L&D Amsterdam Pirates wins first round of the Hoofdklasse

Tonight one more first round game had to be played between Curacao Neptunus and L&D Amsterdam Pirates. For Pirates it was a must win situation because with a loss, Corendon Kinheim from Haarlem would clinch the second place and thus a play off spot. Neptunus already had clinched a play off spot, only the outcome of this game would decide whether they would win the first half or finish in second place.

L&D Amsterdam started the second half of the first inning with a ground out hit by Roelie Henrique, followed by a double to right center fied, hit by Michael Duursma. After Nick Urbanus struck out looking, Kenny Berkenbosch also hit a double and drove in Duursma for the opening run. Remco Draijer hit the third double of the inning and drove in Berkenbosch to give Pirates a 2-0 lead.
In the third innning, Roelie Henrique scored from third base after Kenny Berkenbosch grounded out 6-3.
L&D Amsterdam Pirates had a big inning in the fifth when Orlando Yntema almost retired the fist two batters. Yntema struck out Roelie Henrique and also had struck out Michael Duursma if he hadn’t thrown a wild pitch. Duursma swung on the pitch for the third strike and reached first base safely. Nick Urbanus hit a fly out to right field for the second out. After Kenny Berkenbosch singled towards third base, Remco Draijer hit a bases clearing triple that gave Pirates a 5-0 lead. Another wild pitch by Yntema allowed Draijer to score the sixth run for L&D Amsterdam Pirates. In the remainder of the game, Pirates never got any further than second base.
Curacao Neptunus was kept in check for the biggest part of the game by Rob Cordemans. Only in the seventh inning, they had a runner in scoring position, but failed to score. But in the eighth, the club from Rotterdam started a rally when Stijn van der Meer singled towards first base, followed by a by a single hit by Dwayne Kemp on which Van der Meer advanced to third. After Dwayne Kemp stole second base, Raily Legito grounded out 4-6, both runners advanced a base and put Neptunus on the board. A single by Gianison Boekhoudt to left field drove in Dwayne Kemp for Neptunus second and final run of the game.
As said, Rob Cordemans kept the Neptunus lineup in check for seven innings. He gave up five hits, two walks and fanned five. Orlando Yntema took the loss after 4.2 innings in which he gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Remco Draijer was the best hitter for Pirates, going 2 for 4 with a double and a triple and three RBI. Gianison Boekhoudt went 2 for 2 for Neptunus with two walks and a run batted in.

With this victory, L&D Amsterdam Pirates clinched the first half win and a play off spot against all odds.