2025 Belgian Divivision One: Playoffs

Today the playoffs of the Belgian Division One started. Both matches were played at the facility of Hoboken Pioneers. One can say there was one surprising result and one almost surprising result.

Borgerhout Squirrels 4 – 2 Hoboken Pioneers

The clear favorite for the Belgian championship did not live up to the expectations. In a close game, the didn’t get a grip on the pitches of Wyatt Lankford. He faced Pioneers in 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits, as he struck out four and walked five. In the first inning, Hoboken Pioneers had a huge opportunity to blow the game wide open as they loaded the bases with one out, but Dennis de Quint hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Until the fourth inning, Borgerhout Squirrels didn’t get a grip on Kevin Desmedt’s pitches either, as he retired the side in each of the first three innings. But in the top of the fourth, a throwing error was the prelude of a big inning for Borgerhout.

With Sander De Saedeleer on second after the throwing error, Nick Vanthillo drove him in with a double to deep center field, followed by a single, hit by Tim Veraghtert. Matthias Group bunted both runners over to put them into scoring position. A sac fly by Sam Boermans and a single by Matas Sirgedas, drove in two more runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hoboken got on the board when Edgar Jose Nieto Castillo got on base on a single to center field. He advanced two bases, once on a wild pitch and once on a sac bunt by Wesley Janssens. Another wild pitch allowed Nieto Castillo to score the first run for Pioneers.

In the seventh inning, Hoboken got within a run from Borgerhout when Dennis de Quint scored from third base on a single by Vegas Tiliakos.

Borgerhout dealt the decisive blow in the top of the ninth. Sam Boermans hit a leadoff double down the left field line, followed by a single, hit by Matas Sirgedas. Boermans scored on a sac bunt, laid down by Timen van Geel.

Winning pitcher for Borgerhout Squirrels was Wyatt Lankford while Kevin Desmedt took the loss. In 8.1 innings, he allowed four runs (two earned), on eight hits, struck out five and walked one. Donald Goodes earned the save after 2.1 innings of work in which he gave up two hits and struck out fwo.

Matas Sirgedas was the best hitter for the Borgerhout Squirrels as he went 3 for 4 with an RBI.

With this win, Borgerhout is in the winners bracket and will face the winner of the other game of today: Deurne Spartans @ Brasschaat Braves.


Deurne Spartans 7 – 9 Brasschaat Braves

A come back from behind win for the Brasschaat Braves against the Deurne Spartans. After five innings, things looked gloomy for the Braves, but in the following three innings, they turned the tables.

Things appeared to go as expected for the Braves as they took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Harry Deliyannis hit a leadoff homer off Anderson Denny Gerdel Nieto, to put the Braves on the board. With bases loaded and one out, Lino Ballardini bunted in the second run for the Braves.

Deurne countered in the second inning when Daniel Bustamante hit a leadoff home run off Harry Deliyannis. The Braves would counter on their turn in the bottom of the third. Hunter Cooper doubled to right center field and scored on Lino Ballardini’s single through the right side.

But in the fifth inning, Deurne turned the tables in a grand way. Eder Hernandez Sarao led off with a single and scored all the way from first on Leonel Santiago Reina Viant’s double down the left field line. He advanced to third on the throw two home plate. A bunt, a single, a double and a homer drove in a total of five more runs for the Spartans.

In the sixth inning, Thomas de Wolf did what the Braves hired him for. With two outs and a runner on first, he homered to deep center field.

With runners in scoring position and two outs, Robbe de Boey doubled down the right field line and allowed Hunter Cooper and Lino Ballardini to score and to tie the game at seven.

In the meantime, Hunter Cooper, who replaced Harry Deliyannis in the fifth, kept the lineup of the Spartans in check, even though he walked five in 3.2 innings.

The decisive blow was dealt in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and second, Robin Roevens hit the ball toward third base, where the third bagger made a capital error that allowed Steven De Lannoy to score the go ahead run. With two outs and Robin Roevens at second, Matthew Joosens singled to center field to drive in the insurance run.

But despite the two-run lead, things got exciting when Hunter Cooper walked two with one out. He was replaced by Robbe de Boey, who served up the pitch that would lead to a 6-4-3, game ending double play.

Hunter Cooper earned the win after 3.2 innings, in which he allowed five hits, struck out three and walked five. Fernando Andres Chacon Torrealba took the loss. He gave up two runs in the eighth inning, allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out one. Robbe de Boey earned the save.

Hunter Cooper was the best hitter for Brasschaat Braves as he went 3 or 3 with two runs scored.

Thanks to this win, the Braves are in the winners bracket and will face Borgerhout Squirrels in tomorrow’s winners game. Hoboken Pioneers will face Deurne Spartans in the losers game. Both games will be played at the facility of Brasschaat Braves.

The winner of the losers game (Spartans or Pioneers) will face the loser of the winners game (Braves or Squirrels), next Saturday. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the final and will face the winner of the game between between the Braves and Squirrels. See the schedule below:

This blog post is brought to you by.