Dutch hoofdklasse 2018: Round 12, day 2

On the second day of round twelve, Meerlease Pioniers headed to The Hague to face Silicon Storks, L&D Amsterdam Pirates hosted HCAW, Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort hosted Curaçao Neptunus and DSS was the visiting team in Oosterhout where it faced De Glaskoning Twins.

Meerlease Pioniers  3  –  1  Silicon Storks
In a rather close game, Meerlease Pioniers only needed three runs to win this one. With Duco Nuijten at third base in the third inning, Oliver van der Wijst singled through the left side and allowed Nuijten to score the opening run. Three innings later, Pioniers managed to score two insurance runs thanks to three singles, a wild pitch, a throwing error and a sac fly. Those two runs came at the right moment as Silicon Storks scored in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kenny George homered down the right field line.
Alexander Valdez pitched eight strong innings in which he gave up seven hits and a run and struck out four for the win. Angelo Wicklert pitched a perfect ninth in which he retired the side on strikeouts.
Best hitter for Meerlease Pioniers was Oliver van der Wijst, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

HCAW  4  –  1  L&D Amsterdam Pirates
Embarrassing loss for L&D Amsterdam Pirates? Perhaps. But by saying so one would downplay the performance of Kaj Timmermans and Dennis Burgersdijk of HCAW.
Pirates couldn’t get a grip on the pitches of Timmermans who allowed only one run on just four hits. It took the Amsterdam team until the sixth inning to get on the board. By then, HCAW had taken a 3-0 lead and would add one more run in the seventh.
Kevin Heijstek wasn’t as sharp as he can be but it must be said that he did not get much help from his defense as Pirates committed four errors. In seven innings, Heijstek gave up all the runs HCAW scored on six hits. Two of those runs were unearned. Heijstek walked two and struck out as many.
Of course, Timmermans earned the win. Dennis Burgersdijk pitched a solid eighth and ninth inning in which he gave up one hit and fanned two for the save.
The best hitter for HCAW was Kevin Weijgertse who went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Curaçao Neptunus  14  –  2  Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort
Until the sixth inning Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort managed to keep pace with Curaçao Neptunus but then the pitching of Quick collapsed. In the sixth inning, Neptunus regained the lead when it scored thrice thanks to a single, a throwing error, a sac bunt, a fielder’s choice, a wild pitch and a double. The ten runs Neptunus scored in the next two innings resulted in a somewhat flattering final score but nevertheless, the team was too strong anyway, especially their pitching.  But until that sixth inning, Jurjen van Zijl limited Neptunus to only four runs. Eventually, Quick Amersfoort was outhit 13-4. Orlando Yntema pitched seven innings for the win as he gave up two runs on four hits and struck out eleven.
Best hitter for Curaçao Neptunus was Quentin de Cuba, who drew three walks and went 2 for 2 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. 

DSS  2  –  2  De Glaskoning Twins
This attractive game did not have a winner after twelve innings. De Glaskoning Twins did not have much luck at bat as many of their “hits” ended in the gloves of the DSS fielders. In total the team managed to squeeze out four hits. Still, Twins managed to take the lead in the third inning. With runners in scoring position, Jarreau Martina singled through the left side and allowed Dave Janssen to score the opening run. Thanks to a single to right field by Ruar Verkerk, Christopher Gé also managed to score. But there the scoring stopped for Twins.
In the seventh inning, Pastor Chavez Martinez gave up the first hit to DSS that spoiled his perfect game bid. And that hit appeared to be a very important one as Denzel Richardson tied the game with one blow. The pitching on both sides did a good job to keep the opponent from scoring although it must be said that Twins’ Jan Evertse was bailed out by Jarreau Martina as the latter prevented DSS to score from second on a base hit to left field, as he gunned the ball towards home plate to hold Devano Pieter at third. 

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