, but Neptunus failed to add another run, as next batter Andy Leer gounded out. Both Amsterdam and Neptunus got scoring opportunities in the next two at bats, but didn't score. In the second inning, Bas de Jong singled with two outs for Amsterdam, then Ryan Murphy walked, but a groundout ended the at bat. In the third, Maikel Benner doubled with two outs, but stranded at second base. For Neptunus, Jeroen Sluijter singled with one out in the second, then advanced on a wild pitch and a grounder by Eugene Kingsale, but then another grounder followed. In the third, Raily Legito and Sharnol Adriana led off with singles, but never moved, as a strikeout, flyout and groundout followed. With these last three putouts, Kenny Berkenbosch started a string of 12 consecutive outs.

...Fausto Álvarez Rizo moments after scoring the winning run... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

Amsterdam came alongside in the fifth inning. With two outs, Wesley Connor doubled, then scored when Maikel Benner followed with a single. On the same play, Benner was eliminated at second base after he tried to advance on the throw to home plate. In the sixth inning, Amsterdam was close to the go-ahead run. With one out, Sidney de Jong walked, then was waved home on a double into left field by Fausto Álvarez Rizo. However, De Jong was thrown out at home, leaving the score at 1-1, but the hit marked the end for starting pitcher Diegomar Markwell, who was replaced by Australian Dushan Ruzic.

Pim Walsma took over the Amsterdam-pitching in the seventh inning and then retired the side, but gave up a run in the eighth at bat, which also came with two outs. Sharnol Adriana then singled, moved on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Jeffrey Arends, but Walsma then struckout next batter Martijn Meeuwis to end the inning. Trailing 2-1, Amsterdam had only one at bat left to do something back. And they did! Dushan Ruzic had retired the first seven batters he faced, but then hit lead-off batter Sidney de Jong in the ninth inning with a pitch. Last week, Ruzic hit four batters with a pitch, including De Jong once, but then escaped unharmed. This time, that didn't happen. Fausto Álvarez Rizo again followed with a double into deep centerfield and this time Sidney de Jong was able to score the tying run. Next, Álvarez advanced on a sac-bunt by Bas de Jong and Neptunus then created a double play-situation by walking Ryan Murphy intentionally. What followed was a spectacular ending. With Pavèl van Zaane batting, 47-year old Álvarez broke from third base when Ruzic started his delivery for a suicide squeeze. The pitch was thrown outside, but Álvarez already reached the plate, at the moment Van Zaane succeeded in putting down a bunt-single, giving Amsterdam a 3-2 lead. With runners on first and second base, Ruzic struckout the next two batters, but the game had turned around.

The finish, however, remained excited and tense until the very last pitch. Pim Walsma got two quick outs when he struckout pinch-hitter Derick Francisca and saw pinch-hitter Dwayne Kemp pop-out. Walsma then struckout next batter Jeroen Sluijter, but the third strike was in the ground for a wild pitch, enabling Sluijter to reach first base safely. Eugene Kingsale then lined a single just inside the rightfield-line, putting runners on first and third base. But then the game ended when Benjamin Dille grounded a 2-2 pitch towards second baseman Zaïr Koeiman, who made the last out of the game. Amsterdam Pirates returned to the Holland Series for the first time in 18 years!
(September 28)

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...Amsterdam celebrates the win and the return to the Holland Series... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

ADO produced only three basehits, while committing six errors, leading to four unearned runs. Euro Stars collected seven basehits. After two scoreless innings, Euro Stars scored three runs in the third at bat with two outs when ADO committed three errors. Jeffrey Sprott first reached on a throwing error, then advanced when another error followed on a grounder by Rutger Veugelers. Next, Aldrin Martis singled into leftfield, resulting in a run, but when an error in leftfield followed, Veugelers also was able to score. Stefan Venema followed with a double to make it 3-0.

ADO got one run back in its third. With one out, Euro Stars-pitcher Jorian van de Acker hit both Jaïr Roseburg and Gregory Hassell with a pitch, then gave up an RBI-single to Rodrinov Faries. After a double steal, the inning ended when a groundout and strikeout followed.

Euro Stars was silenced in the three middle innings by Ludwin Obispo, the surprise starting pitcher, as it was expected that Brent Henry would start the game. The American was brought in with runners on first and third and two outs in the ninth inning, trailing 4-1. In the seventh, Obispo gave up another unearned run. With one out, Jeroen Stentler reached on an infield-hit, then was safe on second base when an error was made on a force play-grounder by Idelgardo Raap. The bases were loaded when Obispo walked Jeffrey Sprott. With the bases loaded and only one out, Euro Stars scored only once and that happened when next batter Rutger Veugelers was hit by a pitch. Aldrin Martis then hit into a 5-2 force play and the inning ended when Stefan Venema popped out.

In the eighth and ninth inning, Euro Stars got more runners in scoring position, but didn't add more runs. After scoring its run in the third inning, ADO got only one more runner on third base in the remainder of the game. With one out in the fifth, Jaïr Roseburg doubled and advanced on a flyout, but stranded at third. In the last four innings, only two batters reached base, one on an error, one of a single. Euro Stars-pitcher Jorian van de Acker went the distance and struckout eleven batters, as some of the ADO-batters were somewhat to anxious and then went after bad pitches.
(September 28)

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...Winning pitcher David Bergman threw a 4-hitter... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

At Hoofddorp, Corendon Kinheim returned to the Holland Series after shutting out Konica Minolta Pioniers, beating the team from Hoofddorp for the third year in a row in a postseason-series. In the previous two years, Kinheim defeated Pioniers in the Holland Series. For Kinheim, David Bergman threw 8-plus strong innings in which he gave up only four basehits, while striking out five. The righthander walked only one batter, which came in the ninth inning and resulted in his replacement. Pioniers played without its Head Coach Frank Koene, who was suspended for eight games on Friday, as a result of his ejection last weekend.

...Kinheim 2B René Cremer turns a double play in the 9th... ...Runner Glenn Romney is eliminated at second base... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

After leaving a runner on second base in the first inning and another on third base in the second at bat, Kinheim opened the score in the third. Jeffrey Verbij led off with a walk, then scored when Danny Rombley (who was 3-for-5) followed with a double. Pioniers held Kinheim to only one run in this at bat, as three outs followed. In the fourth, the Haarlem-squad again came into scoring position, but didn't score. With one out, Vince Rooi singled and Roel Koolen was hit by a pitch. After the two advanced on a double steal, a strikeout and a flyout ended the inning.

Another runner stranded in the fifth. This time, Danny Rombley led off with a single, advanced on a sac-bunt by René Cremer and a groundout by Dirk van 't Klooster, but he then stranded on third base. In the sixth, Kinheim finally was able to expand its lead with two runs. First, Bryan Engelhardt struckout, then was ejected by Home Plate Umpire Henri van Heijningen when he argued the call. With one out, Vince Rooi homered, then Roel Koolen followed with a single, which marked the end for Pionier-starter Roger Kops, who was relieved by Robin van Doornspeek. Koolen then stole second base, but Jason Halman struckout. Next, Jeffrey Verbij singled to make it 3-0. Kinheim left two more runners in the seventh inning. The team got runners on first and third with two outs, but a strikeout then ended the at bat.

Pioniers reached second base only twice in the game. In the second inning, lead-off batter Jourick Blanco reached on an error and advanced on a sac-bunt by Edwin de Graaf, but he was left when a strikeout and groundout followed. In the fourth, Blanco singled with two outs, but was thrown out at second base when he tried to stretch it into a double. In the fifth, Jeffrey de Vrieze singled with two outs and moved to second base when Mervin Gario also singled, but this time a force play-grounder made an end to the inning. David Bergman then retired the next eight battters in a row, before Michael Duursma reached on an error with two outs in the eighth, but that was followed by a grounder. When Bergman walked lead-off batter Glenn Romney in the ninth inning, Michiel van Kampen took over the pitching. Dè Flanegin then grounded into a double play and a line drive by Jourick Blanco was caught by third baseman Vince Rooi to end the game and gave Van Kampen his third save of the series.

...Tjerk Smeets is force out at second in the 7th by 2B Mervin Gario... ...At left Short Stop Michael Duursma looks on, Umpire Arnold Verbrugge makes the call... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

...Kinheim celebrates the win: Holland Series again... (Photo: www.reni-foto.nl)

At Amsterdam, DOOR Neptunus was left stunned by L&D Amsterdam, which dominated from the fourth inning and registered 15 hard hits, including seven extra basehits, off six different pitchers. Initially, it appeared that Neptunus would open the score right away in the first inning. Eugene Kingsale led off the game with a double, but never got beyond second base. Amsterdam-starter Jos de Jong was then supported by his brother and rightfielder Bas de Jong, who made a great diving catch on a line drive by next batter Benjamin Dille. De Jong then struckout Raily Legito (who didn't like the call) and the inning ended when Sharnol Adriana popped out. After giving up the double to Kingsale, De Jong retired 12 of the next 13 batters, before Neptunus scored its lone run in the fifth inning.

...Fausto Álvarez Rizo scores the first run in the fourth inning... (Photo: Alfred Cop Fotografie)

But before that, Amsterdam had taken a 2-0 lead. Neptunus-starter Leon Boyd retired six of the first seven batters, but then gave up three hits in the third. However, Amsterdam ran itself out the inning. Kenny Berkenbosch led off with a single and advanced on a nice bunt-single by Zaïr Koeiman, but was then picked off second base by catcher Martijn Meeuwis. Next, Wesley Connor also single, but then Koeiman was caught stealing at third base and a strikeout ended the inning.

Amsterdam then opened the score in the fourth inning. With two outs, Fausto Álvarez Rizo doubled, then was waved home on a single into leftfield by Bas de Jong and scored, while the ball already was in possession of third baseman Raily Legito. After Ryan Murphy walked, De Jong scored on a single by Kenny Berkenbosch to make it 2-0, but Murphy was caught up in a rundown to end the inning. In the fifth inning, Neptunus came back with a run. Derick Francisca led off with a walk, moved on a single by Martijn Meeuwis and a sac-bunt by Lennart Koster and scored on a sac-fly by Jeroen Sluijter. It was to be the lone run of Neptunus, which added only two more basehits in the remainder of the game. In the sixth inning, the Rotterdam-squad might have been able to add another run. With two outs, Jeffrey Arends hit the ball into leftfield, where it appeared to be caught. However, the ball was missed, but Arends did reach only first base. When he had run right away, he might have reached second base and could have scored, as next batter Derick Francisca singled.

...Wesley Connor... ...3-run Homerun... (Photo: A'dam Pirates)

Amsterdam got the run back in the home of the fifth. With one out, Wesley Connor doubled, moved on a grounder and scored on a single by Marvin Bleij. After next batter Sidney de Jong walked, Neptunus-starter Leon Boyd, who gave up nine hits, was relieved by Gregory Gustina, who ended the inning with a groundout. In the sixth, the lefthander gave up a lead-off single to Bas de Jong and was relieved by Berry van Driel. Moments later, Amsterdam almost surely dealt a deciding blow. After a strikeout and a force play-grounder, which put Kenny Berkenbosch on first base, Zaïr Koeiman doubled, then Wesley Connor homered to lift the lead to 6-1. When next batter Maikel Benner walked, Kevin Heijstek became the fourth Neptunian pitcher. He would give up the next two runs in the seventh at bat. Fausto Álvarez Rizo led off with a walk and scored all the way from first base when Bas de Jong doubled. After a flyout, Kenny Berkenbosch flied out to deep leftfield, which ended up in a sac-fly, as De Jong scored.

The 10-run difference was reached in the eighth inning. Remco Draijer, who had entered the game defensively in the top of the at bat, led off with a towering triple, then scored when Maikel Benner followed with a single. Heijstek was relieved by Wouter Lensselink, who walked Marvin Bleij and Sidney de Jong, which loaded the bases. Fausto Álvarez Rizo then appeared to end the game with a grand slam homerun, but the ball was caught just before the fence and became a sac-fly, as it enabled Benner to score and also moved the other two runners. Hoping to avoid a 10-run difference loss, next batter Bas de Jong was walked intentionally to set-up a force play. However, instead of bringing in a new pitcher, infielder Mike Bazuin was put on the mound, who then gave up a sac-fly to Ryan Murphy, giving Amsterdam another run and ending the game with a 10-run difference after all.
(September 27)

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...Winning pitcher Erik de Rijcke is congratulated... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

For the third time, the team which held a lead ended up empty handed in this series. Last weekend, Euro Stars held onto an 1-0 lead for almost eight innings on Saturday, then led 6-0 on Sunday, but twice lost in a marathon, 18 innings in Game One and 14 innings in the next match-up. Today, ADO led 4-1, but lost 5-4.

...ADO-pitcher Alex Smith... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

ADO opened the score in the second inning when Ludwin Obispo led off with a single, advanced on a sac-bunt by Dave Steward, then scored on a 2-out single by Jaïr Roseburg. Euro Stars came alongside in the home of the second when Aldrin Martis led off with a homerun. In the third, ADO reacted immediately and scored three runs, making it 4-1. Rodrinov Faries led off with a bunt-single, moved on a sac-bunt by Dimitri Leon, but remained at second base when Quensley Bazoer reached on a bunt-single. Michel Korzeniewski followed with a double which gave ADO a renewed lead. A grounder by Ludwin Obispo and a single by Dave Steward then resulted in two more runs.

In the home of the third, Euro Stars got two runs back and narrowed the deficit to 4-3. ADO-starter Alex Smith walked lead-off batter Jeroen Stentler, who then moved on a grounder and scored on a triple by Jeffrey Sprott, who later scored himself on a grounder by Rutger Veugelers. After two scoreless innings and stranding a runner on third base in the fifth, Euro Stars took a 5-4 lead in the sixth at bat. Aldrin Martis and Stefan Venema led off with singles, then moved on a sac-bunt by Orlando Eduarda and both scored when an error was made on a grounder by Jeroen Hermans. Herafter, ADO-pitcher Alex Smith retired the eight next batters in order.

ADO was unable to regain the lead and had only one more additional basehit in the last six innings off Erik de Rijcke. The former national team-pitcher had another good outing, as he struckout eleven batters and walked only three. In the seventh, ADO got two runners in scoring position when Dimitri Leon walked and moved on a sac-bunt, then Michel Korzeniewski was walked intentionally. After the two moved on a double-steal, the inning ended with a flyout, followed by six more outs in order to end the game.
(September 27)

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...Dimitri Leon steals third base in the 7th inning... ...Third baseman Sjoerd Hermans makes the tag... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

...Quensley Bazoer is out at first base... ...1B Jeffrey Sprott gets the ball in time... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

On Monday, at Philadelphia, Jaïr Jurrjens started for the Atlanta Braves, where the team lost 6-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies, which has chances of reaching the post-season. Jurrjens threw seven innings, struckout one batter, walked one and gave up five hits and two earned runs. Jurrjens gave up the runs in the first and second inning, the Braves came alongside with two runs in the sixth. When Jurrjens left, the score was still 2-2, then the Phillies rallied for four runs in the eighth, three of which were scored off reliever Jeff Bennett. He contributed himself with a failed pick-off to put runner Greg Golson at third base, then rookie catcher Clint Sammons hesitated on a grounder and was not in position for a tag, enabling Golson to score his first Major League-run. Later in the at bat, Pat Burrell hit a 3-run homerun to make it 6-2. Jurrjens had a strong performance. Manager Bobby Cox stated afterwards: ,,He was outstanding''.

On Tuesday, at Washington, Shairon Martis threw 5 1/3 inning for the Washington Nationals against the Florida Marlins and went on to become the winning pitcher, earning his first Major League-victory with his parents Richard and Athlym in attendance. Martis struckout five batters, walked two and gave up five hits and three earned runs. In the sixth inning, the Marlins scored their third run, then Martis left with the Nationals leading 4-3. The Nationals got the run back in the home of the sixth and added four more runs in the eighth inning. In the second inning, Marlins gave up a homerun to Josh Willingham, but then retired the next nine batters in a row. The Nationals won 9-4 and ended a 5-game losing streak.
(September 25)

...Tom Geestman... (Photo: A'dam Pirates)

In a press release, Amsterdam states that Geestman, who was in his first season as Pitching Coach with the team and last year was the Head Coach of Amsterdam Pirates 2, took his decision after Sunday's 5-3 loss vs. Neptunus at Rotterdam. Amsterdam initially came alongside from a 3-1 deficit, but then lost after a pitching change had taken place. After Sunday's game, Geestman announced that he would resign as coach, effective immediately, because of a difference of opinion regarding the policy within the team.

,,Of course, I'm disappointed that Tom leaves, but we have to respect his decision'', Head Coach Rikkert Faneyte states. ,,This season, Tom has had an important contribution to the result to the team and in particular to our pitchingstaff. The moment for this decision might not be ideal, but he leaves a fine group of pitchers, who know what is expected of them in the coming game. We will work hard together this week to win the last two games against Neptunus and to qualify for the Holland Series. I'm convinced that we can succeed in that with this group of players.''
(September 23)

...Quensley Bazoer is caught stealing in the 2nd inning... ...Short Stop Orlando Eduarda is ready to make the tag... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

In today's game, Euro Stars was more productive than in the first match-up. The team from Capelle a/d IJssel reached base 28 times, opposed to 12 yesterday. ADO reached base 29 times and the two also almost equaled in runners left, as ADO stranded 13 and Euro Stars 15. Did ADO outhit Euro Stars on Saturday, 19-4, today, the latter was the better team offensively, outhitting ADO 18-13. A total of 127 batters faced ten pitchers today, meaning that 267 batters stepped up to the plate in the two games this weekend.

Like yesterday, Euro Stars took an early lead. Did the team score only one run in the first game, it now took a 4-0 lead in the first at bat off Brent Henry. The American starter walked lead-off batter Idelgardo Raap, who then stole second base and advanced when an error was made on a grounder by Jeffrey Sprott. Raap scored the first run when Rutger Veugelers singled. After a strikeout, Stefan Venema followed with a 2-run double. With two outs, Venema scored on a single by Orlando Eduarda.

...Interference? ADO-runner Quensley Bazoer scores in the fourth inning... ...when catcher Stefan Venema is unable to hold onto the ball... ...A second run would be scored moments later... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

In the fourth inning, Euro Stars increased its lead to 6-0, but in the end that proved to be not enough. With one out, Brent Henry walked Marcel Buurman and Jeroen Stentler, then loaded the bases when Idelgardo Raap reached on an infield-hit. An infield-fly followed, then the first two runners scored when Rutger Veugelers singled. In the home of the fourth, ADO's comeback started, as it scored five runs off Edward Beerthuizen, who in the past has been a pitcher for ADO. Lead-off batter Ludwin Obispo was hit by a pitch, then Michel Korzeniewski and Quensley Bazoer (bunt) singled to load the bases. A double by Dave Steward gave ADO its first two runs and put runners on second and third base. After Niels Weis grounded out, Sigmar Eustacia grounded to third, which ended up in an error and two more runs. There was some discussion about these two runs, as an extended decision was given by the umpires, but in the end both runs were valid. Eustacia ended up on third base after the error, then scored moments later on a passed ball.

Euro Stars got one run back in the fifth at bat. Stefan Venema walked and moved to third on an one-out single by Orlando Eduarda, which led to a pitching change. Brent Henry was relieved by Reynaldo Carmiento Clara, who was greeted with a runscoring infield-hit by Marcel Buurman. Then, with runners on first and third base, a grounder by Jeroen Stentler forced out Buurman at second base, but ended in a double play when Eduarda tried to score. Trailing 7-5, ADO got alongside in its fifth. Dimitri Leon led off with a single, whereafter Edward Beerthuizen was relieved by Guy Hermans, who then gave up a single to Ludwin Obispo. Leon advanced to third base and Obispo took second base on the throw. Leon was then thrown out at home on a grounder by Michel Korzeniewski, then the bases got loaded when Quensley Bazoer again reached on a bunt-single. Next, Obispo scored on a single by Dave Steward (who was 4-for-6, scored twice and had three RBI's), then Korzeniewski scored the tying run on a force play-grounder by Niels Weis, before the inning ended with a strikeout.

...Dimitri Leon reaches third base in the fifth inning... ...The ball goes by 3B Marcel Buurman towards the fence... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

Euro Stars re-took the lead immediately in the sixth inning when Jeffrey Sprott homered with one out. It then had three hits in the seventh inning, but failed to add another run and saw ADO come alongside in the eighth inning. Guy Hermans walked Niels Weis and was relieved by Bob van den Heuvel, who made an error on a sac-bunt by pinch-hitter Sergeï Leon, then saw the runners advance on a sac-bunt by Jaïr Roseburg. Van den Heuvel was relieved by Jorian van de Acker, who threw the last 4 2/3 inning in Saturday's game. He loaded the bases by hitting Rodrinov Faries with a pitch, then gave up a runscoring force play-grounder to Dimitri Leon, which tied the score again and would set the stage for another marathon.

...Dave Steward (33) scores the winning run in the 14th inning... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

Euro Stars reached base seven times in the next six innings, but stranded six runners. In the ninth, lead-off batter Sjoerd Hermans ended up on third base, but was left there. In the tenth, there were two runners on base with one out, but then Aldrin Martis grounded into a double play. In the next four innings, one batter reached base in each at bat, but neither of them got beyond first base.

From the ninth, ADO faced Erik de Rijcke, who was the starter in yesterday's game and then threw 13 1/3 inning. ADO left a runner in the ninth inning, then was was retired in order in the 10th and 11th inning, which was highlighted by a nice catch by rightfielder Jeffrey Sprott. In the twelfth at bat, ADO was close to the winning run, but stranded runners on second and third base. Quensley Bazoer led off with his third bunt-single, stole second base and advanced to third on a sac-bunt by Dave Steward. But after Luigino Domacasse walked, a strikeout and flyout ended the at bat. Facing new pitcher Rutger Veugelers (who had played at second base in the previous 12 innings), ADO again came close to a run in the 13th. Veugelers walked Rodrinov Faries and Dimitri Leon, but then Ludwin Obispo grounded into a double play. Michel Korzeniewski was then walked intentionally and the inning ended with a flyout. ADO then did score the winning run in the 14th at bat. Dave Steward led off with a single, moved on a sac-bunt by Luigino Domacasse and scored on a single by Myson Cathalina, who had entered the game in the previous inning.
(September 21)

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...Celebration Time! ADO wins another marathon and leads the series, 2-0... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

At Haarlem, Corendon Kinheim staged a remarkable comeback against Konica Minolta Pioniers and went on to win 14-11. All nine Kinheim-starters scored at least once in this game. After trailing 8-1 early in the second inning, the reigning champion reacted with 10 run in the third inning to take over the lead when Bryan Engelhardt doubled and Gregory Halman hit a 3-run homerun. It all started with Kinheim taking an 1-0 lead in the first inning when it got the bases loaded. With one out, René Cremer reached on an infield-hit, then Dirk van 't Klooster walked and Tjerk Smeets was hit by a pitch. A grounder by Bryan Engelhardt produced the run, but two runners stranded when a pop-out followed.

...Gregory Halman... ...3-for-4, 3-run HR... ...2 Runs, 4 RBI's... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

But then the scoring really started as Pioniers scored eight run in the second inning. With one out, Kinheim-starter Robin van Eis gave up a single to Jourick Blanco, then walked the next three batters to bring in the tying run and was relieved by Nick Veltkamp. However, the lefthander also ran into problems. First, an error on a grounder by Tjerk Hoogervorst led to another run, but then Veltkamp hit Michael Duursma with a pitch and walked Mervin Gario, resulting in two more runs. A sac-fly by Glenn Romey, double by Dè Flanegin and 2-run single by Jourick Blanco then increased the lead to 8-1. Veltkamp was relieved by Onno Baur, who got the last out in the at bat, but Pioniers had taken a huge lead and was en rout to a probably 10-run difference victory.

But things changed rapidly in the next inning. First, Kinheim got one run back in the home of the second when Vince Rooi led off with a double and scored on a single by Danny Rombley. The game then went crazy when Kinheim rallied for 10 runs in the third inning to take a 12-8 lead! Pioniers' Venezuelan starter Alberto Mieres Paez started well by striking out Tjerk Smeets, but then the next eight batters would reach base in order, before Smeets also accounted for the second out in the inning. After striking out Smeets, Mieres walked Bryan Engelhardt and Gregory Halman, who then both scored when Vince Rooi doubled. Mieres was relieved by (closer) Dave Draijer, who failed to retire the next four batters and would end up as losing pitcher! Draijer first gave up a single to Roel Koolen, then loaded the bases by walking Jeffrey Verbij. The next runs were then scored when Danny Rombley singled and René Cremer also walked. Draijer was quickly relieved by Jan Rehacek, but the Czech also failed to get out of the inning unharmed. With the bases still loaded, Rehacek walked Dirk van 't Klooster and gave up a sac-fly to Tjerk Smeets, which tied the score. Bryan Engelhardt next doubled to bring in Cremer en give Kinheim a lead and Gregory Halman followed with a 3-run homerun to make it 12-8! Next batter Vince Rooi then reached base on an error, whereafter the inning finally ended when Koolen grounded out.

In top of the fourth inning, Pioniers' Head Coach Frank Koene was ejected after arguing a call, then Kinheim added another run in its fourth when Danny Rombley walked and scored on a single by René Cremer. In the fifth and sixth inning, everything could catch their breath for a moment from all the action, as this were two scoreless innings. Pioniers narrowed the lead to 13-11 by scoring three runs in the seventh inning. Mervin Gario first walked and advanced to third base on a failed pick-off by Onno Baur, who then walked Glenn Romney and gave up an RBI-double to Dè Flanegin. Jourick Blanco followed with a sacrifice fly, whereafter Michiel van Kampen took over for Baur. After giving up an RBI-single to Edwin de Graaf, an error followed but then Jeffrey de Vrieze grounded into a double play. In the next two innings, Van Kampen retired six in a row, including two strikeouts, and earned his second save of the series.

In the home of the seventh, Kinheim scored its 14th run off Maarten Mulder, who had taken over in the fourth. Tjerk Smeets led off with a walk, then scored when Bryan Engelhardt and Gregory Halman singled. Mulder was replaced by Jurrian Koks, who faced Vince Rooi, who grounded into a double play. At second base, Halman, who played professionally this season in the Seattle Mariners-organisation, broke up the double play where second baseman Mervin Gario injured himself and had to leave the game. On May 18 of this year, Gario also was injured in a game against Kinheim in the same kind of situation. Gario (who is a rookie this season) then played short stop, sustained a leg injury when a double play was broken up and also had to leave the game. Moments later, the now 'famous' bench-clearing brawl started which then halted the game. It didn't come so far this time, but it was reported that some tensions were building.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus scored a run in its first three innings, but despite creating several scoring opportunities could not take enough distance from L&D Amsterdam, which reacted with three runs of its own in the second, fourth and fifth at bat. Neptunus opened strong in the first at bat off Ryan Murphy, as Eugene Kingsale led off with a triple, then scored on a grounder by next batter Benjamin Dille, but then another grounder and a strikeout followed. Amsterdam reacted immediately by coming alongside in the second inning. With one out, Fausto Álvarez Rizo singled, then advanced to third when Bas de Jong also singled. Álvarez then scored the tying run on a force play-grounder by Kenny Berkenbosch.

...Derick Francisca... ...3 times on base... ...2B, 2 Runs... (Photo: EOTT)

Neptunus re-took the lead in the home of the second, but left the bases loaded. Jeffrey Arends led off with a single, but was caught stealing, then Derick Francisca walked and scored on a 2-out double by Lennart Koster. Hererafter, Neptunus got the bases loaded when Jeroen Sluijter singled and Eugene Kingsale walked, but then Benjamin Dille grounded out, ending the inning. Neptunus added a run in the next inning on back-to-back lead-off doubles by Raily Legito and Sharnol Adriana, but then three outs followed.

Amsterdam got one run back in the fourth inning when Sidney de Jong homered with one out. De Jong also homered in yesterday's game. With two outs, Bas de Jong doubled and Kenny Berkenbosch was walked intentionally, but the inning ended when next batter Pavèl van Zaane went after the first pitch and popped out to catcher Martijn Meeuwis. In the fifth, Pirates came alongside, but again left two runners behind. With one out, Wesley Connor and Maikel Benner singled to mark the end for starter Kevin Heijstek and Dushan Ruzic was brought in.

...Winning Pitcher... (Photo: EOTT)

Ruzic, normally a closer, did a fine job, as he allowed only one more basehit in the remainder of the game. But first, he loaded the bases by hitting Marvin Bleij with a pitch, then gave up a sac-fly to Sidney de Jong, which tied the score. But with runners on first and third base, the inning ended when Fausto Álvarez Rizo struckout. In the home of the fifth, Neptunus got a chance to get back on the board again right away when Benjamin Dille led off with a double and Raily Legito was hit by a pitch. But then Amsterdam's rightfielder Bas de Jong turned a double play on a flyout by Sharnol Adriana when he doubled up Dille on second base. Another flyout ended the at bat.

Neptunus regained the lead for the third time in this game in the sixth inning. Kevin Miner came on in relief for Amsterdam-starter Ryan Murphy, but walked the first batter he faced, Derick Francisca. After he moved on a sac-bunt, Miner also walked Lennart Koster and was replaced by Raban Schalm. He got a flyout out of the first batter he faced, but then gave up a single to Eugene Kingsale, which gave Neptunus the lead. Koster and Kingsale both were on there way to advance on the throw to home, but then the latter was eliminated at second base to end the inning.

Amsterdam got its first two batters on base in the eighth inning, but both stranded. Marvin Bleij singled and Sidney de Jong was hit by a pitch, then Fausto Álvarez Rizo flied out on the fifth pitch. However, next batters Bas de Jong and Kenny Berkenbosch opted for the first pitch they saw and also flied out. Neptunus then added an insurance run in the home half of the eighth. Derick Francisca led off with a double and was replaced by pinch-runner Andy Leer, who then moved on a bunt-single by Martijn Meeuwis and scored on a sac-fly by Lennart Koster. Three of Neptunus' runs were created by Francisca, who started the season on the Amsterdam-roster, but was released during the exhibition season. A week before the season started, he was picked up by Neptunus. In this game, Francisca reached base three times and scored twice, while the pinch-runner scored the third run after he had reached base for the third time. In the top of the ninth, Zaïr Koeiman was hit by a pitch (the fourth by Ruzic) with one out, but the game then ended when Wesley Connor grounded into a double play.
(September 21)

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...Patrick Wabbijn ends up short in the second inning... ...Catcher Niels Weis awaits him with the ball... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

Euro Stars initially took an 1-0 lead in the second inning and hold onto the lead until the eighth inning, behind the strong pitching of Erik de Rijcke, who struckout 19 (!) batters. However, in the eighth at bat, ADO came alongside and then a marathon unfolded, which would take five hours and one minute to complete, ending at 7:01 PM. ADO then won the game by scoring a run in the top of the 18th when Sigmar Eustacia singled, then later scored on a single by Luigino Domacasse. ADO-starter Alex Smith threw 17 (!) innings in which he threw 244 (!) pitches, but ended up as the winning pitcher. Jeoffrey de Groot took over in the bottom of the 18th and earned a save.

The game was a feast for stats-freaks. Imagine this, there were 23 basehits in the game, but only three runs. 19 of these basehits were hit by ADO, while Euro Stars had only four in 18 innings. A total of 140 batters stepped to the plate (74 by ADO), with 42 of them reaching base (28 by ADO). 31 runners were left behind, including 20 (!) by ADO (10 in scoring position). And there were 38 strikeouts, including 25 (!) by ADO-batters. Looking to the game stats, everything was in favor of ADO, which not only outhit Euro Stars, 19-4, but also reached base more often. However, on the other hand, ADO also stranded 20 runners, while 25 of its batters struckout!

...Safe or Out?... ...HP Umpire Fred van Groningen Schinkel calls Michel Korzeniewski... ...out at the plate in the 8th inning, Stefan Venema makes the tag... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

Euro Stars, who had 12 players in today's game with big league-experience, opened the score in the second inning. Stefan Venema led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, then Patrick Wabbijn was hit by a pitch from Alex Smith. The two advanced on a sac-bunt by Orlando Eduarda, then the bases got loaded when Marcel Buurman walked. Another walk, this time for Jeroen Stentler, gave Euro Stars the lead, which it held onto until the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and only one out, Idelgardo Raap flied out to leftfield, but the inning then ended when Wabbijn, who tried to score, was thrown out at the plate by leftfielder Rodrinov Faries.

ADO got several chances before coming alongside in the eighth at bat. In the second inning, Niels Weis and Quensley Bazoer singled with one out, but then Erik de Rijcke struckout the next two batters. In the fifth, Bazoer led off with an infield-hit, who then moved on a passed ball, before Jaïr Roseburg walked. But then Edison Bito popped up to catcher Stefan Venema, who then doubled up Bazoer at second base. ADO got another batter on base when Rodrinov Faries also walked, but a flyout ended the at bat.

...Sigmar Eustacia scores the winning... ...run in the 18th inning... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

ADO stranded two more runners in the sixth inning. Harvey Gumbs (yes, he was back in business for ADO) led off with an infield-hit and Michel Korzeniewski walked with one out, but then De Rijcke again followed with two strikeouts. In the eighth, Gumbs led off with another single, then Korzeniewski (who was 5-for-7) doubled with one out to bring the veteran to third base. Gumbs then scored the tying run on a single by next batter Niels Weis, but Korzeniewski was thrown out at the plate by centerfielder Jeroen Stentler when he also tried to score. A single by Quensley Bazoer followed, but once more De Rijcke ended the inning with a strikeout. Euro Stars was unable to add a run after the second inning. The team did reach base since then, but from the third through ninth inning, only one basehit was registered.

ADO got another scoring opportunity in the tenth inning, but it again left two runners behind, then was close to its second run in the 13th at bat. Quensley Bazoer led off with an infield-hit, then Jaïr Roseburg was hit by a pitch. After a flyout, a force play-grounder followed, but the bases got loaded when Dimitri Leon also reached on an infield-hit. Once more, it was Erik de Rijcke who dictated the game, as he ended the inning by striking out Harvey Gumbs, his 19th victim in the game. In the fourteenth inning, De Rijcke gave up an one-out single to Michel Korzeniewski and was relieved by Jorian van de Acker, who did what De Rijcke had done before. He struckout the next two batters and the game continued.

In the next three innings, both teams didn't got a chance to decide the game, as ADO reached base only twice and Euro Stars only once. In the 18th inning, the marathon finally ended. Sigmar Eustacia, who had entered the game in the eleventh inning, led off with a single and moved on a sac-bunt by Rodrinov Faries. Next, Dimitri Leon struckout, but Eustacia then scored on a single by pinch-hitter Luigino Domacasse. In the home of the 18th, Jeoffrey de Groot took over for starter Alex Smith and retired the side to secure the victory.
(September 20)

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...Rodrinov Faries (22) celebrates with winning pitcher Alex Smith... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

...History in Capelle a/d IJssel... ...ADO wins in 18 innings... (Photo: Fred Reuling)

...Tjerk Smeets... ...Winning Run... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

At Hoofddorp, Kinheim defeated Pioniers 3-2, after the latter had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 tie. Kinheim scored twice in the second inning off starter Roger Kops. Bryan Engelhardt led off with a single, then advanced to third base when Vince Rooi singled with one out. Engelhardt then scored on a force play-grounder by Roel Koolen, who himself later moved on a passed ball, then scored on an error with two outs. Pioniers got its first two batters on base in the third inning, but then Jourick Blanco was caught stealing, a strikeout followed and two runners stranded. In the fourth, Pioniers came alongside. Kinheim-starter Patrick Beljaards, who finished the season with an 11-0 record, walked lead-off batter Glenn Romney, then hit next batter Mark Duursma with a pitch. An error on a grounder by Dè Flanegin then enabled Romney to score and resulted in runners on second and third base. A grounder by Edwin de Graaf tied the score, but Pioniers again stranded a runner in scoring position.

Tjerk Smeets scored was would be the winning run in the sixth inning. He led off with a single, then Bryan Engelhardt walked and the two moved on a sac-bunt by Gregory Halman. With two outs, Smeets scored when an error was made on a grounder by Roel Koolen, but in the same play Engelhardt was throw out at the plate when he also tried to score.

In the seventh inning, Pioniers got another scoring opportunity, but also lost catcher Mark Duursma. In the top of the inning, Denny Beljaards walked, then tried to score on a 2-out single by Dirk van 't Klooster. However, Beljaards was thrown out at the plate by leftfielder Sergino Martis, but collided with Duursma, who had to leave the game with a knee-injury. In the hospital, no serious injuries were diagnosed, but out of precaution, he will not play on Sunday and an MRI-scan will be made next Tuesday. In the home of the at bat, Pioniers got the bases loaded, but failed to score. Edwin de Graaf was hit by a pitch and Jourick Blanco singled, then Michiel van Kampen took over for starter Patrick Beljaards. He struckout the next batter, but enabled both runners to advance on a wild pitch. The bases were then loaded by walking Norbert Lokhorst intentionally to set-up a force play. And that worked, as Van Kampen again threw a strikeout and ended the inning with a force out. In the eighth, he was supported with a double play, but closed the game without letting the lead getting in jeopardy.

...Joop Nordsiek (left) is decorated before the game... ...by KNBSB Boardmember Gerben Hardeveld... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

At Amsterdam, the home team won 5-2 vs. Neptunus, deciding the game with a 4-run fifth inning, highlighted by a 3-run homerun by Sidney de Jong. Before the game started, Official Scorer Joop Nordsiek was decorated by the Dutch Federation, which was represented by Boardmember Gerben Hardeveld, who is in charge of Game Officials. Nordsiek is an Official Scorer for 25 years, making his debut on June 9, 1984 at the game between UVV and ADO. Since then, he scored more than 200 games in the Dutch big league, but also was scoring in the big league softball, as well as during international events, such as the Haarlem Baseball Week, World Port Tournaments, European Cup Tournaments, European Championships and World Championships, when held in the Netherlands.

...Zaïr Koeiman... ...3-for-4, 2B, 2R... ...unassisted DP... (Photo: A'dam Pirates)

Amsterdam opened the score in the third inning when Zaïr Koeiman led off with a single, then reached second base safely on a throwing error by pitcher Diegomar Markwell on a bunt by Wesley Connor, then advanced on a sac-bunt by Maikel Benner and scored on a sac-fly by Marvin Bleij. Next, Sidney de Jong singled, which resulted in Connor being eliminated at third base, after he had overran it. Pirates then took a decisive lead by scoring four runs in the fifth at bat. Koeiman (who was 3-for-4) again led off with a single, then Wesley Connor (who was 3-for-5) also singled. Another error enabled Koeiman to score, whereafter Marvin Bleij walked. Next, at a crucial moment, Sidney de Jong homered to make it 5-0. It marked the end for Diegomar Markwell, who was relieved by Jurjen van Zijl. He was greeted with a single by Fausto Álvarez Rizo and a double by Bas de Jong, but then struckout Ryan Murphy and got a pop-up out of Pavèl van Zaane. In the remaining three innings, Van Zijl would give up three more hits, but held Amsterdam scoreless.

Neptunus was held off base for five innings by Kenny Berkenbosch, who allowed only two batters to reach base in this period. In the second, he gave up a 2-out double to Jeffrey Arends, but then Andy Leer fouled out to third baseman Pavèl van Zaane. In the third, Eugene Kingsale singled with two outs, but then again a foul out to third followed. After retiring the next seven batters in a row, Berkenbosch gave up a lead-off double to Jeroen Sluijter in the sixth inning, who then advanced on a grounder and scored on a sacrifice fly by Benjamin Dille. In the seventh inning, Jeffrey Arends homered with two outs to make it 5-2, but that was to be all for the Rotterdam-squad. After the homerun, Berkenbosch walked pinch-hitter (and former teammate) Derick Francisca, then was relieved by Raban Schalm, who retired the side by striking out Lennart Koster.

In the eighth, Nick Stuifbergen became the new Amsterdam-pitcher, but ran into some problems. With one out, Eugene Kingsale doubled and Benjamin Dille walked, but then Stuifbergen was saved by second baseman Zaïr Koeiman, who made a nice unassisted double play on a line drive by Raily Legito. In the ninth, Pim Walsma retired the side and earned a save.
(September 20)

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At Haarlem, Dutch champion Kinheim, which finished the regular season last weekend in first place, scored three runs in the first inning vs. Pioniers, which then took control of the game from the fifth inning on and went on to win. The first match-up between the two finalists of last year was one with two faces. In the first four innings (or maybe even only the first inning), Kinheim ruled, but from the fifth, it was Pioniers' game. Kinheim had only two basehits in the first four innings, but reached base eight times. In the last five innings, the team reached base only three times, including once on a basehit. Pioniers reached base only three more times (one basehit) in the first four innings. In the last five innings, the team from Hoofddorp reached base 16 times, had nine basehits and scored nine runs.

Kinheim took its 3-0 lead in the first inning without a basehit. Pionier-starter Conrad Orman walked five batters and left after eight. The lefthander walked the first three batters he saw, Danny Rombley, René Cremer and Dirk van 't Klooster. A wild pitch and an error on a fly-hit by Tjerk Smeets then resulted in two runs. Orman then struckout next batters Bryan Engelhardt and Gregory Halman, but walked following batters Vince Rooi and Roel Koolen to bring in another run. Herafter, Maarten Mulder took over, ended the inning and retired 10 of the 12 batters he faced, giving up two hits in the fourth inning. Jurrian Koks threw the fifth and sixth inning for Pioniers, gave up Kinheim's last basehit in the game (in the fifth) and would end up as the winning pitcher. Czech reliever Jan Rehacek closed the game by throwing the last three innings, allowing only one batter to reach base and earned a save.

Kinheim-starter David Bergman winded through the first four innings without any problems, walking two in the first at bat and giving a lone basehit in the second. But the turn-around came in the fifth at bat. With one out, Sergino Martis singled and Norbert Lokhorst doubled, then both scored when Michael Duursma also doubled. After a groundout, Duursma scored the tying run on a single by Glenn Romney. Mark Duursma also followed with a single, then two runners stranded, but is was a new ballgame. In the sixth, Pioniers took the lead when Jourick Blanco homered with one out.

Pioniers then took charge of the game by scoring four runs off three pitchers in the seventh inning. Duko Jansen, who had taken over Bergman in the previous inning, walked Mark Duursma and Dè Flanegin and was relieved by Nick Veltkamp. He started with a throwing error on a force-play grounder, resulting in a run, then issued an intentional walk to Jourick Blanco to face Sergino Martis, who then doubled to bring in two more runs. Onno Baur then became the third pitcher in the inning, retired the first batter he faced, but then threw a wild pitch to bring in yet another run and lifted the score to 8-3. In the seventh inning, Pioniers added another run when Glenn Romney walked, advanced to third on a failed pick-off and scored on a 2-out double by Edwin de Graaf. Seven of Pioniers' starters had at least one basehit, including three by Sergino Martis, while eight of the nine starters scored at least once.

...Leon Boyd... ...5-hitter... (Photo: Neptunus)

At Rotterdam, Jos de Jong, the starter for Amsterdam, had a shaky first inning, as 11 of his first 13 pitches were outside the strikezone. The righthander hit both Eugene Kingsale and Benjamin Dille to start the at bat, then walked Raily Legito and Sharnol Adriana both for four pitches, resulting in a run. De Jong then recovered and struckout next batter Martijn Meeuwis, but gave up his second run when Jeffrey Arends followed with a sacrifice fly, before the inning ended on a grounder. Amsterdam had a chance to break open the game in its favor in the second inning when it got the bases loaded with no outs. First, Sidney de Jong and Fausto Álvarez Rizo singled, then Neptunus-starter Leon Boyd hit Bas de Jong with a pitch to load the bases. Boyd then struckout Ryan Murphy, but also hit next batter Kenny Berkenbosch with a pitch to bring in a run. But the inning ended when Zaïr Koeiman also struckout, followed by a force play-grounder.

After issueing a free pass to the first four batters (2 HP, 2 BB) he faced in the first inning, Jos de Jong recovered great, as he retired the next 13 batters in order, including six with a strikeout. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Jeroen Sluijter broke the string with a double to register Neptunus' first basehit of the game and that would trigger a productive at bat. Next, Eugene Kingsale walked (ball four was a wild pitch), Benjamin Dille followed with an RBI-single and Raily Legito added a 2-run double to make it 5-1. Moments later, Legito stole third base, Sharnol Adriana walked and Martijn Meeuwis enabled Legito to score the sixth run when he singled, which marked the end for De Jong, who was replaced by Mark Kan. The scoring wasn't over yet, as Adriana scored on a sac-fly by Andy Leer and two more runs were added on a double by Lennart Koster.

Neptunus, which needed less than two hours to win the game, reached the 10-run difference by scoring twice in the sixth inning. With one out, Benjamin Dille reached on an error and Raily Legito walked. Rik Geestman then became Amsterdam's third pitcher, but gave up RBI-singles to Sharnol Adriana and Martijn Meeuwis to make it 11-1.

Amsterdam got its next scoring opportunity in the fifth when Maikel Benner and Marvin Bleij walked with two outs, but a grounder prevented runs. In the sixth, Ryan Murphy doubled with two outs for Amsterdam, but he also stranded. Leon Boyd went the distance for Neptunus and gave up only five hits.
(September 18)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

At Atlanta, after striking out 10 batters last week and being the winning pitcher then, Jair Jurrjens gave up four runs and five hits and walked five, while striking out only two batters in five innings on Wednesday-evening, as the Atlanta Braves were beaten 5-1 by the Philadelphia Phillies, which is the league-leader in the National League Eastern Division. The Braves are in fourth place and out of contention. Jurrjens, who on July 25 allowed only three hits in eight scoreless innings vs. the Phillies, is now 13-10. On Wednesday-evening, the Phillies rallied for four runs in the first innings, then were silenced for the next six innings, before they added their next run in the eighth. In the meantine, the Braves were unable to produce off the Phillies-pitching and scored their lone run in the ninth at bat, which was a pinch-hit homerun by Matt Stairs.

At Washington, Shairon Martis was hit hard by the New York Mets in a 9-7 loss. Martis gave up a lead-off homerun to José Reyes in the first inning, then another solo-homerun later in the at bat to Carlos Delgado. After a scoreless second inning, the Mets rallied for four runs off Martis in the third inning, highlighted by a 2-run homerun by Carlos Beltran. Trailing 2-0, Washington scored a run in the second on a double by Kory Casto, but then the Mets answered with four runs. Later in the game, the Nationals trailed 7-2 and managed to come back to 9-7, but ended up empty-handed. Martis, who looked fine in his first two outings, threw three innings in which he struckout four, but gave up five hits and six runs. In the ninth inning, Rogearvin Bernadina was used as a pinch-hitter, but struckout.
(September 17)

...The four ADO-rookies, who made their big league-debut... ...Martijn Riphagen, Kevin Nieveld, Joshua Celestijn, Raily Godfried... (Photos: Fred Reuling)

ADO also had some new faces on some positions. Starting pitcher for ADO was rookie Martijn Riphagen, one of four players who made their big league-debut in today's game. Also making their debut on the highest level were pitcher Kevin Nieveld, third baseman Raily Godfried and catcher Joshua Celestijn, both of ADO. Riphagen threw four innings in which he gave up only one basehit. Nieveld took over in the fifth inning and saw Pioniers take an 1-0 lead in the fifth at bat. ADO reacted with three runs in the sixth inning off Daan de Jong, who had taken over the pitching for starter Jurrian Koks in the fifth.

While ADO held onto the 3-1 lead for two more innings, it wasn't enough. Ludwin Obispo became ADO's third pitcher in the seventh inning, struckout three and gave up no hits and no runs in the two innings he pitched, but things changed in the ninth inning. Myson Cathalina, another rookie, who already had played in three games before, made his pitching debut in the ninth. With two outs and two runners on base, Cathalina gave up an infield-hit to Jefferson Muzo, who had played seven games early in the season, before leaving for Curaçao. On Muzo's hit, a run was scored, then the tying runner followed on a single by Edwin de Graaf. Later in the at bat, an error on a grounder by Mervin Gario gave Pioniers two more runs and the 5-3 lead.
(September 15)

Line Score & Box Score (Box Score has been added)
Final Standings
Schedule

In June of this year, the Haarlem-club captured one of the two European Cups, by winning the tournament in Grosseto (Italy), winning against the host in the final game. At Regensburg (Germany), FC Barcelona (Spain) won the other one, beating Danesi Caffè Nettuno (Italy) in the final. In a new formula for the European Cup tournaments, the four finalists qualified for participation in the Final Four, which was held this weekend in Barcelona. However, because the playing dates of the Final Four (September 13 and 14) coincided with the last games of the regular season in the Dutch big league, Kinheim had to withdraw. The Technical Commission of the European Baseball Confederation (CEB) then decided to suspend Kinheim for next years European Cup-competition, but this decision has yet to be approved by the CEB-Board. In November, both Kinheim and the Dutch Federation will be given the opportunity to defend Kinheim's decision not to participate in the Final Four. Whatever the outcome of the CEB's decision regarding Kinheim's suspension, the Netherlands will have two teams in next years race for the European Cup.

Like this year, there will be two tournaments. The difference being that, instead of two tournaments with eight teams, there will be two with six participating teams. Another difference is the period in which the events will take place in 2009. Normally, the tournaments take place in June, with the Final Four being scheduled for September. But next year, the World Cup is being staged in seven European countries in the month of September. The Final Four-weekend therefore was moved to June 19-21, while the EC-tournaments are moved forward from June to April, with tentative dates being listed as 5-12, which might coincide with the opening weekends of some regular seasons in some countries. But like it is done for June-tournaments, schedules can now be adjusted in advance. One of the two tournaments will be organized in Nettuno (Italy), which won the Final Four on Sunday. The location for the second tournament has yet to be decided, but will probably be somewhere in southern Europe, because of weather conditions. Barcelona is again candidate to organize the Final Four, as this weekend everyone was very satisfied about the organization of the event in the Spanish city.

At the moment, 11 of the 12 teams are known for next years European Cup Tournaments. Two teams will come from the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain, while San Marino, Germany and the Czech Republic will send one team each. The remaining team come from the European Cup Play-Off Tournament, which will be staged coming weekend in Antwerp (Belgium). There, organisor Royal Greys is the favorite to secure a Belgian spot in next years event.
(September 15)

With the finishes of Amsterdam and Pioniers now known, so are the combinations for the best-of-five Play-Offs, which open next Thursday. League-leader and reigning champion Corendon Kinheim opens at home against Konica Minolta Pioniers, while DOOR Neptunus is playing on home soil against L&D Amsterdam. The last two years, Kinheim and Pioniers faced each other in the Holland Series, so this means that there will be at least one new team in the final this season.

At the bottom of the ranking, ADO failed to hold onto a 4-3 lead against MediaMonks RCH, which rallied for six runs in the eighth inning and went on to win 10-7. With the loss, ADO will end the season in eighth and last place. The team from The Hague has one more make-up game (vs. Pioniers) left on Monday-evening. By finishing in last place, ADO now has to play a best-of-five Play-Off vs. Euro Stars, the champion of the First Division, with the winner to play in the highest league next season. Their series opens next Saturday at the site of Euro Stars in Capelle a/d IJssel.

At Rotterdam, Neptunus shutout Pioniers, 10-0 in eight innings. Pitchers Kevin Heijstek (7 innings) and Gregory Gustina (1 inning) held Pioniers to seven hits, while they were backed with eleven basehits, including three by Jeffrey Arends. Neptunus rallied for four runs in the second inning when Andy Leer (1-run) and Benjamin Dille (2-run) singled. In between, a run was scored on a basesloaded walk for Jeroen Sluijter. A sac-fly by Lennart Koster accounted for the fifth run in the sixth inning, then five runs were added in the eighth to reach the 10-run difference. In the eighth, Andy Leer doubled in the first run, then a wild pitch resulted in the second one. An error and a double play-grounder then made it 9-0. Finally, the tenth run was scored on a single by Dwayne Kemp, who recently completed his first professional season in the organisation of the Chicago Cubs. After playing seven games in the Rookie League, Kemp promoted to Short-Season Class-A, where he played 25 more games. Defensively, Pioniers committed three errors, but also turned four double plays.

At Haarlem, Sparta/Feyenoord won 4-2 at Kinheim. The home team took an 1-0 lead in the first inning on a 2-out single by Tjerk Smeets, but Sparta/Feyenoord tied the score in the next at bat when Rodney Michel reached on an error and scored on a grounder by Imco Rudolph. In the third, the Rotterdam-squad added three runs. Jan Baldee, another player who recently completed his first professional season (13 games, Rookie League, Houston Astros), led off with a single, moved on a sac-bunt and a single by Gino Henson, then scored on a single by Harvey Monte. A 2-out double by Jonathan Kopra enabled Henson to score, then Monte also scored when an error followed. Kinheim could add only one more run in the seventh inning on a throwing error. Rob Cordemans threw eight solid innings for Sparta/Feyenoord, struckout eight batters and raised his record to 9-0.

At The Hague, ADO was beaten 10-7 by RCH. After RCH had scored twice in the first at bat, ADO reacted with two runs of its own on a sac-fly by Dave Steward and a single by Niels Weis. Two runs were then added in the second inning on a double by Rodrinov Faries and a 2-out error. In the next at bat, ADO got the bases loaded with one out, but two infield pop-ups followed to end the inning. RCH got one run back in the fourth on a basesloaded walk, but then also left three runners behind. In the fifth, RCH got the bases loaded again with no outs, but failed to score, as ADO turned a double play on a line drive by Whitney Piers, then a flyout ended the inning. Trailing 4-3, RCH decided the game with a 6-run rally in the eighth inning, with only two runs being earned. Nick Heij singled in a run, as did Jakub Malik and Robin Longhurst, while two other runs were the result of an error and the sixth was a product of a wild pitch. In the inning, two position players, Sergeï Leon and Michel Korzeniewski took over the pitching, as it was stated that ADO wanted to save pitching for the Play-Off series against Euro Stars. ADO answered with three runs in its eighth on a single by Dimitri Leon and a 2-run single by Dave Steward, but ended up empty-handed, as RCH added one more run in the ninth. In the home of the ninth, RCH replaced its second baseman Nick Heij with two outs, as he is retiring. RCH-starter Jean-Paul Gulinck threw seven innings and struckout four to earn his first victory of the season.

At Bussum, Amsterdam won 3-1 vs. HCAW. Both teams had only three basehits, but HCAW committed seven defensive errors. HCAW opened the score in the fourth inning. With one out, Bart Gabriëls was hit by a pitch, then stole second and scored on a single by Randy Daal, which was the lone hit off Amsterdam-starter Ryan Murphy, who threw six innings and struckout four. Amsterdam was held hitless for five innings by starter Kyle Ward, who gave a lead-off single to Kenny Berkenbosch in the sixth inning. Ward then also gave up a lead-off (bunt)single in the seventh at bat to Maikel Benner, which would result in the tying run, as HCAW added two errors. Benner advanced on a sac-bunt, then moved when a fly hit was missed in the outfield and scored on a fielding error in the infield. Amsterdam added two unearned runs in the eighth, when three more errors were made by the HCAW-defense. Kenny Berkenbosch led off with his second hit of the game, then scored when a throwing error followed with two outs on a grounder by Wesley Connor. The latter then scored the next run on a basesloaded error. Rik Geestman took over the pitching for Murphy in the seventh inning and became the winning pitcher. Pim Walsma threw the ninth inning and earned his tenth save of the season.
(September 14)

Line Scores & Box Scores (Line Scores have been added)
Standings
Schedule

For the top-four, now that Kinheim has claimed first place, it also means that Neptunus will finish in second place. However, with only one more day left in the regular season, it is still not known who they will face in the best-of-five Play-Offs. And it might even come to the very last game of the season, a make-up game on Monday-evening, to determine not only the Play-Off combinations, but also the race for last place.
L&D Amsterdam currently is in third place with one game remaining, while Konica Minolta Pioniers is in fourth and has two games left, including the make-up game on Monday-evening. Both won their game on Saturday-afternoon. Let's have a look at the scenario's for Sunday.
An Amsterdam-win and Pioniers-loss on Sunday means the first will finish in third place and face Neptunus, while Pioniers will meet Kinheim.
A Pioniers-win and Amsterdam-loss on Sunday means the two teams are tied in points. In that case, Pioniers will finish in third place (whatever the outcome on Monday) as the tie-breaker will be the games played between the two teams during the regular season, which is 4-2 in favor of Pioniers.
When both Amsterdam and Pioniers win or both lose on Sunday, Monday's game will be decisive. A Pionier-victory then means it will finish in third place, while a loss will put them in fourth place.

In the cellar of the ranking, an RCH-win on Sunday means it secures its spot for next years big league, while ADO will finish in last place and has to play a Promotion/Relegation Play-Off.
When ADO also wins on Sunday, the make-up game on Monday will be decisive. When ADO also wins that match-up (vs. Pioniers), it will finish in a tie with RCH, meaning an one-game Play-Off has to be played to determine seventh and eighth place.

Saturday's games
At Rotterdam, Corendon Kinheim shutout Sparta/Feyenoord, 6-0. Lefthander Patrick Beljaards went the distance and threw a 2-hitter, while striking out three batters. With the win, Beljaards raised his record to 11-0. His No-Hitter ended with two outs in the sixth inning when speedy Shaldimar Daantji reached on an infield-hit. Daantji also accounted for the second basehit (another infield-hit) in the ninth inning. Kinheim scored twice in the third inning on a single by René Cremer (who was 4-for-5) and a sac-fly by Gregory Halman, who also batted in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth at bat. In the sixth, Vince Rooi doubled and scored on a single by Wouter Heemskerk to make it 4-0. Two runs were added in the seventh inning. With one out, Dirk van 't Klooster singled and Gregory Halman doubled, then both scored on a single by Tjerk Smeets to make it 6-0.

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam outscored Mr. Cocker HCAW 7-2 with Kenny Berkenbosch, who threw six innings, becoming the third 10-game winner of the season. The righthander raised his record to 10-2. Amsterdam decided the game early by scoring four (unearned) runs in the first inning in which the HCAW-defense committed three errors. Bas de Jong, who went 4-for-5 and scored twice, hit a 2-run double in the inning to raise his league-leading RBI-total to 42. The fifth run was added in the third inning on a double by Pavèl van Zaane, then two more runs followed in the seventh on singles by Ryan Murphy and Wesley Connor. HCAW scored its first run in the sixth inning when Jermaine Esprit tripled and scored on a single by Laurens Dammers. The second run was the result of a homerun by Adrian Anthony in the seventh.

At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers won 7-4 vs. DOOR Neptunus. All runs in the game were scored on homeruns. Neptunus took an 1-0 lead in the second inning when Martijn Meeuwis homered, but Pioniers answered with a homerun of itself in the fourth at bat. The difference was that the home team had two runners on base when Dè Flanegin homered. In the next at bat, Pioniers homered again, but this time with the bases loaded. With Glenn Romney, Mark Duursma and Dè Flanegin (who all walked) on base, Edwin de Graaf hit a grand slam homerun off Berry van Driel, who relieved Diegomar Markwell earlier in the inning, increasing the lead to 7-1. Markwell failed to become this season's fourth 10-game winner and now is 9-5 instead. In the ninth inning, Neptunus homered again. Daan de Jong came on in relief for starter Roger Kops, but walked Benjamin Dille and Raily Legito. Next, Sharnol Adriana did why he was obtained recently and hit a 3-run homerun. De Jong was quickly replaced by Dave Draijer, who secured the win and earned his seventh save.

At Heemstede, ADO defeated MediaMonks RCH, 5-2, despite committing five errors and starting pitcher Brent Henry walking nine batters in seven innings. ADO took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when the RCH-defense committed two errors. RCH reacted with one run in its fourth. First, Nick Heij was thrown out at the plate, then Petr Baroch scored on a single by Jakub Malik. ADO took a decisive lead in the sixth inning by scoring three runs. After one run was added on an error, Michel Korzeniewski followed with a 2-run double to make it 5-1. RCH was able to score only one more run in the seventh when Ferd van Stekelenburg scored on an error.
(September 13)

Line Scores & Box Scores (Line Scores have been added)
Standings
Schedule

In his second Major League-game for the Washington Nationals, the 21-year old rookie had a good pitch location, threw fastballs in the low 90s and had a great changeup, but didn't got enough offensive support from his teammates, who left eleven runners behind on the bases. The Nationals took an 1-0 lead in the second inning against the Florida Marlins when Anderson Hernandez doubled home Willie Harris. The Marlins came alongside with a historic homerun in the fourth inning. Jorge Cantu then hit a delivery from Martis over the fence for his 25th homerun of the season, meaning four Marlins-infielders now all have at least 25 homeruns, which is a first in Major League-history.

Florida scored its second run in the sixth inning. With Hanley Ramirez on second base and no outs, John Baker grounded the ball back to Martis, who then quickly turned around, threw the ball to short stop Cristian Guzman and got Ramirez in a rundown. However, Guzman threw the ball on the back of Ramirez, who then was able to score the second run and make it 2-1. The blame was a little on Martis. He should have chased the runner back to the bag, instead of making a quick throw. ,,But he's here to learn'', Manager Manny Acta said afterwards. On the other hand, a good throw by the experienced Guzman probably would have eliminated Ramirez. Martis was relieved after three batters in the sixth inning.

Outfielder Rogearvin Bernadina, the second Dutch national team-player on the Washinton-roster, didn't play in this game.
(September 12)

...CEB-President Martin Miller, IBAF Secretary General John Ostermeyer... ...and Italian Federation President Riccardo Fraccari in Regensburg... (Photo: Riccardo Schiroli - FIBS)

In the preliminary round, 20 countries will play in five pools, to be staged in five European cities. As The Netherlands and Italy are the host countries of the second round, they have a bye for the preliminary round.

The alignment for the preliminary round, which will be played from Wednesday, September 9 through Saturday, September 12, is as follows:
Pool A (Prague, Czech Republic) - Czech Republic, Australia, Taiwan, number 3 American continent
Pool B (Barcelona, Spain) - Spain, Cuba, South Africa, number 1 American continent
Pool C (Stockholm, Sweden) - Sweden, Korea, Canada, number 4 American continent
Pool D (Moscow, Russia) - Russia, Japan, number 2 American continent - Great Britain or France
Pool E (Regensburg, Germany) - Germany, USA, China, number 5 American continent

Before October 1, it will be announced whether Great Britain or France will participate.
On September 26, the Qualification Tournament for the American continent will open in Venezuela, with the best five countries qualifying for the World Cup.
The eight countries which participated in last months Olympic Games in Beijing automatically qualified for the World Cup.

The best two countries of each pool will qualify for the second round. From the five numbers three, the top-four also will advance, meaning the fifth team and the five numbers four will be eliminated.

The alignment for the second round, to be played Monday, September 14 through Sunday, September 20, is as follows:
Pool 1 (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) - Nr. 1 Pool D, Nr. 1 Pool E, Nr. 1 Pool B, Nr. 2 Pool B, Nr. 1 numbers 3, Nr. 3 numbers 3, Nr. 4 numbers 3, The Netherlands.
Pool 2 (various cities, Italy) - Nr. 1 Pool C, Nr. 1 Pool A, Nr. 2 Pool A, Nr. 2 Pool C, Nr. 2 Pool D, Nr. 2 Pool E, Nr. 2 numbers 3, Italy.

From here, the top-four of each pool will advance to the final round, to be played September 22 through 27 in the Italian capital Rome.
(September 12)

The postponement marked the fourth time the game has been canceled due to weather conditions in one week. It initially was scheduled for last Sunday, but then rained out. It was then also canceled on both Monday and Tuesday, followed by tonight's scrubbing.
(September 12)

Standings
Schedule

Jurrjens pitched for the Dutch Team during the World Baseball Classic in March 2006 and was on the shortlist for this years Olympic Games. However, because he was on a Major League-roster, he wasn't eligible to be selected for the Olympics. The Curaçao-born Jurrjens, who is with the Braves the entire season, struckout ten batters in six innings in which he also allowed four runs. When the 22-year old rookie left the mound, the Rockies were leading 4-3. However, in the bottom of the sixth, the Braves rallied for five runs, highlighted by a 3-run homerun by Yunel Escobar, that turned the game around and made Jurrjens the winning pitcher. The righthander is now 13-9. His thirteen victories are the most amongst all ML-rookies at the moment. The Atlanta-record for most wins by a rookie is 15, set in 1983 by Craig McMurtry. Jurrjens will have three more starts in the remainder of this season. With the win, the Braves completed a 3-game sweep vs. the Rockies, which last year reached the World Series, but that probably will not happen this time.

Last week, the Braves played a 4-game series vs. the Washington Nationals, but it didn't come to an all-Curaçao start then. In the first game, Shairon Martis made his ML-debut for the Nationals, then Jurrjens threw the second game for the Braves.
(September 11)

At Haarlem, league-leader Corendon Kinheim nipped MediaMonks RCH, 2-1. Kinheim broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning when Vince Rooi reached on an error, advanced to third base on a single by Roel Koolen and scored on a sac-fly by Jeffrey Verbij. The second run was added in the sixth at bat. Gregory Halman, who recently finished his pro-season in then organisation of the Seattle Mariners in the States, led off with a single, moved on a single by his brother Jason and a grounder by Bryan Engelhardt and then scored on a sac-fly by Rooi. RCH scored its lone run in the seventh inning off starter David Bergman, who gave up a lead-off single in the first inning to Nick Heij, but then retired the next 14 batters in a row, before a batter reached base in the sixth inning. In the seventh, Tomas Casa reached on an error with one out, moved on a single by Ferd van Stekelenburg and a passed ball, then scored on a sac-fly by Whitney Pierce. Bergman gave up only three hits in the eighth innings he threw and raised his record to 8-1. Michiel van Kampen threw the ninth inning to earn his eleventh save of the season.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus won 8-1 at Sparta/Feyenoord. Trailing 1-0, Neptunus rallied for six runs in the second inning off starter Tim Roodenburg. All runs were scored with two outs and all were unearned. With two outs, Jeffrey Arends walked, then Andy Leer reached second base on a throwing error. The two scored when Lennart Koster followed with a single. Later in the at bat, another error followed, then singles by Benjamin Dille and Sharnol Adriana, a basesloaded walk and a wild pitch accounted for the remaining runs. In the seventh inning, two runs were added on singles by Andy Leer and Rien Vernooij. Neptunus-starter Leon Boyd threw seven innings in which he struckout eight and gave up five hits to become the second 10-game winner of the season. Boyd is now 10-2.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW won 5-1 vs. ADO, which took an 1-0 lead in the first inning when Dimitri Leon reached on a throwing error and went on to score on another error. It was to be ADO's lone run in the game, as HCAW-starter Kevin Roovers got more defensive support in the remainder of the game and gave up only three hits in the last eight innings. However, it took until the seventh inning for HCAW to come alongside when Juriën Overman (fielder's choice) scored on a 2-out single by Laurens Dammers. Moments later, the latter scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error. HCAW added three more (unearned) runs in the eighth inning on a 2-run single by Siemen Korff and an RBI-single by rookie Tim Berrier.

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam defeated Konica Minolta Pioniers, 6-3. Trailing 1-0, Amsterdam scored twice in the fourth inning off starter Conrad Orman. First, Wesley Connor scored the tying run on a throwing error, which enabled Remco Draijer to reach third base. He then scored on a grounder by Marvin Bleij. In the sixth inning, two runs were added. Sidney de Jong singled, resulting in a pitching change, but new pitcher Jan Rehacek was then greeted with a 2-run homerun by Fausto Álvarez Rizo. Pioniers reacted with two runs in the eighth. With one out, Michael Duursma tripled and Mervin Gario walked. They then scored on a single by pinch-hitter Glenn Romney and a throwing error. Amsterdam got both runs back in its eighth on a 2-out, 2-run single by Remco Draijer. Pim Walsma threw the last 1 2/3 inning to earn his ninth save of the season.
(September 11)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

...Shairon Martis in Beijing... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

The 21-year old Curacao-born Martis made his Major League-debut on September 4, only a few days after returning from the Olympic Games in Beijing, where he was a member of the Dutch National Baseball Team.

On September 4, Martis threw five innings against the Atlanta Braves and was the losing pitcher in a 2-0 loss. The righthander gave up both runs, struckout two, walked five and gave up four hits.

Also making his debut then was catcher Luke Montz, who was the battery-mate of Martis in the Minor League. It was the first time in Washington's history that both a pitcher and catcher played in their first Major League-game together.
(September 11)

In the seventh inning, Pioniers scored three runs to take an 8-5 lead. With one out, Jefferson Muzo reached on an infield-hit and advanced to third on a failed pick-off attempt. He then scored when next batter Tjerk Hoogervorst tripled. After Michael Duursma walked, pitcher Nick Veltkamp was relieved by Onno Baur, but he gave up a 2-out, 2-run single to Dè Flanegin.

In the game, seven players weren't allowed to play, as they were suspended for their part in the bench-clearing brawl which stopped the game on May 18. Coincidentally, the three players who scored all were replacement players. Before the remainder of the game started, Kinheim filed a protest, so this game isn't finished yet!
(September 10)

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At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord scored once in the first inning and that was enough to win its rain-shortened game against MediaMonks RCH, which was halted after 4 1/2 innings. In the first at bat, lead-off batter Shaldimar Daantji reached on an error and stole second base, then scored on an one-out double by Rodney Michel. Sparta/Feyenoord-pitcher Rob Cordemans gave up only one hit in the five innings he threw and raised his record to 8-0. He struckout seven.

Also at Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus trailed 2-1 vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, but then rallied for seven runs in the fourth inning to win 8-2. This game also was stopped after 4 1/2 innings. In the third, Rien Vernooij led off with a homerun for Neptunus, but in the fourth, HCAW scored twice. Bart Gabriëls led off with a single, moved on a grounder, then scored the tying run on a 2-out single by Siemen Korff. After rookie Joep van Els (who did the catching) was hit by a pitch, Korff scored on a single by another rookie, Tim Berrier, who had registered his first big league-hit the inning before. In the home of the fourth, HCAW's rookie-pitcher Lars Siahaya walked the first two batters he faced, then gave up a 2-run double to Jeffrey Arends, which was folowed by an RBI-triple by Andy Leer. Later in the inning, Derick Francisca added a 2-run double to make it 8-2.

At The Hague, the game between ADO and Konica Minolta Pioniers was halted by rain.
(September 9)

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Standings
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At Bussum, DOOR Neptunus registered another big shutout-win vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, winning 12-0.

At Haarlem, Corendon Kinheim won 4-2 vs. L&D Amsterdam in a game, which was halted by rain after five innings.
(September 7)

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At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus shutout Mr. Cocker HCAW, 8-0, while Konica Minolta Pioniers won 8-2 vs. ADO, playing at home. Also playing on home soil, L&D Amsterdam was beaten 10-7 by Corendon Kinheim.
(September 6)

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Standings
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At The Hague, Neptunus won 11-1 at ADO to secure itself of a spot in the top-four.

At Rotterdam, Amsterdam won 4-3 in eleven innings at Sparta/Feyenoord and therefore also reached the top-four. The loss of Sparta/Feyenoord meant that Pioniers (which lost its game) also qualified. The Rotterdam-team theoretically can finish in a tie for fourth place with Pioniers, but the results of the games played between the two teams are in favor of Pioniers and that's the tie-breaker for the fourth place.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW ended a losing streak by winning 6-0 vs. MediaMonks RCH.

At Hoofddorp, Corendon Kinheim won 4-1 at Pioniers.
(September 4)

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At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers won 8-7 vs. ADO, which still is in last place.
(September 3)

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Two games were re-scheduled for Wednesday-evening (Konica Minolta Pioniers vs. ADO and MediaMonks RCH vs. Sparta/Feyenoord). The third game (DOOR Neptunus vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW has been re-scheduled for next Friday.
(September 2)

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At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers handed Mr. Cocker HCAW a big 13-0 loss, while L&D Amsterdam did the same to MediaMonks RCH in Heemstede, 11-1.
(August 31)

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At Haarlem, three Kinheim-pitchers gave up only five hits to Neptunus. The scoreless tie was broken in the sixth inning when Danny Rombley scored on a single by Tjerk Smeets. The second run was added in the eighth when René Cremer doubled and scored on a force play-grounder.

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord was leading 2-1 when ADO came alongside in the ninth inning. In the home of the at bat, Sparta/Feyenoord got the bases loaded, then pinch-runner Rubinet Koko, who ran for Percy Isenia, scored the winning run on a bunt-single by Nick Eppinga.

At Bussum, Konica Minolta Pioniers won 11-2 at Mr. Cocker HCAW, which therefore was officially eliminated for the Play-Offs.

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam defeated MediaMonks RCH, 5-3.
(August 30)

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Starting Pitchers coming days

Initially, it was ruled that Pioniers was the team to blame for halting the game, which was declared a victory for Kinheim. But now, it has been ruled that the game wasn't stopped due to the behavior of Pioniers, meaning Kinheim has to hand in its victory and the game has to be finished from the seventh inning with the 5-5 score at a to be decided date.
(August 29)

At Rotterdam, L&D Amsterdam won 8-5 at DOOR Neptunus, which used four pitchers, who gave up 13 basehits combined, including three by Ryan Murphy. Amsterdam took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Zaïr Koeiman hit a 2-run double and scored himself on a single by Maikel Benner. Neptunus came alongside in the next at bat on singles by Andy Leer and Benjamin Dille and a fielder's choice grounder. However, Amsterdam re-took the lead in the fifth inning by scoring three more runs off starter Leon Boyd. Ryan Murphy then hit a 2-run single, while the third run followed later on an error. In the seventh and eighth inning, two more runs were added on relievers Gregory Gustina and Berry van Driel. Neptunus managed to add two more runs in the eighth on three back-to-back doubles by Benjamin Dille, Martijn Meeuwis and Derick Francisca, but couldn't turn the game around in its favor. Amsterdam-starter Jos de Jong gave up nine hits in 7 1/3 inning, but Neptunus had only two productive at bats off him.

At Heemstede, Konica Minolta Pioniers won 11-2 at MediaMonks RCH, collecting 16 basehits, including four by Glenn Romney and Mark Duursma. After scoring once and leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Pioniers rallied for four runs in the second inning on an error and consecutive singles by Romney, Duursma and Jourick Blanco. In the sixth, Blanco added a 2-run homerun, then Pioniers scored two more runs in both the eighth and ninth inning. RCH scored its first run in the second inning on an error, then added its second in the fourth inning when Tomas Casa homered. Trailing 11-2 and in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, RCH-batter Nick Heij was ejected when arguing balls and strikes after a strikeout.

At The Hague, league-leader Corendon Kinheim handed ADO an 8-1 loss. After scoring twice in the first inning, the Haarlem-club rallied for six runs in the second inning, which was highlighted by a 2-run double by Bryan Engelhardt, who also doubled in a run in the first at bat. But hereafter, Kinheim added no more runs and hit only two more basehits in the remainder of the game. ADO, which stranded 15 runners, including the bases loaded in the second and sixth inning, scored its lone run in the seventh inning on an infield-hit by Sergeï Leon.

At Bussum, Sparta/Feyenoord won 3-1 at Mr. Cocker HCAW. Sorry, no information available.
(August 28)

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The 37-year old Adriana this year played professionally for Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz in Mexico, but that season has ended. The switch-hitter arrives in Rotterdam on Saturday, then is eligible to play for Neptunus in Sunday's game against league-leader Corendon Kinheim. Adriana never played in the Dutch League before, but is a member of the Dutch National Team since 2000, playing in more than 100 games for the national squad primarily as a first baseman or designated hitter. Besides the Beijing Olympics, Adriana also participated in the Olympics of 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens.
(August 27)

After arriving on Schiphol International Airport, the team was bussed, excorted by police and two Apache-helicopters, to the historic Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, the site of the 1928 Olympics. There, the team was welcomed by 27.000 fans and family-members and Amsterdam's Mayor Job Cohen, while singers Wolter Croes, Alain Clark, Jeroen van den Boom and Jan Smit performed.
(August 25)

Korea set the tone for the game in the first inning. With one out, Yon-Kyu Lee singled, then scored when powerhitter Seung-Yuop Lee hit a homerun with two outs. Cuba reacted with a homerun by Michel Enriquez in its first, but from there Korean starter Hyun-Jin Ryu dominated. In eight innings, Ryu struckout seven batters, walked none and gave up only four hits, before being relieved in the ninth.

In the first six innings, only two Cuban players reached base. Besided Enriquez hitting a homerun in the first, Alfredo Despaigne doubled with two outs in the fifth at bat. In the seventh inning, Korea added an important insurance run when Jin-Man Park singled with two outs and scored on a double by Yon-Kyu Lee to make it 3-1. The run proved to be important, as Alexei Bell hit a 2-out homerun in the home of the seventh to narrow the deficit to 3-2.

In the ninth inning, Cuba threatened to come back after all, as it has done in numerous occassions in previous games and tournaments. But this time, they were left empty-handed. Hector Olivera led off the ninth with a single, then advanced on a sac-bunt by Michel Enriquez. The bases then got loaded when Ryu, who got a great control, walked two batters. After Frederich Cepeda walked, Alexei Bell also got a free pass and this resulted in a reaction by Korean catcher Min-Ho Kang towards Puerto Rican Home Plate Umpire Carlos Rey Cotto. Kang was ejected and was replaced. At the same time, Korea also decided to change pitchers. With the bases loaded Yulieski Gourriel (another powerhitter, whose father Lourdes decided the final of the 1988 World Cup-final in Italy with a walk-off homerun) went after the first pitch he saw, but grounded into a game-ending double play.
(August 23)

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. Korea

Against Canada, the team had only two basehits. An one-out single by Roel Koolen in the sixth inning and a lead-off single by Percy Isenia in the ninth at bat. The Canadian pitchers faced only one batter over the mininum, 28, as in the first eight innings only three Dutch batters appeared in the batter's box each time. In the ninth, four batters faced Canadian pitching. In the first inning, Michael Duursma led off by reaching on an error, but was then eliminated in a double play. From here, 15 batters were retired in order, before Koolen's single in the sixth, but he also became the victim of a double play. In the eighth, Bryan Engelhardt walked, but Canada then turned its third double play. Isenia became the lone runner to be left behind by the Dutch squad.

The Dutch defense turned two double plays of its own, but starting pitcher Shairon Martis, who struckout five batters (including three in the first inning), gave up a run in the third, then two more in the fourth inning. The fourth Canadian run was scored in the eighth off reliever Diegomar Markwell.
(August 19)

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. Canada

...Maarten Koper (left) with Marco Stoovelaar (Media Officer Dutch Softball Team... ...and KNBSB-Boardmember André van Overbeek at the Cuba-game...

Trailing 1-0, the Dutch tied the score in the second inning when Bryan Engelhardt homered, then took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when Danny Rombley singled and scored on a double by Yurendell de Caster. Michael Duursma, who had reached on a fielder's choice, also tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate.

The Dutch team led 2-1 for four innings, played some strong defense and got a good outing from rookie-starter Juan Carlos Sulbaran, who had a shaky first inning, but then recovered. However, in the fifth inning, Cuba took charge of the game. Sulbaran needed more pitches, a double play wasn't made, an error followed and Cuba rallied for five runs to take a 6-1 lead. Sulbaran's relievers David Bergman, Dave Draijer and Pim Walsma also were unable to stop the Cuban offense and gave up 12 more hits and nine more runs. In the seventh inning, Percy Isenia homered for the Dutch team, but at that moment, it trailed 10-2.

Attending the baseball-game was Maarten Koper, who is the Physical Therapist of the succesfull Dutch Olympic Judo-squad, but has been the Physical Therapist for the Dutch Baseball Team for 22 years until 2002.
(August 18)

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. Cuba

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. China

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. Japan

After the first 13 batters were retired in order, Strasburg lost his Perfect Game when Sidney de Jong walked in the fifth inning. In the seventh at bat, he also lost his No-Hitter when Sharnol Adriana lined a single into rightfield with one out.

The USA had scored early in the game, including a run on a solo-homerun by Matt Brown in the second and a 3-run homerun by Matt Laporta in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead after four innings. Dutch starter Shairon Martis was relieved by Diegomar Markwell in the fifth, who was replaced an inning later with two runners on base and one out by Pim Walsma. The rookie gave up an additional run in the seventh at bat, then was relieved in the eighth by Michiel van Kampen, who walked the only batter he faced, as the game was interrupted by rain (and lightning an thunder) at that moment for 1 1/2 hour.

When the game resumed, Dave Draijer took over the pitching, but was hit on his arm by a batted ball and had to leave the game, having thrown only three pitches. An X-ray photo was taken and that showed no fractures or serious injury, but Draijer is on a day-to-day status. Draijer was replaced by Leon Boyd, who completed the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, trailing 7-0, the Dutch team got three runners on base with no outs when another rain-delay halted the game. The game was later declared valid after another long delay. The Dutch team filed a protest against the not-resuming of the game, as Manager Robert Eenhoorn was handed a note during the second delay that a game could be stopped definitively when a delay lasts 90 minutes. As this was not mentioned in previously handed out tournament rules, the Dutch team protested the decision, but that was rejected. By the way, the first delay also lasted 90 minutes, but hereafter the game did resume.
(August 14)

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. USA

Live Play-by-Play and Box Score Netherlands vs. Chinese Taipei

The Dutch team had four basehits in the 7-inning, 2-hour contest, including two by Sidney de Jong, who doubled with one out in the second inning, but stranded at second base. De Jong also singled with one out in the fourth inning. In the third inning, the Dutch opened the score when Roel Koolen walked with one out, moved on a grounder and scored on a double by Yurendell de Caster, who played at third base tonight. The fourth Dutch basehit was a single by Michael Duursma with two outs in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Canada came alongside on a homerun off reliever Pim Walsma, who had started the inning in relief of Alexander Smit, who himself had taken over the pitching for starter Diegomar Markwell in the fourth at bat. Leon Boyd completed the game by throwing the seventh inning. The four pitchers combined gave up six basehits.

In the meantine, Dave Draijer has arrived in the Chinese capital. Draijer replaces Loek van Mil on the Olympic roster, after the latter sustainded an elbow-injury during practice last Thursday and returned back to the USA.
(August 9)

The Koreans sealed the game, watched by some 4500 spectators, against the Dutch with a 5-run rally in the third inning of starter Rob Cordemans, who wasn't happy with the strike zone of the Korean home plate umpire.

The Dutch team scored its first run in the fourth inning when Yurendell de Caster doubled and scored on a single by Dirk van 't Klooster. In the home of the fourth, Van 't Klooster missed a hit by Jong-Wook Lee, enabling Kab-Yong Jin to score form second base, while Lee himself scored on an inside-the-park-homerun, making it 7-1.

Trailing 8-1 in the seventh inning, Tjerk Smeets, Roel Koolen and Danny Rombley were on base with no outs, but only Smeets was able to score on a sac-fly by Sharnol Adriana. In its seventh, the Koreans lifted the lead to 10-2.

Rob Cordemans, who gave up seven hits, was relieved in the fourth inning with two outs by Diegomar Markwell, who gave up five more hits in the next three at bats. Michiel van Kampen closed the game and gave up no hits in the remaining 1 1/3 inning. The Dutch team collected eight hits off four pitchers, including two by De Caster.
(August 4)

Sharnol Adriana, Jae-Hong Park and Cuba Ariel Pestano qualified for the final during the preliminary round before the game. Adriana won in a tie-break from Tjerk Smeets, while Percy Isenia was the third Dutch participant.

30.000 spectators saw Adriana hit seven homeruns in the final, next Pestano hit only one, but then Park also hit seven, forcing a tie-breaker. Next, both Adriana and Park were taking turns to hit and it was Park, the hero of local club SK Wyvense, who won the tie-break and earned 2000 dollar.
(August 3)

In the beautiful Munhak Baseball Stadium, five Dutch pitcher suffered control-problems and walked ten batters combined. Offensively, the Cubans registered 15 basehits, while the Dutch had only five. Michael Duursma, who had two hits, and Sidney de Jong were the only Dutch players to reach second base.

Dutch starter Alexander Smit walked the first three Cuban batters. A sacrifice fly and two basehits resulted in a quick 3-0 lead for Cuba. In the second inning, Smit gave up two more hits, walked another batter and, with the score 4-0, was replaced by rookie Juan Carlos Sulbaran. The 18-year old Sulbaran was greeted with a single by Alfredo Despaigne, which made it 5-0.

Pim Walsma, Michiel van Kampen and Loek van Mil also threw for the Dutch in the remainder of the game.
(August 3)

Joining Adriana, Isenia and Smeets will be eight Korean powerhitters and three from Cuba. The final round of the Homerun Derby, in which the best hitter of each of the three countries from the preliminary round participates, will be held between the fifth and sixth inning. The winner wins 2000 dollar! Three weeks ago, Tjerk Smeets won a Homerun Contest during the Haarlem Baseball Week.
(August 2)

...The Dutch Baseball Team is joined by Dutch Olympic rowing-athletes... ...at the party hosted by the Dutch ambassador... (Photo: Rienette van Zetten)

Starting pitcher Leon Boyd threw six innings in which he struckout three batters and walked one. Diegomar Markwell, Michiel van Kampen and Loek van Mil then threw one inning each, but kept the No-Hitter intact. Van Mil gave up the lone Korean run in the ninth inning after a walk, stolen base, balk and sacrifice fly.

The Dutch team took an 1-0 lead in the second inning when Sidney de Jong scored on a grounder by Dirk van 't Klooster. The second run was then scored in the fifth inning by Percy Isenia, who had two of the six Dutch basehits and was 2-for-2. The other Dutch hits were registered by Roel Koolen (1-for-3), Bryan Engelhardt (1-for-3), Eugene Kingsale (1-for-4) and Raily Legito (1-for-4).

The last Dutch national team-pitcher to threw a No-Hitter was Shairon Martis. On Friday, March 10, 2006, Martis threw a 7-inning No-Hitter vs. Panama during the World Baseball Classic in San Juan (Puerto Rico). The Dutch won that game, 10-0. Before 2006, the last No-Hitter was thrown in 2003 when Eelco Jansen and Patrick de Lange both threw one. Jansen during the European Championships, De Lange during the Olympic Qualifier. Both events then took place in the Netherlands.
(August 1)

Roy Berrevoets took over the coaching after a tumultuous 2006 season and is in his second full season with the club, which currently is in sixth place. With ten games remaining in the regular season, the team is eight games out of fourth place, which qualifies for the Play-Offs.
(July 31)

After losing its first 15 games at home, finally there was an 'X' in the ninth inning column for ADO. But it could have been otherwise, as opponent Mr. Cocker HCAW scored twice in the ninth and treathened to score more. After leaving three runners in the first three innings, ADO scored its first run in the fourth inning off starter Kevin Roovers when Dave Steward led off with a double, moved on a grounder and scored on a single by Quensley Bazoer. ADO made it 2-0 in the next at bat when Dimitri Leon this time led off with a double, advanced on a sac-bunt by Rodrinov Faries and scored on a sac-fly by Jaïr Roseburg. In the eighth inning, ADO added an insurance run, which happened to be right that. Facing new pitcher Fernando José Gutierrez Gutierrez, Jaïr Roseburg led off with a single, then scored on an one-out double by Dave Steward to make it 3-0.

After being held scoreless for seven innings, HCAW scored twice in the ninth inning. ADO-starter Alex Smith saw only four batters reach base in the first eight innings and gave up only two hits (a bunt-single and an infield-hit). Jermaine Esprit reached base twice and stole three bases, but stranded at third and second base. From the second throught the sixth inning, Smith retired 13 batters in a row. In the ninth, Ronald Jaarsma and Jermaine Esprit led off with singles, then the first scored on an one-out double by Bart Gabriëls. Next, Sidney Ensermo walked to load the bases, but then Shurty Tremus struckout. Smith then also walked Siemen Korff, bringing in a run and was relieved by Erik Remmerswaal. He faced only one batter, as Juriën Overman's grounder ended in a force play, leaving three runners behind and ended the game.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus defeated Sparta/Feyenoord, 10-2 and scored seven unearned runs (which were the first seven). Starter Diegomar Markwell walked five batters and gave up seven hits, but was the winning pitcher. Raily Legito homered for Neptunus.

At Heemstede, Corendon Kinheim won 9-1 at MediaMonks RCH.
At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers won big vs. L&D Amsterdam, 10-2.
(July 24)

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Standings
Schedule

Bernadina was a possibility to be added to the Olympic Roster, as Eenhoorn announced on the final day of the Haarlem Baseball Week when he named his roster. However, Bernadina decided to remain with his team, the Columbus Clippers, the triple-A team of the Washington Nationals. A few weeks ago, Bernadina was recalled to the Major League, but after three weeks returned to triple-A.
(July 24)

Van den Hurk threw threw first five innings and gave up no basehits, while striking out seven batters and walking four. He was relieved in the sixth by Joe Nelson, who gave up a lead-off single to Chipper Jones, which was to be the Braves lone hit of the game. After the single, the Marlins-reliever retired the next 12 batters in a row. In the fourth inning, Van den Hurk walked the first three batters, then struckout the next two and got out of the inning with a pop-fly. Van den Hurk again had great stuff, throwing 93 to 95 mph fastballs and an effective slider, nicknamed the 'Holland Hammer'.

In the home of the fourth, the Marlins scored three runs when Mike Jacobs hit a 3-run homerun, which was the first hit of the game.
(July 22)

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus won 4-0 vs. MediaMonks RCH, but got only six hits, as three RCH-pitchers walked 11 batters. Neptunus scored twice in the third on singles by Lennart Koster and Martijn Meeuwis, then added two runs in the seventh inning on a wild pitch and a sac-fly by Jeffrey Arends.

At The Hague, L&D Amsterdam won 10-0 vs. ADO on 11 basehits, including a homerun by Zaïr Koeiman. Jos de Jong went the distance and threw a 7-inning 3-hitter.

At Bussum, Corendon Kinheim shutout Mr. Cocker HCAW, 8-0. No details yet.
(July 22)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

Van den Hurk takes the roster-spot of RHP Jesus Delgado, who was send down to the Carolina Mudcats, the double-A team of the Marlins. In the pitching rotation, Rick takes the spot of LHP Andrew Miller, who is injured.

Initially, Rick started the season on the Major League-roster for the Marlins as the number 2 starter. He started on April 1 vs. New York Mets and April 6 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the righthander gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 inning and was send down the Double-A. After he was sidelined there with an injury, he returned to the mound and made ten starts for the Mudcats, going 3-3 with a 4.23 ERA.
(July 22)

The three games that rained out last Saturday, have been scheduled for next Tuesday, July 22.

The three games that were canceled last Thursday and were initially scheduled for Tuesday, have now been moved to Tuesday, September 2.
(July 20)

Schedule

At Haarlem, league-leader Corendon Kinheim won 10-2 vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, which had only five hits off starter Robin van Eis. The rookie threw six innings, then Duko Jansen threw the remaining three innings to earn a save. Kinheim decided the game with a 4-run rally in the third inning, scoring runs on singles by Danny Rombley and Dirk van 't Klooster and a 2-run, 2-out double by Bryan Engelhardt. After scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth inning, Kinheim scored three more runs in the sixth. In this at bat, René Cremer singled in two runs, while the other was batted in by a single off the bat of Tjerk Smeets. HCAW scored its runs in the fourth and sixth inning, thanks to a sac-fly and a grounder.

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam shutout ADO, 11-0 on ten basehits. Kenny Berkenbosch went the distance for Amsterdam and gave up only five basehits to ADO, which was led for the first time by Bart Volkerijk. The former ADO-pitcher took over the coaching from Ron Steward two weeks ago, but saw his first two games rain out on Thursday and Saturday. Volkerijk coached the team earlier in 1995 and 1996 and was interim Head Coach for three games in 1998.
Amsterdam rallied for four runs in the second inning to set the tone. With the bases loaded, Ryan Murphy tripled in three runs, then scored himself on a sac-fly by next batter Björn Henrichs. Leading 7-0, Amsterdam scored three more runs in the fifth at bat, scoring on an error, a single by Remco Draijer (who was 3-for-4 with two doubles) and a sac-fly. For ADO, which reached third base only once, Jaïr Roseburg hit two doubles.

At Heemstede, DOOR Neptunus also won 11-0 at MediaMonks RCH, collecting 15 basehits, including four by Eugene Kingsale. RCH used six pitchers, while the three Neptunian pitchers gave up only six hits. Leading 2-0, Neptunus rallied for seven runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding lead.
Leading 2-0, Neptunus decided the game with a 7-run rally in the fourth at bat. In the inning, seven hits were registered, including a 2-run double by Derick Francisca, who had three RBI's in the game, as did Martijn Meeuwis, who hit a 2-run homerun in the sixth. All nine players in the Neptunus batting order scored at least once and hit at least one basehit.

At Rotterdam, Konica Minolta Pioniers strenghtened its fourth place by winning 4-3 vs. Sparta/Feyenoord in another exciting game. Pioniers scored twice in the first inning. Norbert Lokhorst doubled with one out, then scored when a throwing error was made on a grounder by Glenn Romney. The latter got into scoring position after a failed pick-off attempt, then scored on a single by Mark Duursma. Another error followed on a fly by Mark-Jan Moorman, but this was reversed into a fielder's choice, as Duursma was forced out at second base. Two walks loaded the bases, but then a strikeout ended the inning.
Sparta/Feyenoord came back with a run in the fifth when Rodney Michel singled and scored on a single by Imco Rudolph, which led to a pitching change. Pioniers took more distance by scoring runs in the seventh and eighth inning. In the seventh, Mark Duursma doubled in a run, in the eighth, the run was scored on a single by Bart Sabel.
Sparta/Feyenoord came back to 4-3 in the eighth inning. With one out, they got the bases loaded and closer Dave Draijer took over the pitching for Pioniers, but gave up an RBI-single to Rodney Michel, which was followed by an outfield-error, resulting in another run. But Draijer then ended the inning with a strikeout. Sparta/Feyenoord got three more runners in the ninth, but failed to add more runs.
(July 20)

Line Scores & Box Scores updated
Standings
Schedule

The board of the club took the decision on Sunday-morning. ,,Sportively seen, it was not realizable, because of the regular season'', Chairman Peter Jager said. ,,We will now focus on becoming Dutch champion again. Other arguments were not needed to take this decision.''

By reaching the final of the European Cup Tournament in Grosseto (Italy) in June, Kinheim qualified for the Final Four, as did host Grosseto. In the tournament in Regensburg (Germany), finalists FC Barcelona (Spain) and Nettuno (Italy) also qualified for the event in Barcelona, where the winner captures the European Champions Cup.

On September 13 and 14, the two scheduled days for the Final Four, Kinheim is playing two games vs. Sparta/Feyenoord in the final round of the regular season. The Thursday thereafter, the Play-Offs will open. One of the possibilities is that DOOR Neptunus, who was eliminated in the semi-final in Regensburg, will be invited to take the Dutch spot for the Final Four.
(July 20)

The Dutch team trailed 6-0 (!) when the bottom of the sixth inning began, but then they started to come back. The Dutch defense committed several errors in the first five innings, leading to single runs in each of these at bat, while the Russian offense collected only three basehits in this period. In the sixth inning, Russia added a run to make it 6-0, but then the turn-around came.

In the home of the sixth inning, the Dutch rallied for five runs, highlighted by a 3-run double by Urving Kemp. Kevin Nieveld and Jillian Cijntje also had RBI-doubles in this at bat. After a scoreless Russian seventh inning, the Dutch team came alongside in the home of the at bat. Rodney Daal singled and advanced on an error and a sac-bunt, then scored when Nieveld singled, forcing extra innings.

In the eighth, the Russians again didn't score, but in the home of the eighth, the Dutch did. Peter van Doesburg doubled, then scored when next batter Urving Kemp also doubled to end the game and claim the European title. As Kemp batted in four runs in this game, including the game winning run, he was the front candidate to the named Most Valuable Player. However, that title went to Philip Brenner of Austria, which finished in sixth place.

In the preliminary round, the Dutch team won vs. Slovakia, 14-0, vs. Russia, 8-7, vs. Lithuania, 10-6, then beat Czech Republic 6-5 in the semi-final to reach the final. The Czech won the bronze after winnking 4-2 vs. Italy, which also lost 4-2 to Russia in the semi-final.
(July 19)

Final Standings:
1. Netherlands, 2. Russia, 3. Czech Republic, 4. Italy, 5. Germany, 6. Austria, 7. Slovakia, 8. Lithuania.

Individual Awards:
Best Hitter: Davide Bazzana (Italy, .500). Most RBI's: Urving Kemp (Netherlands, 8). Most Runs Scored: Davide Bazzana (Italy, 8). Most Stolen Bases: Andrey Vesenev (Russia, 7). Best ERA: Matteo Loddo (Italy, 0.00). Best W-L Percentage: Michael Wohrl (Germany, 2-0). Best Defensive Player: Jakub Izold (Slovakia). Most Valuable Player: Philip Brenner (Austria).

At Hoofddorp, Konica Minolta Pioniers and Sparta/Feyenoord were the only two teams to play there game. Both teams were tied for fourth place, so the outcome was important. Despite some rain before the game and a brief interruption in the early innings, the game went the distance with Pioniers winning 2-1 in the ninth inning, thanks to defensive errors. With the win, Pioniers claimed fourth place, while Sparta/Feyenoord is now in fifth place. Also, because of this result, MediaMonks RCH was officially eliminated for the Play-Offs.
Sparta/Feyenoord opened the score in the fourth inning off starter Roger Kops when Percy Isenia doubled, advanced on an infield-hit by Rodney Michel and scored on a single by Roderick Simon.
Pioniers came alongside in the seventh inning. Starter Rob Cordemans, who struckout nine batters, gave up a lead-off double to Michael Duursma, who then scored when a throwing error followed on a grounder by Norbert Lokhorst.
Two errors also contributed to the winning run in the ninth inning off reliever Arístides Almenar, who came on the inning before. Bart Sabel led off with a walk, then reached third base on a throwing error on a sac-bunt by Michael Duursma, but when another error followed in rightfield, he was able to score the winning run. Closer Dave Draijer, who faced only one batter in the top of the ninth, became the winning pitcher and registered his first victory of the season.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW and Corendon Kinheim started their game on time. Kinheim took an 1-0 lead in the first inning when René Cremer (fielder's choice) scored on a double by Dirk van 't Klooster. In the home of the first, Ronald Jaarsma and Jermaine Esprit led off with singles. After a foul-fly, Bart Gabriëls flied out to rightfield, then the inning ended when Jaarsma was thrown out at the plate, trying to score, but was doubled up. With two outs and a runner on first base in the top of the second inning, the game was interrupted by rain. After a 25-minute delay, the umpire crew halted the game definitively, due to field and weather conditions.

At Rotterdam, the game between DOOR Neptunus and MediaMonks RCH started one hour and 45 minutes later than scheduled, but after 20 minutes, rain also interrupted this game in the top of the second inning and also was halted.

At The Hague, the game between ADO and L&D Amsterdam didn't start, because of field conditions due to the weather situation.
(July 19)

Line Score & Box Score updated (Box Score has been added)
Standings
Schedule

Changes & Updates Starting Pitchers coming days
Nederlands
AMSTERDAM (Neth.) - After the cancelation of three scheduled games on Thursday-evening because of rain, some starting rotations for the upcoming games have been altered, while other starters have been named. The three canceled games have all been re-scheduled for next Tuesday. Four more games are scheduled for next Thursday, whereafter the season will be interrupted for the Olympic Games.
(July 18)

Schedule & Starting Pitchers

In Amsterdam, it was dry when Amsterdam and Kinheim started their game, but it started to rain shortly after. The game was the played almost entirely in sometimes heavy rain, but it could be completed and was a quick, almost 2 1/2 hour, 9-inning match-up. Amsterdam outhit Kinheim 11-9, but the Haarlem-opponent rallied for four runs in the sixth to decide the game. Kinheim opened the score in the first inning when Danny Rombley led off with a double, then scored on a grounder. In the second inning, two runs were added when Roel Koolen walked and Jeffrey Verbij followed with a 2-run homerun. For Amsterdam, Wesley Connor hit a solo-homerun in the third, then the team got alongside in the fourth on a 2-run double by Bas de Jong with one out. The inning then ended when Kinheim turned a double play on a short fly ball behind second base. Runner Kenny Berkenbosch had to wait whether the ball was caught or not and was force out at second, but then De Jong also was doubled up trying to advance to third base.

After the fifth inning, it started to rain somewhat heavier, but the game continued, then Kinheim scored four runs in the sixth. After scoring once on a double by Bryan Engelhardt, Vince Rooi later hit a 3-run homerun to make it 7-3. Kinheim added a run in the eighth on a single by Rooi.

Amsterdam got two runs back in the eighth. With one out, Sidney de Jong homered, then, after a pitching change, Bas de Jong doubled and scored on a double by Kenny Berkenbosch.

Before the game, Amsterdam Pirates remembered its longtime P.A. Announcer Joop Dousi, who passed away on July 4 after a tragic accident. There was a moment of silence, Joop's co-announcer Richard de Wolff read a memorial and Joop's name was flashed on the scoreboard. Joop will always be remembered by Pirates and other clubs, not only for his personality, but also for his characteristic way of announcing games.
(July 17)

Line Score & Box Score
Standings
Schedule

In recent weeks, you've missed a lot of reporting on this site (all news-items of passed days and weeks will be added later), as your webmaster has been abroad with the Dutch National Softball Team, serving at its Press Officer. After coming weekend, the softball-season also will be interrupted again, as the Dutch Team travels to Japan en route to Olympic Beijing.

But today, news is back on this site, so check the schedule for the assignment of probable starting pitchers for the upcoming games. On Thursday, ADO will play its first game under new Head Coach Bart Volkerijk, who replaced Ron Steward last week.
(July 16)

Schedule & Starting Pitchers

In the long game, both Managers used a lot of players. Dutch Manager Robert Eenhoorn used 24 of the 26 players on his roster, while his Cuban colleague Antonio Pacheco used 22 of the 29 he had available. A total of 16 pitchers climbed the mound, nine Dutch, seven Cuban.

Cuba opened the score in the third inning when Eduardo Paret doubled with one out and scored on a single by Giorvis Duvergel. The Dutch came alongside in the home of the third when Roel Koolen reached on an error and scored on a basesloaded walk for Bryan Engelhardt, but three runners stranded. In the inning, Koolen advanced on a single by Danny Rombley, which long was the lone Dutch basehit. In the seventh inning, the second was registered when Jeroen Sluijter (who had just entered the game) hit a homerun in his first national team-game since 2004. Sluijter added a single in the ninth, while Mark Duursma hit a pinch-hit single in the eighth. Cuba outhit the Dutch, 12-4.

Cuba broke the 1-1 tie in the fourth inning when four unearned runs were scored after an error. Cuba added two runs in the fifth to make it 7-1. In the eighth and ninth at bat, Cuba scored two more runs.
(July 2)

Box Score

At Rotterdam, league-leader Corendon Kinheim won 10-0 vs. Sparta/Feyenoord.

At Hoofddorp, DOOR Neptunus trailed 5-2 after four innings vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers, but turned the game around and won 9-6.

At The Hague, MediaMonks RCH handed ADO a big 14-2 loss. ADO has now lost 12 in a row and remains winless at home this season.

As not all information is available yet, an update will follow on Monday.
(June 29)

Standings

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam scored five runs in the first inning, highlighted by a grand slam homerun by Bas de Jong (his second of the season), then added two runs in the fourth when Wesley Connor homered en route to an 8-6 win vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW. With a 7-0 lead, Amsterdam-starter Kenny Berkenbosch was relieved in the seventh inning, but then HCAW started to come back off relievers Raban Schalm, Kevin Miner and Pim Walsma. After HCAW scored once in the seventh, it rallied for five hits and four runs off Miner in the eighth, then added an unearned run in the ninth off Walsma.

At Heemstede, MediaMonks RCH shutout ADO, 7-0, to hand the team its eleventh loss in a row. Because of the loss, ADO became the first team to officially be eliminated for the Play-Offs. Romanian starter Mihai Burlea went the distance for RCH, struckout 14 batters and gave up only two hits. He gave up his first hit in the sixth inning to Quensley Bazoer, then gave up his second in the ninth at bat to Michel Korzeniewski. RCH had six basehits, including a homerun by Petr Baroch (his second in three days) in the first inning.

At Haarlem, Sparta/Feyenoord won its sixth game in a row, winning 5-3 at Corendon Kinheim. Sparta/Feyenoord took an 1-0 lead in the second inning when rookie Leon de Winter hit a homerun. De Winter was put in the line-up shortly before the game, replacing Rodney Michel, who originally was pencilled in as designated hitter. Kinheim came back and took a 3-1 lead over the next three innings on back-to-back doubles by Roel Koolen and Jason Halman in the second and a double by Denny Beljaards in the fourth. Leading 3-1, Kinheim-starter David Bergman walked two batters in the sixth and had two outs when the bases got loaded on an error, then was relieved by Duko Jansen, who walked in a run, then gave up a 2-run single to Ramphis Trinidad (who was 3-for-5) to give Sparta/Feyenoord a 4-3 lead. The team then added another unearned run in the ninth on a double by Percy Isenia.
(June 28)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord handed DOOR Neptunus a 2-0 shutout-loss. Sparta/Feyenoord, which was outhit 8-5, was held hitless for five inning by Leon Boyd, who suffered his first loss of the season. With one out in the sixth, Boyd gave up a single to Shaldimar Daantji, who then stole second base and scored when next batter Gino Henson also singled. The second run was added in the eighth inning. Again, it was Daantji who singled, then advanced to third on a stolen base and a passed ball and scored on a 2-out single by Percy Isenia. Neptunus got several scoring opportunities, but stranded 12 runners, including six in scoring position. Despite the loss, Neptunus officially secured itself of a spot in next years big league, because MediaMonks RCH and ADO both lost. Before the interruption for the European Cup-tournaments, Corendon Kinheim became the first team to secure a spot in next years highest division.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW won 5-2 vs. ADO. HCAW broke an 1-1 tie with a 4-run rally in the sixth inning. With one out, ADO-starter Brent Henry walked Randy Daal and Bart Gabriëls and was relieved by Jeoffrey de Groot, who added three more walks to bring in two runs. De Groot was immediately relieved by Renaldo Samiento Uero, who was added from ADO's second team. The righthander was greeted with a single by Juriën Overman to bring in two more runs and lift the lead to 5-1. ADO added only one more run in the game, which was halted for 23 minutes in the sixth inning due to a bright sunset.

At Amsterdam, L&D Amsterdam won 9-3 vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers. Earlier in the season, Amsterdam was swept by Pioniers in a 3-game series. Amsterdam scored seven runs in the first four innings to take a commanding lead. It hit six basehits, including a homerun by Kenny Berkenbosch, and scored four runs off Venezuelan Pionier-starter Alberto Mieres Paez, who was relieved in the second inning by Czech Jan Rehacek. Amsterdam collected 15 basehits, including three by Berkenbosch. Amsterdam-starter Ryan Murphy gave up seven hits in seven innings.
(June 26)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

Eenhoorn and his staff selected three newcomers: LHP Nick Veltkamp (Corendon Kinheim), RHP Pim Walsma (L&D Amsterdam) and OF Wesley Connor (L&D Amsterdam). The latter played professionally the last years in the organisation of the Minnesota Twins. Returning in the team is IF Jeroen Sluijter (DOOR Neptunus), who last played in the national squad in the Haarlem Baseball Week on 2004. OF Eugene Kingsale (DOOR Neptunus) also makes his comeback. Last year, he was sidelined almost the entire season, due to a knee-injury and therefore missed all international tournaments. C Mark Duursma (Konica Minolta Pioniers) also will make his return in the national squad. He was part of the team which traveled to Curaçao in February last year and has been the Bullpen-catcher since 2006, but played in one game during an exhibition series in China in 2006.

Most starting pitchers have been announced for the upcoming games, so check it out.
(June 25)

Schedule & probable starting pitchers

Complete coverage of the American Tour of the Dutch National Softball Team

In other news...
IF Ivanon Coffie has left DOOR Neptunus immediately. He informed the board that he was to return to the USA, as he is going to play in an Independent League-team. He also informed National Team Manager Robert Eenhoorn that he won't be available for the Olympic Games.
Konica Minolta Pioniers has replaced its Venezuelan pitcher Nelson Santander Olajo, who returned due to family circumstances. His replacement arrived on Thursday.
American C/3B Whitney Pierce is added to the roster of MediaMonks RCH, replacing Mexican pitcher Al Morales Gomes, who remains with the team as Pitching Coach. Pierce played professionally in the organizations of the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs and last season played for Eagles in Switzerland.
(May 30)

Schedule & Starting Pitchers

At Rotterdam, Patrick Beljaards threw eight solid innings and raised his record to 5-0, as Kinheim won 3-1 vs. Sparta/Feyenoord, which outhit its opponent 12-5! Sparta/Feyenoord had nine basehits off Beljaards, but in the second inning two runners were thrown out on the bases, then another one was caught stealing in the fifth. Their lone run was scored in the ninth off closer Michiel van Kampen on a 2-out single by Imco Rudolph. Sparta/Feyenoord-starter Rob Cordemans gave up only two hits in the five innings he threw, but Kinheim then opened the score in the sixth off his successor Berry van Donselaar. Quincy Bernardus, one of the added players to the Kinheim-roster to replace the suspended players, led off with a single, then scored on a 2-out error. In the eighth, two runs were added on a 2-out single by René Cremer, which was followed by an outfield-error.

At Bussum, Sidney de Jong homered for Amsterdam in the second inning, but HCAW then took a 2-1 lead in its second at bat when Juriën Overman hit a 2-run homerun. Amsterdam got the two runs back in the fourth on a 2-run double by Bas de Jong. HCAW came alongside in the next inning on a force play-grounder, then both teams scored once in the seventh. Amsterdam on an error, HCAW on a homerun by Randy Daal. In the home of the ninth, HCAW got its first two batters on base, but then a failed bunt by Ronald Jaarsma turned into a triple play and force extra innings. In the eleventh inning, Amsterdam scored six runs to take a 10-4 lead. After a run was scored on an error and another one on a single by Maikel Benner, Sidney de Jong sealed the win with a grand slam homerun.

At The Hague, RCH got its first win of the season, while ADO remained winless at home. Leading 1-0, RCH added two runs in the fifth on two grounders, then ADO came back with two runs on a 2-run single by Edison Bito, which would be their lone runs. RCH increased the lead to 6-2 in the seventh on a 2-run throwing error and a single by Robin Longhurst, then scored two more runs in the ninth on a single by Ferd van Stekelenburg and a sac-fly. RCH-starter Mihai Burlea, the first Romanian player in the Dutch big league, struckout eight batters in his first start and gave up only five hits in 7 2/3 inning. Polish Canadian Marek Deska then took over and struckout four more batters.

At Hoofddorp, Pioniers opened the score with a run in the first inning on a sac-fly, but Neptunus came alongside in the sixth on an error. Pioniers got the run back immediately in its sixth on a sac-fly, then scored two runs on a basesloaded walk and a single by Jeffrey de Vrieze. Neptunus scored its second run in the eighth on a single by Raily Legito, who was 3-for-4.
(May 24)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

At Haarlem, Kinheim had nine basehits, including a 2-run homerun by Danny Rombley in the third inning, which increased the lead to 3-0. After scoring once in the fourth inning, Kinheim rallied for four more runs in the fifth inning, which was hghlighted by a 2-run single by Vince Rooi, who also singled in a run in the eighth to reach the 10-run difference. Roel Koolen contributed with a 2-run single in the sixth at bat.
ADO scored its lone run in the fifth on a double by Edison Bito. ADO used five pitchers in the game, including three position-players. In the fifth, Niels Weis took over for starter Bobbie van Duuren, then became the catcher in the sixth inning when infielder Jaïr Roseburg became the new pitcher. He lasted only two batters, whom he both walked (both also scored) and was relieved by another infielder Ludwin Obispo. Finally, a real pitcher took over again in the eighth, Erik Remmerswaal, who gave up three hits, resulting in the 10-run difference.
Rookie Robin van Eis went the distance in only his second start in the big league. The righthander struckout seven and gave up seven hits to ADO, which came into scoring position only four times. Van Eis has taken the spot in the pitching rotation of Cliff Foster, who has been send to Kinheim's second team in the First Division to get his control back in order.

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord scored its eight runs in the first three innings off two different pitchers. The Rotterdam-squad had ten basehits, eight of which were hit in the first three at bats. Singles by Rodney Michel and Roderick Simon opened the score in the first. Four runs were then added in the next at bat, including two on a single by Percy Isenia. A double by Gino Henson and a single by Harvey Monte made it 8-0 in the third. In the remainder of the game, Sparta/Feyenoord reached base only five more times and never came into scoring position again. HCAW had only five basehits, but reached base 15 times. However, the Bussum-team stranded 12 runners, including six into scoring position.

At Amsterdam, Neptunus took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on singles by Jeffrey Arends and Derick Francisca. After Amsterdam scored a run in its second, Neptunus got it back in the third on a single by Lennart Koster, then added two more runs in the sixth, which again were batted in by Arends and Francisca, who transfered from Amsterdam to Neptunus three days before the season started. A homerun by Ivanon Coffie in the seventh made it 6-1 in Neptunus' favor and marked the end for Amsterdam-starter Pim Walsma, who recently was added to the roster of the Dutch National Team. Walsma struckout five and gave up eleven hits, before being relieved by rookie Rik Geestman, who was recalled from the team's second team in the First Division. The son of Pitching Coach Tom Geestman threw 1 2/3 inning, giving up no hits and striking out one, before another rookie Roy Beems closed the game. Beems also was added from the second team, where he has six saves. Amsterdam scored its second run in the ninth inning on a 2-out double by Remco Draijer, but could not prevent Neptunus from winning its eighth game in a row.

At Hoofddorp, RCH took a 3-0 lead, but again failed to hold onto it. The team scored twice in the first inning on back-to-back doubles by Ferd van Stekelenburg and Floris Morang, then added a run in the fourth on a sac-fly by Michael Pluijmers. But then Pioniers rallied for five runs in the fifth inning. After scoring on a grounder and a basesloaded walk, a pitching change followed, but then (after a force out at home), Sergino Martis cleared the bases with a 3-run double to give Pioniers a 5-3 lead. Martis, the son of former big leaguer Edsel Martis, went 4-for-4 and also singled in the seventh run in the seventh inning.
(May 22)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

Schedule & Starting Pitchers

At Haarlem, Corendon Kinheim won 10-4 vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers. Both teams had recalled players from their second teams to replace the respectively four and three players, who were suspended for their involvement in last Sunday's brawl. Kinheim brought Onno Jansen and Raymond Rutte in their line-up, who both made their big league-debut. Pioniers added former big league-players Jochem Theunissen and Mark-Jan Moorman and also recalled Tjerk Hogervorst, who later this year will make his professional debut in the American Minor League. Kinheim trailed 2-0 after one inning, then scored five runs in the third to take a decisive lead. In the first at bat, Pioniers scored twice when Moorman singled and scored on a grounder and Mark Duursma scored on a throwing error. In the third inning, René Cremer, Roel Koolen, Tjerk Smeets (2-run) and Wouter Heemskerk al had RBI-singles to give Kinheim a 5-2 lead. After scoring one run in the fifth, four more were added in the sixth on a double by Cremer, 2-run triple by Koolen and double by Smeets. In the second Pioniers at bat, Kinheim-starter David Bergman was facing rookie Tjerk Hogervorst, who made his debut, and ran the count to 2-0, but then was relieved by Nick Veltkamp, as Bergman had a slight irritation. Moments later, Hogervorst reached on an infield-hit in his first big league at bat.

At Heemstede, MediaMonks RCH led 2-0 after four innings, but then Mr. Cocker HCAW came alongside and took the lead in the seventh by scoring three runs en route to a 7-5 victory. Sidney Ensermo (HCAW) and Ferd van Stekelenburg (RCH) homered. A throwing error resulted in two runs for RCH in the first at bat, but the team then failed to add more runs, as it had only three hits in the next five at bats. In the fifth, doubles by Juriën Overman and Ronald Jaarsma equaled the score and HCAW then scored three runs in the seventh when Ensermo led off with a homerun, then a run was scored on a wild pitch and another on a single by Randy Daal. After RCH scored a run in the seventh, HCAW added two insurance runs in the eighth, including one on a single by Max Brevet, who earlier this season made his comeback in the Dutch big league. In 1994, the catcher played in his last game on the highest level. In that year, he played only one game for HCAW and went 1-for-1. A homerun van Van Stekelenburg and a double by Reggie Valpoort gave RCH two more runs in the eighth.

At Amsterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord won 17-7 vs. L&D Amsterdam, which played its worst game in years, making seven defensive blunders. By the way, 26 errors were made tonight in the four games! Sparta/Feyenoord (and Amsterdam) set the tone in the first inning when four runs were scored on a single by Harvey Monte (2-run), a grounder and a sac-fly, but also two errors. Amsterdam answered with three runs on singles by Sidney de Jong and Fausto Álvarez Rizo and a wild pitch, but it might have been more. Björn Henrichs was thrown out at the plate after he was send home on De Jong's single in leftfield, then Álvarez was tagged out between first and second after his single. In the fourth inning, Sparta/Feyenoord scored six runs on only one basehit, as Amsterdam committed two more errors and reliever Kevin Miner (who threw in his first game after returning from his study in the States) threw four walks and made a throwing error. Only seven of Sparta/Feyenoord's 17 runs were earned. Amsterdam had eleven hits, including three by Álvarez, who had four RBI's.
(May 20)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

Edwin de Graaf, Norbert Lokhorst, Glenn Romney (all Pioniers), Bryan Engelhardt, Jason Halman, Dirk van 't Klooster and Jeffrey Verbij (all Kinheim) all were suspended indefinitely and therefore were unable to participate in Tuesday-evening's game at Haarlem.
A special commission will decide the final punishments later. Hereafter, teams and players are able to appeal the decisions. Kinheim requested a hearing. Both teams now have to wait for the commission to get together again and set a date for either discuss the final punishments or the hearing. A guilty party for Sunday's brawl has not yet been designated.
(May 20)

According to several reports, this is what happened.
For five innings, the match-up between Pioniers and Kinheim was attractive. Kinheim got its first three batters on base in the first inning, but then Pionier-starter Roger Kops struckout the next three batters. In the home of the first, Pioniers took an 1-0 lead on an error. After Kinheim came alongside in the fourth, Pioniers rallied for four runs in the fourth inning, two on a homerun by Jeffrey de Vrieze, the other two on a single by Glenn Romney. In the fifth, Kinheim scored another run, but then a tense and dramatic sixth at bat followed. In the top of the sixth, Kinheim had Denny Beljaards and Danny Rombley on base and one out when Roel Koolen was hit by a pitch. Next, Tjerk Smeets grounded to second, resulting in a force out at second base for Koolen, whose sliding into short stop Mervin Gario resulted in a severe injury for the latter. Gario had to leave the game and went to the hospital for a check-up. It was initially feared he might have fractured his knee-cap, but that wasn't diagnozed in the hospital. On the grounder, Beljaards scored and because the situation continued while Gario was injured, Rombley also scored. After the game resumed and Gario was replaced, Bryan Engelhardt singled to bring Smeets into scoring position. A pitching change followed, then Vince Rooi doubled in Smeets to tie the score.

In the home of the sixth, Joey Treurniet was forced out with one out on a grounder by Edwin de Graaf. Next, De Graaf was caught stealing and slid into Kinheim's short stop Roel Koolen, who had just tagged him out. Some pushing then followed, which triggered the bench-clearing brawl, as players erupted from both dug-outs and bullpens. The umpire-crew then called both Head Coaches to inform them that the game had been halted. Last year, on July 8, there was a big brawl in the game between Pioniers and Amsterdam Pirates. After eight players and two coaches had been ejected, that game resumed and was completed. For the start of this season, rules have become more strict for bench-clearing situations.

At Rotterdam, Ryan Murphy went the distance and walk none for L&D Amsterdam, which won 4-2 vs. Sparta/Feyenoord. After five scoreless innings, Amsterdam took an 1-0 lead in the sixth, added a run in the seventh, then scored twice in the eighth on a single by Fausto Álvarez Rizo and a grounder by Bas de Jong. Sparta/Feyenoord, which had nine hits, scored its first run in the seventh, then scored its second in the ninth, both batted in by Sape Wagenaar.

At Bussum, Mr. Cocker HCAW shutout MediaMonks RCH 6-0 in a game, which saw pitchers of six different nationalities climb the mount. Throwing for HCAW were Dutchmen Kevin Roovers, Joey Eijpe, Venezuelan Oscar Eduardo Montero and Fernando José Gutierrez Gutierrez, who holds a Spanish passport. Dutchman Jean-Paul Gulinck started for RCH and was then followed by Swedish pitcher Nicklas Melin. Next, Mihai Burlea, who holds a Romanian passport, followed, then Mexican Al Morales Gomes completed the game. Burlea made his big league-debut and became the first Romanian in the Dutch big league. HCAW scored three runs in the first at bat on a double by Bart Gabriëls, who had four RBI's, a single by Ronald Jaarsma and an error. RCH had only four hits and came into scoring position only once when Michael Pluijmers reached third base in the fifth inning.

At The Hague, DOOR Neptunus defeated ADO, 8-3. Neptunus, which played without Eugene Kingsale, Derick Francisca and Martijn Meeuwis, broke a 2-2 tie in the second inning on a single by Raily Legito. After both teams had scored in the fourth inning, Neptunus increased its lead to 5-3 in the sixth, then added three more runs in the last two at bats, which were all unearned, as ADO then made two errors.
(May 18)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

First Division Standings, Scores & Schedules

Schedule & Starting Pitchers

In Haarlem and Heemstede, it was tried to start the games by delayed the starting time, but eventually, no one entered the field and these two games also were scrubbed.
At Haarlem, the game between Corendon Kinheim and league-leader Konica Minolta Pioniers was delayed for a half hour, but then it was canceled.
At Heemstede, the game between MediaMonks RCH and Mr. Cocker HCAW initially also was delayed for half an hour, then another 30-minute delay was added, but finally, at 3:00 PM, it was decided to also cancel this game.

All games have been re-scheduled for next Tuesday-evening, May 20, starting at 7:45 PM. Changes in starting pitchers will be added later today.
(May 17)

Schedule

First Division Standings & Scores

Pool A

Alcmaria Victrix vs. Robur '58
Alcmaria Victrix moved into a tie for fourth place after splitting with Robur '58, which was in second place. Robur won 9-2 on Saturday. Alcmaria won 16-10 on Sunday in a crazy game. On Saturday, Robur led 3-1 when it rallied for five runs in the eighth inning on sac-fly by Kevin Boekhoudt, singles by Raul Werleman and Ryan Bregieta and walk for Sacha van de Boogerd. In the first six innings, Alcmaria-starter Sven Vlaanderen gave up only two hits, but was replaced with two outs in the seventh by Erik Jan Lind, who then gave up six runs and six hits in the next two at bats.
On Sunday, only five runs were scored in the first six innings, but then both teams combined on 21 in the last three at bats! Trailing 3-0, Alcmaria scored twice in the fourth inning, but then Robur appeared to take a decisive 9-2 lead with a 6-run rally in the seventh, highlighted by a 2-run triple by Joris van Ballegooy. However, the game was far from over. Alcmaria reacted with five runs in the eighth, which included an RBI-triple by Linoy Croes and RBI-double by Just van Heems. In the home of the eighth, Robur scored another run for a 10-7 lead, but then Alcmaria suddenly was very productive in the ninth, scoring nine runs to take a 16-10 lead. In the inning, Ludrick Pieter hit a 3-run double off Robur's Pitching Coach Robbert Heuvelman, who had taken over the pitching with the bases loaded and his team still leading 10-7 and eventually ended up as the losing pitcher.

Almere Magpies vs. Sparks Haarlem
Almere Magpies won twice vs. Sparks Haarlem, but again had only an one-run margin, 4-3 and 12-11. On Saturday-evening, Almere trailed 2-1 when it scored three runs in the fifth inning on a double by Luigino Rosaria, an error and a single by Daniël Zijderveld. Sparks was able to add only one more run in the eighth on a single by Bram van der Linden.
On Sunday, Sparks-starter Jeroen Schutte faced only one batter, giving up a single to Wesley Bernardus. Hereafter, he was replaced by Mike Krooder, but Schutte remained the 'pitcher-of-record' as the losing pitcher until two outs in the ninth inning, but then things changed and the game even had to go into extra innings. Alcmaria scored six runs in the first inning on five hits, including doubles by Giovanni Samboe and Frank van Leeuwen. Two runs were added in the third on a triple by Siegert Flaneur and a single by Wesley Bernardus and the lead was increased to 9-0 in the fifth on a single by Niels van Weert. But the 9-0 lead wasn't so comfortable after all. Sparks came back with three runs in the fifth on a 3-run homerun by Matthijs van Dusschoten, then four runs were added in the next at bat on a single by Niels Mica and a double by Van Dusschoten. In the eighth, Almere scored two more runs to make it 11-7, but with two outs in the ninth, Sparks came alongside. Bervin Hurkmans then hit a 2-run double, followed by RBI-singles from Lennart Stut and Olav Baas, therefore erasing the decision for starter Schutte. Almere finally won the game in the eleventh when Joey Berkenbosch led off with a homerun.

Pool B

Sparta/Feyenoord 2 vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW 2
League-leader Sparta/Feyenoord remained unbeaten by winning 8-2 and 7-4 vs. HCAW. On Friday-evening, Sparta/Feyenoord took charge of the game early, scoring four runs in the first three innings. Rubinet Koko had three RBI's on two doubles and a grounder, while Marwin Kleinmoedig contributed with an RBI-double. Mario Mujica went the distance, struckout 13 batters and gave up only six hits.
On Saturday, Sparta/Feyenoord needed another late comeback to keep their winning streak intact. Trailing 3-1, HCAW came alongside in the fourth on a 2-run single by Laurens Dammers, then took the lead in the next at bat on a sac-fly by Andy Raaff. Sparta/Feyenoord tied the score in the seventh on an error, then scored three runs in the ninth for the win on a sac-fly by Rubinet Koko, squeeze by Marwin Kleinmoedig and single by Freddy Rudolph. With the score tied at 4-4 and runners on first and second base, HCAW's Pitching Coach Eric de Vries took over the pitching himself, but the 47-year old veteran then walked a batter to load the bases, followed by the runscoring hits. Today, Quint Tramm threw a complete game for the Rotterdam-squad, striking four and giving up seven hits.

Amsterdam Pirates 2 vs. Ergo-Services Kinheim
Runner-up Amsterdam Pirates won twice vs. Kinheim, 6-3 and 9-3. On Friday-evening, Pirates had only five hits, including two by Roelie Henrique, but nevertheless held a 6-0 lead after six innings. Winning pitcher Rik Geestman gave up only three hits in the six innings he pitched.
On Saturday, the two teams used only two innings to score, the first and the ninth. Pirates rallied for seven runs in the first at bat to take a commanding lead. With two runners on base and one out, Sebastiaan Visser, Lindell Finsy, Rashid Gerard and Nick Urbanus all singled, then an error accounted for two more runs. In the ninth, a single by Finsy and an error gave Pirates two more runs. Kinheim scored a run in the first on a single by Allan Milliard and scored two more in the ninth on an infield-hit by Jasper Hulshoff and a double by Björn Hato.

DOOR Tridents vs. MediaMonks RCH 2
Tridents defetead RCH, 9-3 and 15-2. On Friday-evening, eight of the nine Trident-starters had at least one basehit, while Max Bijster contributed with four RBI's. RCH had only six hits, which all were hit in the first five innings off starter Niels Harteveld. Tridents broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth on a grounder by Bijster, then added a run in the fifth on a grounder by Mike Bazuin, who was the lone starter without a basehit. RCH came back to 4-3, but from here, Tridents took more distance.
On Saturday, there were two remarkable pitching changes. RCH-starter Marcel Timmer ran into problems in the second inning, but gave up only one run. Nevertheless, he was relieved in the third inning by Jeremy van de Berg, who completed the game, giving up 13 hits and 14 runs. More remarkable was the pitching change on the Tridents-side. Starter Paul Cornelissen was throwing a Perfect Game for five innings, in which he struckout seven, but was replaced when the sixth inning started. His successor Sint Clair White walked the first batter he faced, therefore ending the Perfect Game. In the seventh, the No-Hitter and ShutOut also would end. Tridents collected 17 hits, including four by Max Bijster, while Ingemar Rooyer had three and combined that with six RBI's. In the third inning, his 3-run double highlighted a 7-run rally.
(May 16)

First Division Scores & links to Box Scores
First Division Standings
First Division Schedule

Schedule & Probable starters

Neptunus struck early with three runs in the first inning off rookie Robin van Eis, who made his big league-debut. Neptunus scored their runs without hitting a basehit, as the righthander had problems finding the strikezone, as he hit lead-off batter Eugene Kingsale, then walked the next four batters in a row to bring two runs. After Benjamin Dille, Raily Legito, Ivanon Coffie and Lennart Koster had all walked, a flyout followed, but then Van Eis hit next batter Andy Leer to bring in another run.

After his troubled first inning, Van Eis settled down and threw two fine innings, but then gave up a lead-off double to Jeffrey Arends in the fourth, who later scored on an one-out triple by Eugene Kingsale. It was to be the last inning for Van Eis, who was relieved by Duko Jansen in the fifth. He gave up the fifth Neptunus-run in the sixth inning. Jansen then hit lead-off batter Jeroen Sluijter with a pitch and he would score on a 2-out single by Ivanon Coffie. Another rookie, Onno Baur, who made his debut last weekend, threw the last two innings for Kinheim.

Kinheim scored its first run in the fifth inning off starter Leon Boyd, who had given up only one basehit in the firts four innings. In the fifth, he hit Roel Koolen with a pitch and he then scored when Jason Halman followed with a double. Closer Berry van Driel gave up the second Kinheim-run in the ninth inning. Bryan Engelhardt then led off with a single, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Roel Koolen.
(May 15)

Line Score & Box Score
Standings
Schedule

Neptunus will start with RHP Leon Boyd, who didn't pitch last weekend, as he was in the USA to be the best man at a wedding.
Kinheim is starting with rookie RHP Robin van Eis, who was added to the squad from its First Division minor league-team, and will make his big league-debut on Thursday.
(May 14)

Schedule

Most Walks, One Day
Walks	Date (games)
47	May 11 (4)
35	April 13 (4) April 20 (4)
34	May 4 (4)
32	April 12 (4) May 3 (4)
24	May 6 (2)

Walks issued in weekend series
Walks	Weekend (games)
115	May 10-11-12 (12)
67	April 12-13 (8)
66	May 3-4 (8)
54	April 19-20 (8)
44	April 26-27 (8)

The most walks (10) were issued on Sunday by three pitchers of L&D Amsterdam vs. Corendon Kinheim, including eight by starter Pim Walsma. On Monday, ten walks were also thrown by four ADO-pitchers vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers. In only one of the twelve games, one team had no walks, which was Amsterdam on Monday when Kenny Berkenbosch walked none and went the distance vs. Kinheim.

In the 3-game series on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 60 different pitchers threw, with 47 of them throwing at least one of the 115 walks. Four pitchers from minor league-teams were added to the main squad in the weekend: Onno Baur (Kinheim), Frank van Heijst (Amsterdam), Manuel Valdes (ADO) and Kyle Ward (HCAW), but also four position-players climbed the mound, being Bart Gabriëls (HCAW), Ludwin Obispo, Haily de Palm and Niels Weis (all ADO).

The weekend with the best control so far was April 26 and 27 when 'only' 44 walks were thrown in eight games.
(May 12)

At The Hague, Konica Minolta Pioniers recovered from the surprise loss on Sunday and defeated ADO 14-3 to become the only leader again in the Dutch big league. Pioniers had only eight basehits, but four ADO-pitchers contributed with ten walks. Mervin Gario had another productive afternoon. The rookie, who was batting in the lead-off spot for the injured Michael Duursma, reached base five times, scored five runs, had four stolen bases, a single and an RBI. On Sunday, Gario's 10-game hitting streak ended, but that was also the only game this season in which he didn't either had a hit or an RBI. It was only his third game without an RBI. Leading 3-1, Pioniers broke open the games with four runs in the fourth inning on only two hits, as ADO committed three errors. Three runs were added in the sixth, including two on basesloaded walks, and four more in the seventh.

At Rotterdam, Sparta/Feyenoord broke an 1-1 tie vs. MediaMonks RCH with five runs in the fifth inning on five basehits, including 2-run singles by Jonathan Kopra and Sape Wagenaar.

At Rotterdam, DOOR Neptunus won 4-1 vs. Mr. Cocker HCAW, which took the lead in the first inning on a single by Randy Daal. Neptunus came alongside in the fourth on a triple by Derick Francisca, who then scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning when he doubled and scored on a single by Jeroen Sluijter. After scoring in the first inning, HCAW got only two more runners in scoring position in the remainder of the game.
(May 12)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

At Heemstede, MediaMonks RCH held Sparta/Feyenoord scoreless for six innings, then both teams scored once in the seventh. But in the end, RCH remained winless, as Sparta/Feyenoord scored four runs in the eighth to win 5-1. In the evening, DOOR Neptunus handed Mr. Cocker HCAW another big loss, 12-3 and scored eight runs in the first at bat.

More details are coming up.
(May 11)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule

MediaMonks RCH led 3-2 in the third inning, but eventually was beaten 6-4 by Sparta/Feyenoord and now also has lost its first ten games. DOOR Neptunus won big at Mr. Cocker HCAW, 14-1. Neptunus hit 18 basehits, including homeruns by Raily Legito, Ivanon Coffie, Martijn Meeuwis and Jeffrey Arends.

More details are coming up.
(May 10)

Line Scores & Box Scores
Standings
Schedule