 Quest for fourth place continues
Nederlands
   OOSTERHOUT / ENSCHEDE / HAARLEM (Neth.) -
The quest for the fourth Play-Off spot continues with three teams still in the race for the final spot in the top-4.
The decision might not fell before Thursday, August 25, only two days before the start of the next round which will decide the final ranking for the home advantage in the Play-Offs.
Olympia Haarlem, which is currently in fourth place, holds a 4-point lead over Tex Town Tigers and Twins.
Today, Saturday, July 16, Olympia lost 3-1 to Tex Town Tigers, but then Game 2 was stopped after four innings due to rain and eventually cancelled.
At the moment, the proposed make-up date is Thursday, August 25.
Twins today won 3-2 vs. Iber Lengua Terrasvogels thanks to the rain.
Twins led 3-2, but Terrasvogels came alongside in the top of the sixth.
However, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the game was halted due to rain and then stopped.
Because of this, the incomplete sixth inning was scrubbed, meaning the 3-2 score after five innings became the final score and earned Twins a win.
Game 2 was cancelled.
A make-up date for this game has not yet been announced, but also might be August 25.
Olympia Haarlem, Tex Town Tigers and Twins all still have a chance of qualifying for the Play-Offs.
But there is also a possibility of a 2-way tie and even a 3-team tie, meaning a statistical formula might even decide who will become the fourth Play-Off team.
After completion of this weekend, the regular season will be interrupted for a few weeks.
In this period, the Dutch National Team will defend the European title in the European Championship in Italy (July 31-August 6).
Hereafter, three teams are participating in the European Cup-tournaments.
Dutch champion Oolders Omaco Sparks Haarlem and Cupholder Tex Town Tigers will travel to Caserta (Italy) for the European Cup, while Iber Lengua Terrasvogels participates in the Cup Winners Cup in Castions Di Strada (Italy).
The regular season will then resume on August 20 with a double-header between Twins and Alcmaria Victrix to be followed by a series of make-up games.
At Oosterhout, Iber Lengua Terrasvogels opened the score vs. Twins in the second inning after having left two runners in the first at bat.
Anouk van den Heuvel then reached on an error.
She then stole second base with one out and moved to third base on a single by Dana Horeman.
A wild pitch then enabled her to score the first run.
Terrasvogels added the second run in the fourth inning after two more runners stranded in the third.
With one out, Dana Horeman hit a triple and scored on a 2-out single by Meike Witteveen.
In the home of the fourth inning, Twins scored three runs to take a 3-2 lead.
Sandy Lauwers led off with a single, then Evelien Vonk was hit by a pitch and Andee Lindgren walked to load the bases.
Next, Sarah Van Der Meiren doubled to clear the bases and give Twins the lead.
In the fifth inning, Terrasvogels again left two runners, but then came alongside in the sixth.
With one out, Lotte Holvast singled, moved on a single by Meike Witteveen and scored on a 2-out single by Solange Starrenburg.
But the run was annulled, as the game was stopped by rain with two outs in the home of the sixth.
At Enschede, Tex Town Tigers trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning vs. Olympia Haarlem when it scored twice and went on to win 3-1 in the opener.
After four scoreless innings, Olympia Haarlem took an 1-0 lead in the fifth inning.
Lisanne van de Berg led off with a double, moved on a sac-bunt and scored on a 2-out bunt-single by Elena Leon.
In the home of the fifth, Tex Town Tigers scored twice to make it 2-1.
With two outs, Kirsten Holshof singled and reached second base safely when an error was made on a force play-grounder by Myrthe Smid.
The two runners then scored when Petra van Heijst followed with a triple.
Tex Town Tigers then added an insurance run in the sixth.
Merel Oosterveld led off with a single, then next batter Nadine Marinus reached on a fielder's choice-sac-bunt.
After the two runners advanced on a wild pitch, the lead runner scored on a grounder by Jenna DeLong.
Game 2 was scoreless after four innings when it was interrupted by rain.
Later, the game was stopped definitively.
The proposed make-up date for this game is Thursday, August 25.
Tex Town Tigers was closest to a run in this game, leaving a runner on third base in the first at bat, then left the bases loaded in the second inning.
At Haarlem, the start of Game 1 of the double-header between Oolders Omaco Sparks Haarlem and Centrals was initially postponed, because of the rain.
But in the end, the double-header was cancelled.
The proposed make-up dates are August 23 and 25.
(July 16)
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