With Omron Pioniers (farm team of Meerlease Pioniers) and Alcmaria Victrix finishing with the same number of wins and losses in the bottom eight group of the overgangsklasse, a decisive game was needed. Today both teams met at the ballpark of Sparks in Haarlem. Alcmaria Victrix didn’t stand a chance against Omron Pioniers’ pitching as Pioniers won 5-0.
After two scoreless innings, Omron Pioniers broke the game open as it scored one run on 
a double hit by Michael Dimitrescu. In the following inning, Dylan Farley led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout hit by Mark Duursma. Farley scored on Thom Hoogkamer’s single. Hoogkamer himself scored the third run for Pioniers.
In the top of the fifth inning, Alcmaria Victrix guided Ruben Bakker to the mound. Bakker kept Omron Pioniers in check rather well until the ninth inning when Omron Pioniers plated two more runs.
The pitching on the side of Omron Pioniers kept Alcmaria Victrix limited to four runs. Starting pitcher Sebastian Kok pitched 5.1 solid innings for the win in which he even struck out former Dutch hoofdklasse player and former Dutch national team player Vince Rooi after an eight-pitch battle in which Rooi fouled off three pitches before striking out. Kok struck out eight, walked five and allowed just two hits. He threw ninety-eight pitches of which he threw sixty for strikes.
Nathan Diaby pitched the remaining 3.2 innings and struck out five, walked one and allowed two hits.
Alcmaria Victrix will join DSS 2 form Haarlem, the Hawks from Dordrecht and Orioles from Bergschenhoek as the teams to be demoted to the top klasse (what’s in a name). Thanks to today’s victory, Omron Pioniers will remain in the overgangsklasse which has been cut from sixteen teams to twelve for the 2020 season.
- Omron Pioniers celebrates the victory (photo: Jeroen Kok)
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