...Never the same anymore... ...Ron's empty spot besides the Kinheim dug-out... (Photo: Rien)

It was another emotional day for Kinheim. Before this first official home game in the regular season, there was a moment of silence in remembrance of their longtime and loyal Equipment Manager Ron Dekker, who passed away last weekend. Last Friday, the team and many others, said farewell to the colourful Dekker during an impressive funeral-ceremony in Haarlem. Today, Kinheim's home season started with a strange view: an open spot besides the home dug-out, the spot where Ron Dekker always was standing during the games. It always will be his spot.

Kinheim trailed twice in the game, but was able to come back both times. The team opened the score with a run in the first inning. Danny Rombley led off with a double, moved on a bunt-single by René Cremer and scored when a throwing error to first base followed. Dirk van 't Klooster then also singled, but two outs followed. The bases were loaded when Roel Koolen walked, but the three runners stranded, as Jeffrey Verbij flied out.

Almere came alongside in the second inning. Rodney Michel led off with a single and moved on a wild pitch from starter Patrick Beljaards, who then hit next batter Randy Daal with a pitch. The two advcanced on a sac-bunt by Giovannie Samboe. Next, Michel scored the tying run on a grounder by Ricky Daal.

In the home of the second, Kinheim re-took the lead. With two outs, Danny Rombley reached first base on a throwing error by short stop Emeron Lourens, then advanced to third base on a failed pick-off by starter Forstin Coenraad. René Cremer followed with a single to make it 2-1, but again the lead was shortlived.

Almere scored twice in the third inning to take a 3-2 lead. With one out, Derrick Francisca reached on a bunt-single, then moved to third base on a single by Bryan Engelhardt, who himself advanced to second on the throw to third. A grounder by Rodney Michel and a single by Randy Daal resulted in two runs and a 3-2 lead.

...Vince Rooi (center, with helmet) is greeted by teammates... ...after hitting game-winning 2-run homerun in 8th inning... (Photo: Rien)

Kinheim came alongside in the fifth at bat off Patrick de Lange, who is in his second season in three years with Almere. After starting his career with Amsterdam Pirates, De Lange pitched eight seasons for Mr. Cocker HCAW, before moving the Almere for the 2005 season. Last year, he returned to HCAW, but decided to go back again to Almere. De Lange came on in relief of Forstin Coenraad in the third inning when Kinheim got the bases loaded. Tjerk Smeets then led off with a single and Vince Rooi walked. Smeets was then forced out at third on a grounder by Roel Koolen and Jeffrey Verbij struckout, but the bases got loaded when Wouter Heemskerk was hit by a pitch. Coenraad was relieved by De Lange and the inning then ended when Denny Beljaards flied out. After leaving two more runners in the fourth inning, Kinheim came alongside in the fifth inning. De Lange hit lead-off hitter Roel Koolen with a pitch, then gave up a single to Jeffrey Verbij. The two moved on a sac-bunt by Wouter Heemskerk, but then Denny Beljaards flied out. De Lange then loaded the base by walking Danny Rombley intentionally, but gave up the tying run when he issued a regular walk to next batter René Cremer. The inning ended when Dirk van 't Klooster struckout, leaving three runners behind. Kinheim left 16 runners this game.

In the seventh inning, Almere took the lead for the second time. Eugene Kingsale led off with a single and moved on a sac-bunt by Emeron Lourens and a wild pitch. He then scored on a squeeze by Derrick Francisca. After Bryan Engelhardt followed with a single, Jimmy van der Veldt came on to relief starter Patrick Beljaards. Van der Veldt walked Rodney Michel and then was assisted by his defense on the next play. Randy Daal hit a single over the infield and Engelhardt was waved home to score, but was thrown out at the plate by short stop Roel Koolen to end the inning.

Leading 4-3, Almere-closer Cliff Foster took over for Patrick de Lange in the home of the eighth. Last year, these two were teammates at Mr. Cocker HCAW, but Foster also left the Bussum-squad. Foster started by walking Tjerk Smeets, then gave up a 2-run homerun to Vince Rooi, which resulted in a 5-4 lead for Kinheim. Australian Vaughan Harris took over the pitching for Kinheim in the eighth inning and then retired the side. As Kinheim scored twice in the home eighth, he became the winning pitcher in his Dutch debut. Michiel van Kampen retired the side in the ninth to earn a save.
(April 15)

ADO today planned to starter today with Venezuelan Elvis Polanco, but as mentioned in yesterday's recap, he didn't received his release papers yet from the Spanish Federation, as he played for Rojos de Tenerife in Spain the last few years. Therefore, ADO today started with Berry van Driel, an infielder-turned-pitcher. Did Van Driel played the majority of the season the last years at second base, third base or short stop, he also was used as a reliever. But last season, he threw only seven innings in two appearences. Nevertheless, he started the season on ADO's roster as a pitcher, as he is only focusing on pitching this year. In the first two innings, Van Driel walked five batters, but gave up no runs. In the first inning, he walked Nick Eppinga with one out, but he was caught stealing. Dwayne Kemp then also walked and stole second. After Jeffrey Sprott also walked, Kemp tried to steal third base, but was thrown out. In the second inning, Van Driel walked two batters with one out, then followed with a strikeout and a groundout.

In the third inning, Sparta/Feyenoord opened the score. Ramphis Trinidad led off by reaching on a throwing error, then stole second base. He moved on a grounder by Nick Eppinga, then scored on a sac-fly by Dwayne Kemp.

In the fourth inning, Sparta/Feyenoord rallied for four runs. With one out, the next ten batters reached base safely. After Orson Slaats struckout, Rien Vernooy reached on a bunt-single, then Shurendell Borgschot walked. Earmy Isabella followed with an RBI-single. Next, Shaldimar Daantji hit an runscoring infield-hit, which resulted in an additional run as a throwing error followed. Daantji then scored himself when Ramphis Trinidad tripled, followed by an RBI-single by Nick Eppinga. Dwayne Kemp then walked, but was forced out on a grounder by Jeffrey Sprott. The base were loaded when Orson Slaats walked. Hereafter, Berry van Driel was finally relieved by rookie Gary Dacosta, who was added to the roster from the second team during the exhibition season, because of the pitching problems with the main squad. Rien Vernooy then became the tenth batter in a row to reach base safely, but on his grounder Slaats was forced out to end the at bat.

Sparta/Feyenoord added three runs in the fifth inning to make it 9-0. Shurendell Borgschot singled, Earmy Isabella was hit by a pitch and Shaldimar Daantji also singled to load the bases. A grounder by Ramphis Trinidad, single by Nick Eppinga and force play-grounder by Dwayne Kemp then increased the lead with three runs.

In the home of the fifth, ADO scored its two runs. First, Dimitri Leon led off with a single, but then Jermaine Esprit grounded into a double play. Maikel Benner followed with a single and Marvin Bleij walked, then the two scored when Percy Isenia and Harvey Monte followed with singles. Jason Halman then also singled, but the inning ended when Isenia, who tried to score, was thrown out at the plate.

Sparta/Feyenoord scored its last run in the seventh inning when Earmy Isabella led off with a walk and scored on an one-out triple by Ramphis Trinidad, his second in the game. Rookie Ronald de Bont threw the last three innings in relief for starter Elton Koeiman. He walked three batters, but didn't gave up a hit and earned a save in his big league-debut.
(April 15)

Before the game, their was a minute of silence in remembrance of Chicho Jesurun, who was the be HCAW's Bench Coach again this season, but unexpectedly passed away in December. Last week, during the I.M. Charles Urbanus, Sr. Tournament in Bussum, debuting coaches Roy Berrevoets and Jurjan Koenen, as well as General Manager Ron Jaarsma stated that Chicho will surely be missed. Not only because of his rich knowledge, but especially as a very likeable human being. ,,It was to be a good comination. Two rookie coaches, being accompanied by a very experienced coach'', Jaarsma said during a press conference. After the introduction of players, youth players Kaj Timmermans threw and Tim Elfrink caught the ceremonial first ball.

...Many spectators enjoy the good weather and the game in Bussum... (Photo: Alfred Cop)

Pioniers took a 1-0 lead in the first at bat off starter Sten van den Bedem, one of ten pitchers used by the two teams in today's game. With one out, Norbert Lokhorst (fielder's choice) stole second base, then moved on a grounder by Mark Duursma and scored on a double by Glenn Romney.

HCAW reacted with three runs in its first at bat off starter Erik Jan Lind. The righthander walked lead-off hitter Ralph Milliard, then Shurty Tremus followed with a bunt-single. While Tremus reached first base, he collided with second baseman Jourick Blanco's leg, who had taken over first for the play. With runners on first and second, Ronald Jaarsma doubled over Blanco, who jumped to catch the ball. But when he came down, Blanco injured his hamstring and had to be replaced. On Jaarsma's double, Milliard and Tremus scored, while he himself advanced to third base on an error in centerfield. After Blanco had been replaced and the game resumed, Jaarsma scored on sac-fly by Gino Henson to make it 3-1.

Pioniers came back with a run in the third inning off new pitcher Joey Eijpe. After he struckout Michael Duursma, Eijpe gave up a double to Norbert Lokhorst, who then scored on a 2-out single by Jefferson Muzo, who had entered the game in the first inning as the replacement for Jourick Blanco.
HCAW got the run back immediately in the home of the third. Gino Henson led off with a walk. Herafter, rookie Ramon Romeyn relieved starter Erik Jan Lind and gave up an RBI-double to Bart Gabriëls.

HCAW increased it lead with three runs in the fourth inning. Juriën Overman and Ralph Milliard walked and moved on a sac-bunt by Shurty Tremus, before Ronald Jaarsma hit a runscoring single. Ramon Romeyn was relieved by veteran Marc Steenhof, who therefore officially came out of retirement. After Jaarsma stole second, Gino Henson followed with an infield-hit, which scored Milliard. Jaarsma then also stole third base and the bases got loaded when Bart Gabriëls walked. Gabriëls was then forced out on a grounder by Sergio Koelemij, but that resulted in another run and made it 7-2.
Hereafter, Marc Steenhof retired the side in the fifth inning, but gave up a lead-off triple to Shurty Tremus in the sixth. He then tried to score when Ronald Jaarsma flied to centerfield, but was thrown out at the plate on a fine throw by centerfielder Glenn Romney. For Steenhof, this was his first big league-appearance since September 1, 2002 when he threw 1 2/3 inning against PSV and earned a save.

...Side-armer Stephen Spragg wins in his debut... (Photo: Alfred Cop)

Moments earlier, Pioniers had come back with four runs in the home of the sixth inning. Glenn Romney opened with a double and scored when a throwing error followed an infield-hit by Jefferson Muzo, who then scored on a double by Glennsig Polonius. After next batter Mark-Jan Moorman walked, Joey Eijpe was relieved by Kevin Roovers. He gave up an RBI-single to Marcel Venema, which made it 7-5. Next, catcher Juriën Overman made a throwing error to third base trying to eliminate Moorman on a grounder by Edwin de Graaf, resulting in a run. In the seventh inning, Pioniers came alongside when Glennsig Polonius doubled, moved on a balk and scored on a sac-fly by Mark-Jan Moorman.

In the home of the seventh, Daan de Jong relieved Marc Steenhof, but walked two batters. In between he gave up a sac-bunt and struckout a batter. With runners on first and second, Tommy van Limburg became the fifth Pionier-pitcher. He faced Ralph Milliard and threw the right pitch, as the lead runner was forced out at third base on his grounder to end the inning.

Van Limburg didn't return in the eighth inning, as the ball was given to closer Dave Draijer. But he gave up a lead-off single to Shurty Tremus, before three outs followed. In the ninth, he gave up another lead-off single, this time to Sergio Koelemij, who then moved on a sac-bunt by Sidney Ensermo and an infield-hit by Sebastiaan Olgers. Juriën Overman followed with another single, but this was the gamewinner, as Koelemij scored to end the game.

Canadian/British reliever Stephen Spragg, who had arrived on Saturday-morning and wasn't to pitch in the weekend, threw the last two innings for HCAW. In the eighth inning, he hit the first batter he faced, Edwin de Graaf, but then retired the next three batters. In the ninth, Glenn Romney led off with an infield-hit, but again three outs followed. As HCAW won the game moments later, Spragg became the winner in his Dutch debut.
(April 15)

...Alderman Carolien Gehrels... ...throws ceremonial first pitch... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

The game, which was the season-opener for Pirates, was played on a very crowded Sportpark Ookmeer in the Dutch capital. After the introduction of the players (who were accompanied by youthplayers of Pirates), the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Carolien Gehrels, the Alderman of Sports for the Municipality of Amsterdam, who shortly before had received some wind-up instructions by former national team-player Charles Urbanus. This game, and all others this weekend, were played under extremely warm conditions for the time of the year. Today, a temperature was registered of 28 degrees Celsius, which set the all-time record for warmest April-day ever in the country.

The Pirates-defense started well, but made some errors later in the game, which did result in extra baserunners for Neptunus, but accounted for only one unearned run. Neptunus hit the ball well and that produced four earned runs.

...Popular Dutch singer René Froger... ...was amongst the spectators... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

In front of more than thousand spectators on the cozy Pirates-home site, third baseman Roderick Simon made a great defensive play on a grounder by Neptunus' lead-off hitter Johnny Balentina and threw him out at first base. Second baseman Björn Henrichs then added a good play on a grounder by Benjamin Dille. Hereafter, Pirate-starter Kenny Berkenbosch hit next batter Raily Legito with a pitch, who could have been forced out on second base on a grounder by Evert-Jan 't Hoen, but short stop Zaïr Koeiman made an error. The inning then ended with a great diving catch by leftfielder Ferd van Stekelenburg on a fly by Lennart Koster.

In the second inning, Neptunus scored its first run, which became a run with a story. With one out, Jeffrey Arends singled. Next batter Jurriaan Korff then drove the ball into leftfield for a double and Arends was waved home. While the throw from leftfielder Ferd van Stekelenburg came in, it was clear that Korff was going to score and he did, as catcher Sidney de Jong received the ball just a fraction too late. 1B Umpire Winfried Berkvens, who had turned around to home for the call, was in the right place to make the right call, but instead of signaling 'safe', for some reason he gave the 'out' signal. Berkvens immediately realized what he had done and grabbed his head, followed by the correct 'safe' signal. It was one of the most spontaneous reactions ever seen on a baseball field. A brief discussion followed, but everyone accepted, especially because of his reaction, that the umpire just had made the wrong signal. Anyhow, Neptunus was leading 1-0. After next batter Jeroen Sluijter was hit by a pitch, Johnny Balentina grounded into a double play on another fine play by third baseman Roderick Simon.

...Pirate short stop Zaïr Koeiman dives after... ...a single by Jeffrey Arends in the second inning... (Photo: Ron Wicklert - www.eott.nl)

In the fourth inning, another special run was scored and again it involved an umpire. With one out, Martijn Meeuwis singled and was waved home on a double into centerfield by Jeffrey Arends. Again, there was a throw to home, now by centerfielder Remco Draijer, and this time, it appeared that catcher Sidney de Jong tagged the runner out on time before reaching the plate. While 1B Umpire Winfried Berkvens was in the outfield for the hit to centerfield, Home Plate Umpire Arnold Verbrugge had moved to third for the eventual play there and 3B Umpire Henk Meerleveld was standing behind the mound. It was the latter who made the 'safe' call from that spot. Again, a discussion followed, this time because of the position from where the call was made, but Neptunus has taken a 2-0 lead.

Neptunus rallied for three runs in thew fifth at bat. With one out, Raily Legito singled and stole second base, then scored when Evert-Jan 't Hoen followed with a double. After 't Hoen moved on a grounder by Lennart Koster, he scored when Martijn Meeuwis also doubled. Hereafter, Kenny Berkenbosch was relieved by Nick Stuifbergen. The inning could have been over moments later, but second baseman Björn Henrichs was credited with an error on a hard grounder by Jeffrey Arends. Next, Jurriaan Korff hit another hard grounder towards third baseman Roderick Simon, which resulted in an RBI-single. In the last four innings, Neptunus reached base eight more times, but didn't score anymore. After leaving 16 runners behind yesterday, the team today stranded 12 runners.

...Winning Pitcher Leon Boyd... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)

...Pitcher Jos de Jong (left)... ...and Catcher Sidney de Jong... ..return in Pirate-uniform... (Photo: Ron wicklert www.eott.nl)

Pirates had only six basehits in the game, all hit by veteran players. Sidney de Jong and Fausto Álvarez Rizo both had two, while Bas de Jong and Roderick Simon each had one. In the first inning, with two outs, Sidney de Jong hit a double in his first at bat in a Pirate-uniform since the 2000 season. The last four seasons, De Jong played for Mr. Cocker HCAW after having played in 2001-2002 for Kinheim. But from 1998-2000, De Jong played the first 99 games of his big league-career for Pirates, making today's one his 100th in a Pirate-uniform.

In the second inning, Pirates got its first two runners on base off starter Leon Boyd, the Canadian-born pitcher, who has a Dutch passport and made his debut in the Dutch national team before playing in the big league. In November last year, Boyd participated with the Dutch team in the tournament for the Intercontinental Cup in Taiwan after playing the season for Hoboken Pioneers in Belgium. Today, he made his Dutch big league-debut with Neptunus after he also had spoken with Pirates and HCAW late last season. Boyd, who earned his first victory, gave up only two basehits in five innings. After Sidney de Jong's double in the first, he gave up a lead-off single to Fausto Álvarez Rizo in the second inning, then walked next batter Roderick Simon. But hereafter, a pop-fly and a double play followed. In the next three innings, only three batters, two with a walk, reached base, before Gregory Gustina took over in the sixth inning. In that at bat, Pirates scored its lone run. With two outs, Bas de Jong singled and moved when Fausto Álvarez again singled. De Jong then scored on a single by Roderick Simon, but the inning ended when Ferd van Stekelenburg grounded out. In the last three innings, including the last one by closer Jan Naterop, only one Pirate reached base, being Sidney de Jong with a single in the eighth.

After last season, Pirates acquired some new players and strenghtened its roster. In today's game, eight of the 13 players used played their first game in a Pirate-uniform. But three of them made their comeback in Amsterdam. Besides the already mentioned Sidney de Jong, the others were pitchers Nick Stuifbergen and Jos de Jong, who both returned to Amsterdam after having played the last two seasons for Mr. Cocker HCAW.
(April 15)

...Full house on Pirates' home field at Sportpark Ookmeer for Opening Day 2007... (Photo: Marco Stoovelaar)