Dutch hoofdklasse 2018: Round 9, day 1

On day one of round nine, Curaçao Neptunus hosted HCAW, DSS hosted Hoofddorp Pioniers, De Glaskoning Twins hosted L&D Amsterdam Pirates and Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort hosted Silicon Storks.

HCAW  0  –  2  Curaçao Neptunus
The fans saw a very close game in Rotterdam today. Only in the fifth CuraçaoNeptunus broke the spell as it scored once on a single through the right side by Darryl Collins. HCAW had a major scoring opportunity in the sixth with Denzel Bryson at third base with only one out. But Seb Visser grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Neptunus on the other hand also had an opportunity to extend their lead in the seventh inning as it had runners in scoring position but Dennis Burgersdijk, who had replaced Sem Robberse at the start of the seventh, managed to get out of the inning without any damage. Diegomar Markwell limited HCAW to only three hits in nine innings.
With two outs in the eighth, Dwayne Kemp scored all the way from first base on Dudley Leonora’s double down the right-field line.
Thanks to a solid outing, Diegomar Markwell earned the win. Despite a good outing in six innings in which he gave up just one run on three hits and a walk and struck out five, Sem Robberse took the loss.
Dudley Leonora was the best hitter for Curaçao Neptunus as he went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Hoofddorp Pioniers  0  –  1  DSS
Lars Huijer got the nod of manager Mervin Gario, a decision that panned out well. Together with his opponent Sander Helmendach, Lars pitched a real gem. For six innings, Huijer kept DSS limited to one hit. Helmendach, on the other hand, pitched a solid game as well as he kept Pioniers scoreless and allowed three hits in as many innings. But in the seventh inning, Huijer had to give up a run on a single by Koen Werkman after Tino van Erk got on base on a throwing error and advanced to third. In the ninth inning, Pioniers got a good opportunity to tie the game when it had runners on first and second with one out but Mike Groen retired the final two batters for the save. Sander Helmendach earned the win. In 7.1 innings he gave up three hits and three walks and struck out two. Lars Huijer took the loss despite a good outing in nine innings in which he needed 121 pitches.
Best hitter for DSS, in a game in which base hits were scarce, was Denzel Richardson who went 2 for 4.

L&D Amsterdam Pirates  13  –  2  De Glaskoning Twins
In Rosmalen, De Glaskoning Twins’ home for Thursday night games, the fans saw a close game until the sixth inning. Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first inning but L&D Amsterdam Pirates bounced back in the second inning as they scored twice on a force out hit by Victor Draijer and a single hit by Remco Draijer. But Twins managed to tie the game in the fourth as Shurman Marlin scored on Brian Biezen’s single down the left field line. Jan Evertse struggled as he needed 105 pitches and allowed eight walks. But nevertheless, he managed to pitch five innings. Rob Cordemans on the other hand, kept the Twins lineup unbalanced rather well with his off-speed stuff.
Evertse got into trouble in the fifth when he loaded the bases on three consecutive walks. He managed to record an out before Victor Draijer hit a sac fly to drive in Linoy Croes. Thanks to a groundout, Evertse limited the damage to only one run.
In the sixth inning, Jakob Syrén recorded two quick outs but still gave up two runs. Nick Peels, who is an outfielder who is used as a pitcher occasionally, wasn’t able to stop the offensive power of Pirates as well. After giving up a two-run homer to Nick Urbanus he didn’t manage to get out of the inning and gave up five more runs as he struggled with his control (an HBP and three walks). Chris Gé eventually got out of the inning by fanning Mikey de la Cruz. Maickel Rietel replaced Rob Cordemans in the bottom of the seventh and retired the side. 
Rob Cordemans earned the win as he lasted six innings in which he gave up two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out six. Jan Evertse took the loss. In five innings he gave up three runs on four hits and eight walks and struck out two.
Rashid Gerard was the best hitter for L&D Amsterdam Pirates as he went 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Silicon Storks  0  –  10  Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort
The game between Silicon Storks and Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort was the only one that wasn’t a close game from the start. Quick Amerfoort took a commanding lead in the second inning when it scored five times. A walk by Rachid Engelhardt, three singles by Ryan Dale, Jelle Windster and Jelle Blaauw and two doubles by Jules Cremer and Wesley Bernardus drove in five runs. After Quick Amersfoort scored a run in the fourth and one in the sixth, the team had another big inning in the seventh as they scored thrice and ended the game prematurely due to the mercy rule. 
Brian van Laar pitched a seven-inning complete game in which he limited Storks to two hits, walked three and struck out nine. Nick Winkel gave up six runs on six hits and five walks and fanned two in five innings as he took the loss.
With two hits out of three at-bats and four runs batted in, Jelle Blaauw was the best hitter for Cityside Apartments Quick Amersfoort.

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