On the second day of round two in the Dutch hoofdklasse, Oosterhout Twins hosted Hoofddorp Pioniers. In an eleven run game between two very young teams, Twins stayed at the right side of the score after yesterday’s victory.

Hoofddorp Pioniers 4 – 7 Oosterhout Twins
An unusual starting pitcher for Oosterhout Twins. Raf Cocu, who performed as a closer during the previous seasons, started the game. He got off the wrong foot as he walked the first three batters he faced. Hoofddorp Pioniers opened the score when Daan Terstall hit into a force out at second base, on which Bodhi de Vreede could touch home plate.
In another bases-loaded situation, Vincent Pieter Mevissen grounded out on an unassisted play by the first baseman, but the latter had some problems controlling the hit ball, so two runners could score and give Pioniers a 3-0 lead.
But Twins bounced back in the bottom of the first inning. With one out and the bases loaded, a passed ball allowed Marnix Ruben to score the first run for Twins. In another bases-loaded situation, Luuk Visser drew a walk to get within a run from Pioniers.
In the second inning, Raf Cocu settled down and cruised through the next four innings. Where he gave up four walks in the first inning, he only gave up two in the remaining five innings of his outing.
In the fourth inning, Twins tied the game at three. With the bases loaded, Jerzy van Gool hit into a force out at second that allowed Luuk Visser to score the game-tying run. With runners in scoring position and two outs, Thijmen Peters singled up the middle to drive in both runners and to give Twins a two-run lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Pioniers cut the lead of Twins in half when Thom Hoogkamer singled through the left side and enabled Daan Terstall to score.
Eventually, in the seventh inning, Twins decided the game for good. With a bases-loaded situation, Thijmen Peters was hit by a pitch and allowed Yurdion Franklin Martie to score the sixth run for Twins. During the next play, Berend Ruben reached base on a fielders choice when Luuk Bun was tagged out at home plate. An error by the catcher that followed, allowed Gijs van Zalingen to score Twins’ seventh run.
It goes too far to say that this game was a festival of errors, but a total of five errors were committed; four by Twins, one by Pioniers.
Raf Cocu was the winning pitcher. In 5.2 innings, he gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and six walks as he struck out five. Sem Nijman, who pitched 2.2 innings in relief, took the loss. He allowed four runs on two hits and four walks, and struck out three.
Thijmen Peters and Luuk Bun both went 2 for 3. Peters drove in three runs, while Bun scored one.
Other results of day two were:
RCH/Pinguïns 1 – 2 Curaçao Neptunus
Quick Amersfoort 12 – 11 UVV
DSS/Kinheim 0 – 1 Amsterdam Pirates
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