After narrowly winning game one on Thursday night (5-4), HCAW took a big step to their first Dutch championship since 1998 by beating Curaçao Neptunus 2-0 today.
Curaçao Neptunus 0 – 2 HCAW
In a quick game (two hours and twenty-two minutes), HCAW roped Neptunus to its chariot again. This game was a nice pitching duel between Kaj Timmermans of Neptunus and workhorse Dennis Burgersdijk of HCAW. Both pitchers went the distance. Timmermans needed ninety-four pitches to complete the game, Burgersdijk hundred and thirteen.
Both teams were each other’s match, as they collected five hits each and committed one error, but HCAW was a bit more effective.
With the help of his defense, Kaj Timmermans kept HCAW from scoring in the first two innings. In the second inning, Neptunus had a major opportunity to break the game open, as it had runners in scoring position with only one out. But Dennis Burgersdijk pitched himself out of this pickle as he recorded the second and the third out by striking out Dashenko Ricardo and serving up a pitch that ended in the glove of shortstop Bob van der Meer for a fly-out.
In the bottom of the third inning, HCAW opened the score when Timmermans started the inning by giving up a walk to Julian Goins, who advanced to second on a single by Brendly Martina. A single through the right side by Jeandro Tromp drove in Goins for the opening run.
One inning later, HCAW extended its score by a run when hired gun Phildrick Llewellyn, who played in the German championship series with Untouchables Paderborn in the past two weekends, reached base on a throwing error. Thanks to a single to right field, Llewellyn advanced to third base. A sac fly by Max Draijer drove in Llewellyn for HCAW’s second run.
In the following innings, Kaj Timmermans settled down and the game turned into a real pitching duel. After the second inning, Dennis Burgersdijk pitched four innings in which he retired the side, partially thanks to a double play in the sixth inning. Eventually, Burgersdijk earned the win, as he did not allow a run. He gave up five hits, walked two, and struck out six. Kaj Timmermans took the loss. In eight innings, he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks and struck out four.
Best hitter for HCAW was Quintin de Cuba, who went 1 for 2.
Tomorrow, game three will be played in Rotterdam. The game will start at 14.00 (2 PM).
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