...Danny Rombley is thrown out in 5th inning... ...Martijn Meeuwis makes the tag... ...Fred van Groningen Schinkel makes the call... (Photo: Ron Wicklert - www.eott.nl)

After reaching base only five times in the first six innings, Neptunus reached base four times in the seventh at bat, resulting in two unearned runs. Raily Legito led off by reaching first base when short stop René Cremer made an error on his grounder. Next batter Evert-Jan 't Hoen was then walked by Jimmy van der Veldt, who had taken over the pitching the inning before for starter Patrick Beljaards. The bases were loaded when Lennart Koster singled. Neptunus then opened the score when Legito scored on a grounder by Martijn Meeuwis. Hereafter, Van der Veldt struckout Jeffrey Arends, but Neptunus added a run when Melfried Comenencia followed with a single. With runners on first and third base, the inning ended when Jeroen Sluijter flied out.

...Surprise reliever... ...Jurriaan Korff... (Photo: Ron Wicklert - www.eott.nl)

In the previous six innings, Neptunus had reached second base only once when Martijn Meeuwis doubled with one out off Patrick Beljaards, who retired 11 out of 13 batters between the first and fifth inning, before Meeuwis doubled. After scoring its two runs in the seventh, Neptunus didn't get another runner in the remaining two innings. On the other hand, Kinheim reached base frequently. But of the sixteen batters to reach base, the Haarlem-club stranded twelve, including the bases loaded in the first and ninth inning. In the first at bat, Kinheim loaded the bases with no outs off starter Martijn Nijhoff, but didn't score. Danny Rombley led off with a single and then stole second base. Next, René Cremer walked, then Dirk van 't Klooster followed with a sac-bunt, but reached base safely when Nijhoff made an error to load the bases, bringing up powerhitters Tjerk Smeets and Vince Rooi. But Nijhoff struckout Smeets and Rooi fouled out. The inning ended when Roel Koolen flied out to rightfield.

Kinheim then stranded runners on second base in the second and third inning and was close to a run in the fifth. With out out, Danny Rombley singled and again stole second base. After René Cremer flied out, Rombley was send home on a single by Dirk van 't Klooster, but was thrown out at the plate by centerfielder Johnny Balentina. Kinheim also had no luck in the sixth and seventh inning when Neptunus turned a double play, but got the bases loaded again in the ninth off Jurriaan Korff, who had taken over in the eighth inning for reliever Jan Naterop. Starter Martijn Nijhoff gave way to Naterop in the fourth. Korff didn't pitch last season, but was a regular pitcher in the past. Trailing 2-0 and with two outs, former Neptunian Roel Koolen reached on an infield-hit for Kinheim. Next, Jeffrey Verbij hit the ball to the leftside of the infield. Short stop Raily Legito dove to the ball and was able to stop it, but Verbij reached base safely. On the play, Legito got some cramps in his hamstring and, out of precaution, was replaced. Jeroen Sluijter moved from third to short, while DH Evert-Jan 't Hoen took over at third base. Kinheim got the bases loaded when Robin Longhurst walked, but then the game ended when new short stop Sluijter forced out Longhurst at second base on a grounder by Danny Beljaards.
(March 24)

...Raily Legito dives to the ball in ninth inning... (Photo: Ron Wicklert - www.eott.nl)

More game details are not yet available and will be added as soon as possible.
(March 24)

The lone run of the game was scored on a throwing error and therefore unearned. In the seventh inning, Jerry Breek became Almere's third pitcher and got a quick out when Jeffrey Sprott grounded to second base. But hereafter, rookie Rien Vernooy walked and moved into scoring position on a grounder by another rookie Shurendell Borgschot. Next, Patrick Wabbijn entered the game as a pinch-hitter and reached on an infield-hit, hitting the ball just between the pitcher and the third baseman, to move Vernooy over to third. Wabbijn then broke for second base, but catcher Giovannie Samboe made a throwing error, enabling Vernooy to score.

In the first three innings, Sparta/Feyenoord reached base three times off starter Patrick de Lange, who was supported with some fine defensive plays. In the second, Jeffrey Sprott led off with a single, but Almere then turned a double play. In the third, Sparta/Feyenoord had a runner on first and two outs when centerfielder Eugene Kingsale made a great catch on a fly by Ramphis Trinidad to end the inning. In the middle three innings, the Rotterdam-squad also reached base three times off reliever Nick Veltkamp, who gave up a 2-out double to Edison Bito, another rookie on the Sparta/Feyenoord-roster, in the sixth.

Almere lacked offensive production today, as it had only three basehits, one on each of the three pitchers they faced. The home team reached base only twice off rookie starter Herman Gaarman, who threw five strong innings and struckout two batters and walked one. In the second, he gave up his lone basehit when Bryan Engelhardt lef off with a single. In the next three innings, Rudy Seebus pitched. In the sixth, he hit lead-off hitter Ricky Daal with a pitch, who moments later stole second base. Seebus then struckout Niels van Weert and Derrick Francisca, but then gave up a single to Eugene Kingsale. Daal was waved home, but was thrown out at the plate by rightfielder Edison Bito. In the ninth inning, Almere got its third basehit when Derrick Francisca singled with one out off rookie Ronald de Bont.
(March 24)

After leaving a runner at third base in the first inning, RCH gave up two runs in the bottom part of the at bat. Starting pitcher Martin Kuipers gave up a lead-off single to Sjoerd Hermans (who stole second), then walked Jeroen Hermans and Marcel Buurman. Kuipers then struckout Rutger Veugelers and Stefan Venema, but Harvin Hart followed with a 2-run single to give Euro Stars a 2-0 lead.

RCH came back with a run in the third inning. With two outs, Nick Heij walked and stole second, then scored on a single by Jeroen Bakker.
In the fourth inning, RCH rallied for three runs to take a 4-2 lead. New pitcher , who took over for starter Jorian van de Akker, walked lead-off batter Jim Leijenaar, then gave up a double to Churnady La Cruz. A grounder by Lex Leijenaar enabled his brother to score the tying run. After La Cruz was picked off, De Bruijn ran into problems with his control. Robbert Vogel walked and Kevin Gerard singled, after which the bases were loaded when Maarten Bos was hit by a pitch. RCH then took the lead when Nick Heij and Jeroen Bakker also walked. RCH added another run in the fifth when Michel Croes singled and went on to score.

Euro Stars got one run back in the sixth at bat when, with two outs, Aldrin Martis doubled and scored on an error. The home team then turned the game around in its favor by scoring five runs in the seventh inning on four consecutive doubles. Marcel Timmer became RCH's third pitcher and saw pinch-hitter Jaap Wildschut reach on an error. He then gave up a single to Youri Martens, which was followed by a force play-grounder by Sjoerd Hermans. But then Jeroen Hermans, Marcel Buurman, Rutger Veugelers and Aldrin Martis all doubled to make it 8-5.

RCH appeared to recover by scoring twice in the eighth inning. With one out, Maarten Bos doubled and Nick Heij singled. Bos later scored on a throwing error, while Heij scored on an infield-hit with two outs by Michel Croes. But that was all for RCH, while Euro Stars added another run in the eighth when Youri Martens reached on an error and scored on a sac-fly.
(March 24)

HCAW opened the score in the first at bat of this 8-inning game. Ralph Milliard led off with a single, then moved when catcher Gerson Tremus made an error on a sac-bunt by Shurty Tremus (not related). After Milliard and Tremus advanced on a double-steal, the bases were loaded when Gino Henson was hit by a pitch with one out. Milliard then scored when next batter Bart Gabriëls also was hit by a pitch from starter Joep Meulendijks, who was then supported with a double play to end the inning. HCAW-2 came alongside in the next at bat. HCAW-starter Kevin Roovers walked lead-off hitter Gerson Tremus, who stole second, moved on a grounder and scored on a passed ball.

HCAW got the run back immediately in the home of the second. Sergio Koelemij led off with a single, stole second and third base and scored on a sac-fly by Siemen Korff, but the team stranded a runner on third base. HCAW-2 tied the score again in the fifth inning off new pitcher Joep de Wit. Again, it was the lead-off batter who scored. Daan Horn walked, moved on a single by Bob Middelkoop and scored when a throwing error was made on a sac-bunt by Sidney Verdonk. As it did the first time, HCAW re-took the lead again in the home half of the inning and once more it was the lead-off hitter who scored. This time, Siemen Korff reached on a bunt-single and went on to score on a throw to second base in an one-three situation.

In the sixth inning, HCAW took charge of the game by scoring twice. Lead-off hitter Gino Henson reached on an error and Bart Gabriëls singled. The two advanced when an error in leftfield followed. A sac-fly by Juriën Overman and an error on a grounder by Sergio Koelemij then increased the lead to 5-2.
In the eighth inning, HCAW added two runs. With one out, Bart Gabriëls reached second base on a throwing error, then another error followed on a grounder by Juriën Overman. A grounder by Sergio Koelemij and a single by Sidney Ensermo resulted in a 7-2 score.

HCAW-2 had only three basehits, including one off starter Kevin Roovers, who struckout five in the four innings he pitched. Reliever Joep de Wit gave up two hits.
(March 24)