Limited action for most of Dutch hoofdklasse players in ABL

This weekend, the (former) Dutch hoofdklasse players did not see much action. The only one who got plenty of playing time was Dwayne Kemp. The others were limited to an inning or a few at-bats.

Shogo Nakashima, the solid reliever of the Sydney Blue Sox, pitched only one inning in Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Auckland Tuatara. Nakashima pitched a perfect eighth inning in which he struck out one and lowered his ERA to 2.57. The other Dutch hoofdklasse player with the Blue Sox, Dwayne Kemp, saw action in all games this weekend. Through the weekend, Kemp went 9 for 15 with three RBI, a double and a solo home run. His best game was the one of today in which he went 3 for 5.

Loek van Mil was limited to the first game of the Brisbane Bandits vs the Canberra Cavalry on Thursday. In the 6-4 victory by the Bandits over the Cavalry, Van Mil earned his third save of the season by allowing a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Former Dutch hoofdklasse player Justin Erasmus pitched 2.1 innings in that very same game, striking out five. In Saturday’s 5-3 victory over the Cavalry, Erasmus earned the save by pitching a perfect tenth inning in which he struck out one. In today’s game, Erasmus pitched 0.1 innings as he gave up two earned runs on two hits. Nevertheless, the Bandits won by beating the Cavalry 9-7.

Another former Dutch hoofdklasse player, Dushan Ruzic, pitched six innings in Saturday’s second game as he allowed three unearned runs on seven hits and struck out five of the Cavalry to earn his second win of the season. Ruzic used to play for the reigning Dutch and European champion Curaçao Neptunus.

Sam Kennelly had a poor weekend. He started in one game and had two pinch-hit appearances. In total Sam went 0 for 3 and drew a walk.

Standings after round 4: