 Centrals moves into first place
Nederlands
   ENSCHEDE / OOSTERHOUT / HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Centrals moved into first place on Saturday by winning twice vs. Tex Town Tigers, 13-5 and 8-3.
Twins was handed a big 11-2 loss by Olympia Haarlem, but then won its first game of the season by winning Game 2 of the double-header, 6-2.
Dutch champion Sparks Haarlem played its games of the season and opened with a narrow 5-4 victory vs. Alcmaria Victrix, then won comfortably in Game 2, 9-0.
Two more double-headers are scheduled for Monday.
Iber Lengua Terrasvogels has no games scheduled this weekend.
Twins vs. Olympia Haarlem
At Oosterhout, Olympia Haarlem handed Twins its third loss in a row, winning big 11-2, but then lost Game 2 of the double-header, 6-2.
Olympia had to do this weekend without C Lisanne van den Berg, IF Judith Diepeveen and OF Gwen Brinkman and traveled with a small roster to Oosterhout, but nevertheless won convincingly in the opener.
At the Twins-side, infielder Sandra Catoen is out for the season, due to a torn shoulder-ligament.
In the opener, it was Twins that opened the score with two runs in the first at bat off starter Amanda Lindsey.
Lead-off hitter Fabienne van Uden walked and advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on an one-out single by Andee Lindgren.
After the latter advanced to third base on a single by Evelien Vonk, she was replaced by pinch-runner Jenna van Rijen, who then scored on a grounder by Kimberly Petrovich.
So, Lindgren and Petrovich, the two Americans on the roster of Twins, were successful batting in two runs in the first at bat, but were less successful in this game as a pitcher.
...Elena Leon...
...4 hits (double, triple), 2 Runs, 4 RBI's...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
After Olympia left two runners in the second inning, it got one run back in the third.
Lauren True led off with a single, then scored when Elena Leon followed with a triple.
In the fourth inning, Olympia scored three runs to take the lead.
Olympia had the bases loaded with Maranca Ham (single), Rosanne de Vries (fielder's choice) and Marit Molenaar (single) with two outs off Andee Lindgren, who then walked Lauren True to bring in the tying run.
A single by Elena Leon then accounted for the next two runs and made it 4-2 in Olympia's favor.
In the fifth inning, Olympia brought the lead out of reach for Twins by scoring seven runs off Kimberly Petrovich.
With one out and the bases loaded, Lindy van der Wal walked to bring in a run, then (with two outs) Lauren True also walked.
Hereafter, Femke Duffhues became the new pitcher, saw a run being scored on an error and then gave up a baseclearing, 3-run triple to Laura Burggraaf.
Moments later, the latter scored herself on a single by Dinet Oosting to make it 11-2.
In Game 2, Twins recovered and won its first game of the season.
The team took a 3-0 lead in the third at bat and this time hold onto the lead.
Sarah Van Der Meiren led off with a single, moved on a sac-bunt by Fabienne van Uden and a single by Michelle Haen, then was replaced by pinch-runner Jenna van Rijen, who scored when Andee Lindgren followed with a double.
A sac-fly by Evelien Vonk and single by Sophie Bugter then made it 3-0.
In the fifth inning, Olympia narrowed the deficit to 3-2.
Lindy van der Wal led off with a walk and scored on a 2-out double by Elena Leon, which was followed by an RBI-single by Laura Burggraaf.
But this time, it was Twins that took more distance, scoring three more runs in the home of the fifth.
Andee Lindgren walked and Sophie Bugter singled, then pinch-hitter Femke Duffhues delivered an RBI-single, followed by a 2-run triple by Kirsten Molle that made it 6-2.
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Tex Town Tigers vs. Centrals
At Enschede, Centrals won big twice vs. Tex Town Tigers, 13-5 and 8-3, to become the league-leader.
Centrals is now 5-1 and that is its best season-start ever since first playing in the Dutch big league in 2006.
Since then, the team had three seasons in which it started with a 4-2 record in the first six games.
The two wins on one day vs. Tex Town Tigers are also a first.
In 2006, Centrals won two games vs. Tex Town Tigers, but on separate occassions.
Since 2006, Centrals played 24 games vs. TTT before today and had won only five of them.
The 13 runs scored in the first game are the most ever scored by Centrals in the Dutch big league, breaking the team-record of 12 set on April 11, 2010.
The 16 basehits in one game equals the team-record set on August 7 of last year.
...Marina Gusman Brown...
...6 hits (2 doubles, 2 triples), 5 Runs, 4 RBI's...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the opener, Centrals scored twice in the first inning.
A single by Kimberly van der Lee and an error accounted for these first runs.
In the home half of the at bat, TTT got one run back when Nadine Marinus walked with two outs and scored on a triple by Mieke Smit-Van der Zwaan.
Centrals added two runs off Martina Lackner in the third inning.
With one out, Marina Gusman Brown and Eva Voortman hit back-to-back doubles to bring in a run, then the latter scored on a 2-out triple by Isonette Polonius.
The next run was score in the fourth when Shadeney Castillo led off with a triple and scored on a single by Stephanie Ruiter.
Centrals then took more distance in the fifth by scoring three more runs, highlighted by an RBI-double by Polonius.
In the home of the fifth, TTT got two runs back, thanks to some control problems of pitcher Eva Voortman, who hit a batter and had two wild pitches.
Centrals rallied for five runs in the seventh to make it 13-4.
With the bases loaded, Marina Gusman Brown (who was 3-for-4, scored three runs, reached base five times and had three RBI's) hit a 3-run triple.
After Eva Voortman (who was 3-for-5) had singled, an error accounted for two more runs.
Shadeney Castillo als had three basehits for Centrals.
TTT managed to add only one more run in the seventh.
In Game 2, Centrals struck in the first three innings, scoring two runs in each of the at bats.
In the first, Marina Gusman Brown led off with a triple and Eva Voortman followed with a single.
A run was then scored in a stolen base-situation, followed by an RBI-grounder that made it 2-0.
Two runs were added in the second inning.
This time, Shadeney Castillo led off with a triple and scored on a bunt by Eliza Rikkelman, who scored herself on a double by Gusman Brown.
Tex Town Tigers scored twice in its second on a 2-run error, but then Centrals scored two more runs in the third on a double by Melissa Dowling and a single by Castillo.
Another error in the Centrals-defense (which made five) led to the third TTT-run in the third inning, but in the sixth, Centrals made it 8-3 when a run was scored on a wild pitch and another one on a single by Kimberly van der Lee.
Gusman Brown singled, doubled and tripled in both games and reached base in all of her nine at bats, while Castillo again had three basehits in Game 2.
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Oolders Omaco Sparks Haarlem vs. Alcmaria Victrix
At Haarlem, Oolders Omaco Sparks Haarlem registered a small 5-4 win in its first game of the season, then followed with a more convincingly 9-0 shutout-win vs. Alcmaria Victrix.
Sparks opened the season with 1B Shannah van der Kaaij on the Disabled List, as she had broken a toe in a work-related incident and will be out for several weeks.
Last week, Sparks had the weekend off.
In the opener, Alcmaria boldly took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off Kirsten Scheele.
Australian catcher Kym Turnell and Kimberly Jones led off with singles and advanced on a grounder by Anne Vlietstra.
A single by Laura Treurniet and sac-fly by Nadia Bron then made it a quick 2-0 lead for the Alkmaar-squad.
However, the lead was shortlived, as Sparks Haarlem answered with four runs in its first at bat.
With one out, Virginie Anneveld tripled in her first official at bat for her new team (she played for Tex Town Tigers since 2005) and scored when Areke Spel followed with a single.
Hereafter, Debby Connor and Celine van Roon (who also played in her first official game for Sparks Haarlem) followed with RBI-singles to make it 3-2.
An error and a double steal led to the fourth run.
...Chantal Versluis...
...four runs scored...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the second inning, Sparks Haarlem added its fifth run when Chantal Versluis reached on an error and scored on a single by Areke Spel, but hereafter failed to take more distance.
The team got the bases loaded with only one out, but a force play-grounder and flyout ended the at bat.
From the third inning on, Sparks reached base only four more times and didn't add more runs off Femke van Dusschoten.
Trailing 5-3, Alcmaria scored another run in the sixth inning.
Rookie Maxime van Dalen led off with a single, which led to a pitching change.
Dagmar Bloeming took over, started with a wild pitch, then gave up an RBI-double to Annemiek de Rover, but then kept the batters of Alcmaria under control.
In Game 2, Dagmar Bloeming started for Sparks Haarlem and retired the first nine batters, before giving up her lone single.
Rebecca Soumeru pitched the fifth and last inning.
The home team scored three runs in the first inning when a basesloaded RBI-single by Julie Owen was followed by a 2-run outfield-error.
Three runs then also were scored in the second inning.
With one out, Virginie Anneveld hit an RBI-double, then scored herself on a 2-out single by Debby Connor, which was followed by a double (plus error) by Julie Owen, who was a late addition to the roster of Sparks Haarlem in the off-season.
In the fourth, Sparks Haarlem again scored three runs.
Chantal Versluis walked and scored her third run in the game on a sac-fly, while Anneveld singled and scored on a double by Connor (who also scored three runs), which was followed by a 2-out RBI-single by Michelle van Driel, who was one of six players that made her debut in a Sparks-uniform.
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Standings & Schedule
(April 23)
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