Dutch hoofdklasse 2018: Round 1, day 2

Today the home teams of last Thursday were the visiting teams. Curaçao Neptunus in Hoofddorp vs Pioniers, CitySide Appartments Quick Amersfoort (likely the longest official club name ever ;-)) in Bussum vs HCAW, DSS vs Amsterdam Pirates and De Glaskoning Twins in The Hague vs Silicon Storks.

Curaçao Neptunus  5  –  1  Hoofddorp Pioniers
Not a blowout score but a relatively simple victory for Curaçao Neptunus. In the first two innings, the reigning champion scored two runs each and never looked back. In total Neptunus collected ten hits but Pioniers wasn’t far behind with seven hits. Nevertheless, Pioniers never could get close to the victory as Neptunus starter Orlando Yntema was practically unhittable. With three hits and a walk given up next to eight strikeouts, Yntema cruised through six innings. Pioniers’ starter Dion Steijl also pitched six innings and was tabbed for the four runs that Neptunus scored.
With runners in scoring position in the first inning, back to back 6-3 groundouts drove in a run for Neptunus to give them a 2-0 lead. In the top of the second inning, Gregory Muller led off with a single through the left side followed by a double to left field, hit by Ruendrick Pieternella, that allowed Muller to score the third run for the Rotterdam based team. Pieternella himself scored on a single by Stijn van der Meer.
Eventually, in the eighth frame, Pioniers managed to get on the board as well. Tyler Boersma drew a walk, advanced to second on a single by player/manager Mervin Gario and scored on Leandro Anasagasti’s single up the middle.
The final score was reached when Dwayne Kemp touched all bases on a solo shot to left field. It is needless to say that Orlando Yntema earned the win and Dion Steijl took the loss. Gregory Muller and Ruendrick Pieternella shared the honor of being the best hitter for Neptunus. Both went 2 for 4 and scored a run but Pieternella drove in a run and hit a double.  

DSS  0  –  2  L&D Amsterdam Pirates
A hard fought win for L&D Amsterdam Pirates as the team took revenge for Thursday’s defeat. The fans in Amsterdam were treated to a real pitching duel. DSS’ Tom Stuifbergen and Pirates’ Robin Schel kept their opponents in check for six innings. Both were replaced after the sixth. Stuifbergen gave up two hits, a walk and struck out two, Schel gave up two hits, walked three and fanned four.
Both teams had their opportunities as they put runners into scoring position but neither managed to push through until the eighth inning. In that eighth, new outfielder Davey de la Cruz Santana had a helluva debut as he tripled to right-center field and drove in two runs to give Pirates the lead.
Daan Hendrix, who had replaced Robin Schel in the seventh, worked his way through the seventh and the eighth inning rather easily and recorded two quick outs in the ninth. But then Schel failed to make the final out. With the bases loaded, manager Charles Urbanus directed Jim Ploeger to the mound, who took care of the situation as he retired Devano Pieter on strikeouts.
Daan Hendrix earned the win, Jim Ploeger earned the save and Mike Groen took the loss. Both teams played flawless baseball.
Best hitter was rookie Mikey de la Cruz Santana, who went 2 for 3 with two RBI and a triple.

CitySide Appartments Quick Amersfoort  8  –  3  HCAW
A surprising result in Bussum? One of the candidates to reach the playoffs, fell to CitySide Appartments Quick Amersfoort today. A wild fifth inning was enough for Quick to walk away with the win especially after HCAW failed to execute with runners in scoring position several times.
Quick took a bold 2-0 lead in the first inning but HCAW managed to tie the game after scoring runs in the first and the second inning. But in the fifth inning, Quick flexed its muscles. With three doubles, a single, an HBP, a wild pitch and a passed ball, Quick managed to score five runs. HCAW did something back in the seventh when Roelie Henrique scored on Seb Visser’s single but that was about all the club from Bussum was capable of. Quick scored one more time in the ninth. 
Colin van Laar pitched 5.2 innings for the win as he gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks. Colin struck out four. Kaj Timmermans took the loss. In 4.2 innings he gave up seven runs on five hits and four walks as he struck out three.
Rachid Engelhardt was the best hitter for CitySide Appartments Quick Amersfoort. Rachid collected three hits out of five at-bats with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored.

De Glaskoning Twins    –    Silicon Storks
Also, the fans in The Hague were treated on a pitching duel until the seventh inning. Both Misja Harcksen and Martijn Kram kept their opponent on a leash rather well. It must be said that Martijn Kram was much more effective than Misja Harcksen. In seven innings, Martijn threw 74 pitches though he did not strike out a single batter. Misja on the other side did not finish the full seven innings. Misja threw 120 pitches, fanned nine, walked three and served up three runs (two earned) on six hits.
Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Sam Kennelly’s solo home run. But two innings later, Storks tied the game when Quinlan de Windt also hit a solo shot.
In the fifth inning, rookie Max Kops doubled to left-center field and scored on Jarreau Martina’s single through the left side.
As said above, Misja Harcksen did not finish the seventh inning. He allowed Philip Brandl to score on Tijani Dunlop’s single to right field that tied the game. After Misja retired Quinlan de Windt for the second out, he wasn’t helped by his defense when third baseman Ruar Verkerk made a throwing error to second base, for what should have been the second out and that allowed Dunlop to score the go-ahead run. Misja was replaced by Jakob Syrén, who retired Kendrick Delima on a flyout.
But Twins showed some flexibility as it took the lead again in the top of the eighth inning. With runners in scoring position, Sam Kennelly singled up the middle to drive in Bob van der Meer and Ruar Verkerk. Storks blew a major opportunity to take the lead again as it failed to execute with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth.
Thijs Steenwijk closed out the game for Twins for the save as he pitched the final two innings, though it was a narrow escape. Storks got runners in scoring position with one out but Thijs managed to get out of the Jam. Jakob Syrén clinched his first win as he retired the final out of the seventh inning. Despite pitching a very solid game, Martin Kram had to take the loss.
Three hitters shared the honor of being the best hitter for De Glaskoning Twins. Max Kops, Bram Grooten, and Sam Kennelly all hit 2 for 4 but Sam most productive with a home run and three runs batted in.