Hoofdklasse 2018: Deferred matches

Yesterday the two games that rained out on Sunday were played. DSS hosted L&D Amsterdam Pirates and De Glaskoning Twins hosted Silicon Storks.

Silicon Storks  6  –  5  De Glaskoning Twins
De lineup of De Glaskoning Twins couldn’t get a grip on the pitching of Jurrian Koks of Silicon Storks. Also, the variable strike zone of the home plate umpire did not help. But it must be said that Koks kept the Twins’ batters at bay with a variety of speed. Many Twins batters chased the first pitch and did Koks a favor with that. With Mic van de Ven on the mound, Storks took a 2-0 lead in the third inning but Twins managed to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third.
In the fourth inning, Mic van de Ven got into trouble when he loaded the bases. He was replaced by Jan Evertse, who could not prevent that Mic was tabbed for two more runs. Eventually, a 6-4-3 double play helped Jan to get out of the inning.
After Storks had extended their lead with another run, the game appeared to be a run race. But Twins managed to even the score by scoring two runs in the eighth inning and one in the ninth. With Jarreau Martina at third base and two outs, Sam Kennelly hit a dribbler towards fist base and it looked like the game was over. But Storks’ first baseman Aldi Guzman who bobbled the ball and allowed Jarreau Martina to score the game-tying run.
In the tenth inning, Storks showed how to produce a run when Runai Coran got on base on a single, advanced to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on a flyout to center field and scored on a wild pitch.
Twins got a slim chance to tie the game once more when Dave Janssen reached third base, but Chris Gé flied out for the final out of the inning, so Storks walked off as a victor.
José Moreno pitched 3.2 innings for the win in which he gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits. He fanned one. Shogo Nakashima took the loss as he allowed the winning run on a wild pitch.
Best hitter for Silicon Storks was Runai Coran, who went 2 for 4.

L&D Amsterdam Pirates  8  –  1  DSS
In the first four innings, nothing much happened as both Kyle Ward (Pirates) and Sander Helmendach (DSS) gave up two hits but no runs. But in the fourth, the Pirates offense stepped on it. Thanks to a single, a walk and a fielder’s choice that wasn’t executed in time, the bases loaded. Then Helmendach gave up another walk to give Pirates a 1-0 lead. Helmendach was replaced by Reggie Bomberg who managed to record the first out when Zerzinho Croes was thrown out at home plate. But then Bomberg gave up another walk to allow Pirates to score their second run of the inning. Thanks to a fielder’s choice and a throwing error, Pirates could extend the score to 4-0.
In the sixth inning, Ward was replaced by Nick Veltkamp who allowed DSS to load the bases. Mitchel Dautzenberg scored on a sac fly but that was all the damage Veltkamp allowed.
One inning later, Pirates added three more runs to their score on two singles, a throwing error and a fielding error. Rodney Daal scored the eighth and final run for Pirates in the ninth inning. Daal got hit a leadoff double and scored on Rachid Gerard’s single down the left field line.
Kyle Ward pitched five innings for the win in which he gave up two hits and struck out five. Sander Helmendach took the loss. In four innings, he gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits and six walks as he struck out one.
Best hitter for L&D Amsterdam Pirates was Rachid Gerard, who went 1 for 2 with an RBI.

Standings after round one: