Dutch Hoofdklasse, Saturday May 9

On day two of round four, the following games were scheduled:

Vaessen Pioniers – Curacao Neptunus; Corendon Kinheim – HCAW; UVV – Pronto DSS; Mampaey the Hawks – L&D Amsterdam Pirates.
There were two expected scores but also two surprises.

Vaessen Pioniers – Curacao Neptunus   2 – 15

To start with the first surprise. The win by Neptunus wasn’t the surprise. The score was.
After two innings Vaessen Pioniers trailed by ten runs already. A three run first and a seven run second inning made it a very one sided game already. Pioniers’ starting pitcher Lars Huijer was hit hard and was pulled after facing four hitters in the second without recording an out. Three runs in the fourth inning and one run each in the fifth and the seventh inning brought the total of Curacao Neptunus at fifteen. Only in the seventh inning Pioniers scored two runs when Daniel Fernandes homered with Max Draijer on board. Pioniers had runners in scoring position a few times, but they failed to cash in. The closest to scoring a run, besides the seventh inning, was in the fifth inning as Pioniers’ Danny Rombley drew a walk and eventually tried to score from second base on a single hit by VInce Rooi. But a good throw towards homeplate prevented Rombley to score as he was tagged out by catcher Gianison Boekhoudt.
Kenny van den Branden earned the win as he lasted six full innings in which he allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out four. Lars Huijer was tabbed with the loss he pitched one full inning and faced four hitters in the second inning before he was pulled. Lars allowed seven hits (three earned) on five hits, struck out one and walked two. Of all Neptunus starters, Benjamin Dille was the best hitter with three basehits out of four at bats with an RBI and a run scored. Mark Jan Moorman went 2 for 3 with a double for Pioniers.

Corendon Kinheim – HCAW   9 – 2

HCAW was outhit 16-4 and committed two errors vs one made by Kinheim.
For three innings Giovanni Tensen managed to keep Corendon Kinheim from scoring but in the fourth he had to allow two runs. After Tensen gave up a single to Mervin Gario in the bottom of the fifth, he was replaced by Gijs van Els. After Mervin Gario stole second base he advanced to third on a basehit by Dashenko Ricardo, Gario was replaced by pinch runner Niels van Weert. Van Weert scored on Jeffrey Arends’ single. Kalian Sams drove in three runs as he hit a homerun to center field. After Sams hit his homerun, Kinheim put runners on the corners and added one more run in that inning when Kevin Moesquit drove in Bryan Engelhardt with a single. Kinheim
HCAW got on the board in the top of the sixth inning as Roy Seltenrijck singled followed by a homerun hit by Rossini Frolijk. Kinheim scored two more runs in the eighth inning to reach the final score.
Nick Veltkamp earned the win after seven innings of work in which he allowed two runs on four hits, walked five and struck out seven. Giovanni Tensen got the loss after four innings and one hitter in the fiffth. He gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits. He walked two and fanned three.
Kalian Sams had the most impact as he went 3 for 5 with a homerun, a double, four RBI and a run scored. Roy Seltenrijch went 2 for 4 for HCAW. He also stole one base.

UVV – Pronto DSS  1 – 2

The other surprise came from this game. For nine innings the game stayed scoreless. In the tenth inning both teams scored a run, so an eleventh inning was needed. Again runners were placed on first and second base (tie breaker rule). As Sven Jongejans grounded out to first base, Mitchell Dautzenberg and Lex Leijenaar advanced one base to give DSS two runners in scoring position. Tino van Erk hit a 4-3 ground out that kept the runners on their base. Seb Visser eventually hit towards pitcher Claudio Bavera who made a fielding error that allowed Lex Leijenaar to score the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the eleventh inning, UVV placed Jamie Verheyleweghen on second base and Brennan Nijhof at first. As Joris van Ballegooy laid down a bunt, he reached base on a fielder’s choice as pitcher Kevin Geestman threw the ball to third baseman Seb Visser, who tagged out Jamie Verheyleweghen. After Kevin Geestman struck out Gilmer Lampe, Dennis Ribbens grounded out for the final out of the the game.
Kevin Geestman who pitched in the tenth and the eleventh inning, earned the win. He allowed one run (not earned) on     one hit and struck out one. Claudio Bavera got the loss after four innings in which he allowed two runs (none earned) on two hits and struck out two.
Mitchell Koot was the best hitter for Pronto DSS with two basehits out of four at bats. Mike Bazuin was the best hitter for UVV as he went 1 for 2 after he entered the game as a pinch hitter.

Mampaey the Hawks – L&D Amsterdam Pirates  1 – 12

Mampaey the Hawks remains the only team without a win. Today they were no match for L&D Amsterdam Pirates. L&D Amsterdam Pirates started quietly as they scored only one run in the first inning. But a big second inning made the Pirates run away. After Bas Nooij and Jesse Aussems singled, Rachid Gerard connected for a towering homerun.

The small field (100 meters / 328 feet) and the hard wind kept the ball out of reach from left fielder Steven Wharwood. That very same Steven Wharwood scored the only run for the Hawks in the bottom of the second as Julian Goins singled to shortstop Michael Duursma.
After Linoy Croes and Roelie Henrique reached third and second base on walks an a throwing error, Michael Duursma hit a sac fly to drive in Linoy Croes. Roelie Henrique eventually scored on Nick Urbanus’ double. In the fifth inning, Rashid Gerard hit his second homerun of the game and took Bas Nooij with him for two of the three runs that L&D Amsterdam Pirates would score in that inning. Two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh ended the game in seven innings.
Winning pitcher was Kevin Heijstek who pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out five. Evan Simons allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings and got the loss. Simons walked four and struck out one. Best hitter was Jesse Aussems with three hits out of four at bats and a run scored. But the most impact had Rashid Gerard with his two homeruns and five runs batted in.

Here are a few impressions of the game: