Rick van den Hurk makes first start for Hawks

Newly acquired Dutch RHP, Rick van den Hurk made his debut with the Softbank Hawks during an intra-squad game yesterday (February 17).

The 29-year old started the intra-squad game for the white team. His velocity reached 148 km/h (92 mph). The first three batters that he faced were retired by him. Van den Hurk threw  ten pitches of which seven fastballs that topped 91 mph. His outing lasted one inning.

Van den Hurk wasn’t worried about the velocity. “Today I focused on the control of my pitches. The velocity will come, don’t worry.”

Hawks’ manager Koji Akiyama was happy with Van den Hurk’s performance. The next start Van den Hurk will throw some more pitches. Plans are to let him start the exhibition game vs the Doosan Bears from the KBO.

Softbank Hawks’ outfielder Akira Nakamura also praised Van den Hurk for his control.