Hoboken Pioneers

2011 Record: 25-14
2011 Ranking: 4th place in the Belgian First Division after regular season. The Hoboken Pioneers didn’t exactly dominate the league in 2011, but still ended up with the championship as they were there when it counted. After fourth place in the regular season, the Pioneers finished in first after the semi-final round robin and swept the Namur Angels in three games to defend the title.
Runs Scored: 253 (2nd)
Runs Allowed: 195 (2nd)

Best Batter: Dennis De Quindt. He batted .300/.452/.400 with two homeruns, seven doubles, 26 runs and 19 RBI in 38 games.
Best OPS: Thomas De Wolf 1.688 (in eight games)
Most Homeruns: Randy Giorgiadis 3
Most RBI: David Herssens 35
Most Runs Scored: David Herssens, Dennis Ribbens 38
Most Stolen Bases: David Herssens, Dennis De Quindt, Dennis Ribbens 12

Best Pitcher: Derek Bondo. He went 9-1 with an ERA of 2.48 in 13 games. He struck out 99 batters in 90 2/3 innings, walking 39.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Derek Bondo 2.48
Best ERA Reliever: Kenny Van Den Branden 0.00
Most Strikeouts: Derek Bondo 99
Most Walks: Derek Bondo 39
Most Innings Pitched: TJ Antonacci 103.0

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves
Mortsel Stars
Deurne Spartans
Royal Greys
Borgerhout Squirrels
Namur Angels

Namur Angels

2011 Record: 24-14
2011 Ranking: 3rd place following regular season. The Namur Angels reached the playoffs in third place thanks to a 17-10 record, just two games out of first. During the semi-final round robin they bettered their position and made the Belgian Series in runner-up position behind the Hoboken Pioneers. In the finals they lost the championship series in three straight games against the Pioneers.
Runs Scored: 274 (1st)
Runs Allowed: 183 (1st)

Best Batter: Nicholas Frederick. He batted .439/.554/.719 with two homeruns, two triples, six doubles, 25 runs and 15 RBI in 16 games.
Best OPS: Michael Benton 1.533
Most Homeruns: Michael Benton 5
Most RBI: Williams Rosario 34
Most Runs Scored: Michael Perkins 37
Most Stolen Bases: Michael Perkins 24

Best Pitcher: Justin Latta. He went 11-6 with an ERA of 2.65 in 19 games (17 starts). He struck out 158 batters in 135 2/3 innings, walking 66.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Cedric Desmedt 2.45
Best ERA Reliever: Nicolas Migeot 2.52
Most Strikeouts: Justin Latta 158
Most Walks: Justin Latta 66
Most Innings Pitched: Justin Latta 135.2

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves
Mortsel Stars
Deurne Spartans
Royal Greys
Borgerhout Squirrels

Borgerhout Squirrels

2011 Record: 20-17
2011 Ranking: 1st place after the regular season. The Borgerhout Squirrels returned to the Belgian First Division by winning the regular season with a 19-8 record. But in the round-robin playoffs they fell behind the Hoboken Pioneers, Namur Angels and Royal Greys for a fourth-place finish.
Runs Scored: 213 (8th)
Runs Allowed: 210 (5th)

Best Batter: Steven Delannoy. He batted .474/.580/.672 with three homeruns, 14 doubles, 41 runs and 30 RBI in 32 games (31 starts).
Best OPS: Steven Delannoy 1.252
Most Homeruns: Jose Coste Nunez 4
Most RBI: Steven Delannoy 30
Most Runs Scored: Steven Delannoy 41
Most Stolen Bases: Steven Delannoy 27

Best Pitcher: Yannick Gontier. He went 8-3 with an ERA of 2.97 in 19 games (12 starts). He struck out 76 batters in 94 innings, walking 29.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Yannick Gontier 2.97
Best ERA Reliever: Sam Boermans 2.19
Most Strikeouts: Luis Larrinaga 82
Most Walks: Luis Larrinaga 51
Most Innings Pitched: Luis Larrinaga 120.2

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves
Mortsel Stars
Deurne Spartans
Royal Greys

Royal Greys

2011 Record: 23-14
2011 Ranking: 2nd place in Belgian First Division following regular season. The record champion had one of the youngest teams in the league and impressed with strong play during the regular season, occupying for a couple of game days. They reached the playoffs, but failed to move past the Hoboken Pioneers and Namur Angels for a spot in the Belgian Series, winning six of twelve games in the round robin semi-finals.
Runs Scored: 249 (4th)
Runs Allowed: 196 (3rd)

Best Batter: Jamie Verheyleweghen. He batted .386/.494/.441 with two triples, three doubles, 35 runs and 17 RBI in 33 games for the Greys in 2011.
Best OPS: Yoni Vischschoonmaker 1.069
Most Homeruns: Yoni Vischschoonmaker 3
Most RBI: Yoni Vischschoonmaker 38
Most Runs Scored: Jamie Verheyleweghen 35
Most Stolen Bases: Kevin Claeys 12

Best Pitcher: Dillon Griffin. He went 5-5 with an ERA of 2.75 in 11 games (10 starts). He struck out 62 batters in 72 innings, walking 31.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Maxwell Brittenham 2.47
Best ERA Reliever: Kevin Claeys 3.48
Most Strikeouts: Robbe De Jongh 87
Most Walks: Robbe De Jongh 67
Most Innings Pitched: Robbe De Jongh 123.2

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves
Mortsel Stars
Deurne Spartans

Deurne Spartans

2011 Record: 20-15
2011 Ranking: 5th place in Belgian First Division. One year after reaching the Belgian Series, the Deurne Spartans missed the playoffs in fifth place.
Runs Scored: 216 (7th)
Runs Allowed: 202 (4th)

Best Batter: Ayker Cardenas. He batted .336/.434/.518 with four homeruns, eight doubles, 25 runs and 16 RBI in 30 games.
Best OPS: Ayker Cardenas .952
Most Homeruns: Ayker Cardenas, Harold Castillo 4
Most RBI: Alexis Marquez 23
Most Runs Scored: Morris De Vriendt 29
Most Stolen Bases: Morris De Vriendt 10

Best Pitcher: Alexis Marquez. He went 4-3 with an ERA of 2.43 in 11 games (7 starts). He struck out 60 batters in 55 2/3 innings, walking 23.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Alexis Marquez 2.43
Best ERA Reliever: Daivis Burguillos 3.80
Most Strikeouts: Daivis Burguillos 62
Most Walks: Sharlon Lebacks 53
Most Innings Pitched: Sharlon Lebacks 73.2

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves
Mortsel Stars

Mortsel Stars

2011 Record: 15-21
2011 Ranking: 6th place in Belgian First Division following the regular season. A pair of four-game losing streaks put them in the hole early in the season and the Mortsel Stars never were able to battle for a spot in the playoffs.
Runs Scored: 220 (5th)
Runs Allowed: 274 (7th)

Best Batter: Nguyen Boulet. After one season with the Tenerife Marlins he returned to the Mortsel Stars and batted .350/.438/.431 with a triple, eight doubles, 21 runs and 28 RBI in 30 games.
Best OPS: Nguyen Boulet .869
Most Homeruns: Cedric Vandesompele, Kevin Vandeperre 1
Most RBI: Nguyen Boulet 28
Most Runs Scored: Sebastian Vandesompele 41
Most Stolen Bases: Sebastian Vandesompele 22

Best Pitcher: Nguyen Boulet. He went 5-5 with an ERA of 4.04 in 12 games (10 starts). He struck out 45 batters in 75 2/3 innings, walking 38.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Nguyen Boulet 4.04
Best ERA Reliever: Ben van Nuffel 6.43
Most Strikeouts: Steven De Saedeleer 50
Most Walks: Steven De Saedeleer 49
Most Innings Pitched: Chris Van Braeken 80.2

Previous:
Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves

Brasschaat Braves

2011 Record: 14-24
2011 Ranking: 7th place in Belgian First Division. The Brasschaat Braves were stuck in the bottom half of the Belgian First Division for the whole season. With a solid 7-5 run to conclude the year they at least showed signs of improvement.
Runs Scored: 257 (2nd)
Runs Allowed: 260 (6th)

Best Batter: Alberto Valerio. He batted .377/.466/.594 with six homeruns, two triples, eight doubles, 36 runs and 33 RBI in 37 games.
Best OPS: Alberto Valerio 1.060
Most Homeruns: Alberto Valerio 6
Most RBI: Alberto Valerio 33
Most Runs Scored: Alberto Valerio 36
Most Stolen Bases: Alberto Valerio 12

Best Pitcher: James Wise. He went 3-1 with an ERA of 1.46 in five starts. He collected 36 strikeouts in 37 innings, walking just nine.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: James Wise 1.46
Best ERA Reliever: Yannick Sel 5.04
Most Strikeouts: Ulysses Roque 61
Most Walks: Dave Vandenbosch 48
Most Innings Pitched: Dave Vandenbosch 80.1

Previous:
Merchtem Cats

Merchtem Cats

2011 Record: 7-29
2011 Ranking: 8th place in Belgian first division. Except for a short series of four wins in six games, the Merchtem Cats couldn’t do much winning just seven games.
Runs Scored: 217 (6th)
Runs Allowed: 379 (8th)

Best Batter: Joan Ochoa Blanco. He batted .462/.492/.675 with five homeruns, 32 runs and 40 RBI in 31 games.
Best OPS: Joan Ochoa Blanco 1.167
Most Homeruns: Joan Ochoa Blanco 5
Most RBI: Joan Ochoa Blanco 40
Most Runs Scored: Joan Ochoa Blanco 32
Most Stolen Bases: Van Droogenbroeck 12

Best Pitcher: Johan Silva Milano. He went 1-1 with an ERA of 3.52 in seven relief appearances. He struck out 13 batters in 15 1/3 innings, walking eight.
Best ERA Starting Pitcher: Joan Ochoa Blanco 6.91
Best ERA Reliever: Johan Silva Milano 3.52
Most Strikeouts: Joan Ochoa Blanco 48
Most Walks: Jason Jie Sam Foek 55
Most Innings Pitched: Joan Ochoa Blanco 56.0

To jumpstart the EURO Campaign of the Belgium National Baseball team 2012 we would like to spread this press release concerning the goals, Coaching-staff and the schedule.

Goal

The goal of team Belgium is made out of 3 parts:

1) Have a better final result than in 2010 (9th place)

2) Come closer to establishing our A Pool status and hopefully stay in the A Pool. Staying in the A Pool surely is part of our long term goals.  Because of the format this is a tough task (12 teams , Top 6 stay in, Bottom 6 relegate ). When we look at the other countries we must conclude that we’re far behind as far as money and logistical support but every baseball game needs to be played. If we show a ‘never say die‘ mentality we could come a long way . Everything is possible in a tournament. The only thing staff and players can control is the intensity of practices and games. With the right attitude and commitment we could get stronger as a unit. That’s why we will practice and play a lot together.

3) Better baseball in Belgium. As every coach in Belgium should have this as an objective, the National Team vision is no different.

Schedule

Together with head coach Sven Hendrickx , new Operations Manager Sander Gebruers came up with the following schedule with approval of the Belgian Federation.

38 players will start the following schedule:

• Weekly indoor practices on Sundays in January and February. Players have to make sure to attend those practices to be in consideration for the final roster since a lot of testing will be done during those practices. Commitment, along with talent and mental toughness will be the3 main pillars. During those indoor sessions the staff will get help from some guest instructors.
• Weekly outdoor practices in May.
• After this, the final roster will be made and completed with some reserves. With this final roster, Team Belgium will have following schedule:
• Participation at the Prague Baseball Week from June 26 till July 2
• Minicamp on July 7-8
• Minicamp on July 14, 15 with games against USA travel team ‘Old World Baseball’
• Subject to change: games vs. International players in august
• Minicamp on September 1, 2
• European Championship A Pool from September 6 till September 16.

Staff

Starting from 2008 this has been mainly the same staff.

Head coach is Sven Hendrickx . Sven is also involved with the National Junior Program and he’s an instructor at the Belgium Baseball Academy. At the moment he’s not related to a club.

Kevin Peeters is the 3rd base coach. At the moment Kevin is also the head coach of the Royal Greys.

Eric Mertens is the 1st base coach. He is not involved in any club activities.

Patrick Renard is the bench coach. He’s also working with the Royal Greys at the club level.

Ellen Jacobs is the team’s Physiotherapist. In the daily life she works for ‘Move to Cure‘, a company specialized in healing injuries by moving, more exactly said by moving properly and appropriately adapted to the particular orthopedic problem of each individual.

Sander Gebruers is the team Operations Manager and he will deal with the logistical part of the team in cooperation with the coaches.

Coach Sachteleben‘s task is to solidify the team in D1, after they just missed 6th place in runs against the Brasschaat Braves in 2011. The team mainly consisting of U23 players, with national juniors Ben Van Nuffel and Wesley Janssens, easily won the relegation games to confirm their D1 status.

While the Royal Greys missed the Belgian Series of the baseball competition, their softball team made it into the championship series in softball and captured the national title with a three-game sweep over the Brasschaat Braves. They out-scored the Braves 17-1 in the series. During the regular season the Heist o/d Berg Afterburners had finished in first place with a 22-2 record, followed by the Greys and Braves. But in the top-four round the two Belgian Series participants edged out the Afterburners with seven wins in twelve games.

Results:
Belgian Series:
Royal Greys – Brasschaat Braves 7-0, 2-0, 8-1

Standings Top 4 Round:

1. Royal Greys 7-5
2. Brasschaat Braves 7-5
3. Heist o/d Berg Afterburners 6-6
4. Hoboken Pioneers 4-8

Standings Regular Season:

1. Heist o/d Berg Afterburners 22-2
2. Royal Greys 18-6
3. Brasschaat Braves 18-6
4. Hoboken Pioneers 12-12
5. Beveren Lions 10-14
6. Wielsbeke Pitbulls 4-20
7. Stabroek Chicaboo’s 0-24

by Namur Angels, www.namur-angels.be

The Angels and Pioneers best-of-five series came to a conclusion on Saturday (01.10.2011), when the Hoboken Pioneers defeated the Angels 4-2, winning the series three games to none. The victory gives the Pioneers back-to-back championships. Both teams will qualify for European Cup Tournaments next season.

This game was a pitching duel between American starters Justin Latta of the Angels and Derek Bondo for the Pioneers. Both starters threw complete games but Latta just couldn’t keep up with Bondo. Latta gave up 3 hits to the first 3 hitters he faced allowing two runners to score. After that he settled down to throw 7 more innings allowing only two more runs. He finished with 8 innings, 4 runs, all earned, 9 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts.

The Angel offense couldn’t manage much of anything all game long off of Bondo. The Angels got 4 total hits, two from Nicholas Frederick and one each from Angel Williams Rosario and Michael Benton. Frederick also doubled in a run and later tripled and then scored, producing both Angel’s runs. This marks the end of the 2011 Belgian League Season.

Results:
Saturday, October 1:
Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels 4-2

The Belgian Baseball and Softball Federation celebrated its 75^th anniversary on Saturday morning by putting on a national team uniform on “Manneken Pis” in Brussels.

Photo: © Belgian Baseball and Softball Federation

Schedule:
Saturday, October 1:
14:00 Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels
Sunday, October 2:
14:00 Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers*
*if necessary

Namur Angels lose Belgian Series Opener

Entering their first Belgian Series since 1998, the Angels were ready to take on the Pioneers for baseball glory. Game 1 of the 2011 series was just what you hope to see as a fan, a back-and-forth hard fought game. Unfortunately for the Angels, they took the last punch of this contest and fell by the score of 11-7 on Saturday (24.09.2011).

The Angels got on the board first in the top of the third inning when Ludovic Geuquet reached on an error and eventually came around to score on Nicholas Frederick’s RBI single. The Pioneers wasted no time coming back though, as they brought in three runs despite getting only one hit in the bottom of the third. The Pioneers continued to extend their lead to 5-1 by bringing in two more runs in the fourth without getting any hits.

The Angels would not go down without a fight, however, as Michael Benton, Theodore deBellefroid, Jerome Sana, and Cedric Nauts started off the 6th inning with four consecutive hits, and all eventually came around to score tying the game at 5-5. In the 7th the Pioneers took the lead back with two runs again coming on no hits, but two sac flies. The Angels fought right back with two more in the top of the 8th on a two out, two run single by Angel Williams Rosario. In the bottom half of the inning the Pioneers put the Angels down for the count by bringing home four more runs finishing the scoring at 11-7.

Cedric Desmedt got the start for the Angels and pitched into the fourth inning when an injury to his ankle forced him to leave the game, leaving his status as questionable for the rest of the series. He finished going 3 2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs but only one earned. Nicolas Migeot pitched the final 4 1/3 innings, allowing 6 runs, 3 earned. Free passes and defense killed the Angels as they gave up 7 walks, 2 hit by pitches, and made 7 errors leading to 7 unearned runs.

Offensive standouts for the Angels were Nicholas Frederick with three hits, Theodore deBellefroid with two hits, and Jerome Sana and Angel Williams Rosario with two RBIs each. The Belgian Series continues on Sunday (25.09.2011) in Wepion.

Pioneers outlast Angels in 12 Innings

The Angels finished their first weekend of the Belgian Series with another tough loss to the Pioneers. In a long 12-inning game in which both starting pitchers pitch into extra innings, the Pioneers were able to finally bring in the winning run in the 12th and take a two games to none lead over the Angels putting them just one win away from the championship.

The pitching in this game was phenomenal while Pioneers starter Kenny Vanden Braden pitched 10 innings of great baseball only to allow three runs on 5 hits while getting a no-decision. Justin Latta was superb again for the Angels as he threw all but one pitch for the Angels lasting 11 2/3’s innings coming out after an error allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 12th inning. He finished allowing only 5 hits and struck out 14 while being charged with the loss. Nicholas Frederick came in and got the final out on just one pitch.

After the Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning again on a Jerome Sana RBI single scoring Angel Williams Rosario, the Pioneers punched right back with a run of their own in the third to tie the score. The Pioneers would take a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning only to see it be erased in the sixth after an error allowed Nicholas Frederick to score and then Theodore deBellefroid singled home Michael Benton. The scoring stopped there, however, until the 12th when the Pioneers finally ended it.

There were only 11 total hits in this game, 5 by the Pioneers and 6 by the Angels. Jerome Sana was the Angels biggest producer as he had two hits and an RBI. This loss makes every game a must win now for the Angels as they must win out to become champions of Belgium. These same two teams are back at it again with Game 3 of the Series coming up next Saturday (01.10.2011).

Schedule:
Saturday, September 24:
14:00 Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels
Sunday, September 25:
14:00 Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers
Saturday, October 1:
14:00 Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels
Sunday, October 2:
14:00 Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers*
Saturday, October 8:
14:00 Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels*
*if necessary

The Namur Angels have needed just one win this weekend against the Merksem Royal Grey to clinch a spot in their first Belgian Series since 1998. They came out on Saturday (10.09.2011) and left no doubt that they deserved that final spot. The Angels jumped all over the Greys in the first few innings and built a lead that was never in jeopardy, cruising to a 12-6 win. The Angels will face off against the Hoboken Pioneers in a best-of-five series beginning on September 24th.

In the first inning the Angels scored three runs after Angel Williams Rosario reached on an error allowing Vincent King to score and opened the door for Michael Benton to hit a two-run homer. The Greys punched back with three runs of their own on two homers but the Angels would not be denied. With two outs and the bases loaded in the second inning, Nicholas Frederick hit a Grand Slam to put the Angels back on top for good. The Angels then tacked on four more in the third inning on four hits and another error by the Greys, extending the lead to eight. After the Greys scored a couple more runs, Benton hit his second home run of the game for his second multi-homer game in a weeks time, leading to the final score of 12-6.

Nicolas Migeot made his first start for the Angels this postseason and had a great performance, settling down after a rough first inning to give his team 7 1/3 solid innings, allowing 5 runs, 3 earned, on 8 hits, 4 walks and a strikeout while earning the win. Adrien Stokart came in and finished the rest of the game allowing just one run on 2 hits and a walk.

The Angels pounded the Grey’s pitching for 16 hits, including at least one by every member of the starting line-up. Michael Benton, Vincent King, and Ludovic Geuquet had three hits apiece while Frederick had two.

Sunday (11.09.2011) the Angels finished the series against the Greys in a meaningless game as the finals had already been decided. The game was a great opportunity to give some well deserved playing time to players who have worked hard all season but hadn’t seen a lot of playing time as well as the young players who will be the future of the Namur Angels. After giving the usual starters a few innings to stay in shape, changes were made all throughout the line-up allowing 7 other players to see time on the field. Unfortunately, the Angels fell by a score of 11-8.

Justin Latta got the start for the Angels and made quick work of the Grey’s hitters, facing the minimum through 3 innings on 33 pitches. Louis Dellieu pitched the 4th inning and struggled a bit in his first outing in over a year allowing 4 runs. Stephane Daspremont came in next and pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs before Virgile Goyens came in and finished the 6th inning and got two outs in the 7th before losing his command and getting into trouble. Kevin Desmedt was the last Angels pitcher to throw, going 2 1/3 innings allowing 2 runs.

The Angels put a runner on base every inning and managed 11 hits and 9 walks but they couldn’t bring enough men across home plate in the loss. Michael Benton continued his power streak with another home run, his 5th of the postseason, while Nicholas Frederick had 3 hits and 2 RBI’s while Theodore de Bellefroid had two doubles and an RBI.

Results Top 4:
Saturday, September 10:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Hoboken Pioneers 0-3
Royal Greys – Namur Angels 6-12
Sunday, September 11:
Hoboken Pioneers – Borgerhout Squirrels 9-1
Namur Angels – Royal Greys 8-11

Standings:

1. Hoboken Pioneers 9-3
2. Namur Angels 7-4
3. Royal Greys 6-6
4. Borgerhout Squirrels 1-10

Results Bottom 4:
Saturday, September 10:
Brasschaat Braves – Merchtem Cats 10-0
Mortsel Stars – Deurne Spartans 1-2
Sunday, September 11:
Merchtem Cats - Brasschaat Braves 12-4
Deurne Spartans – Mortsel Stars 1-2

Standings:

1. Deurne Spartans 9-3
2. Brasschaat Braves 7-5
3. Mortsel Stars 7-5
4. Merchtem Cats 1-11

Schedule:
Saturday, September 10:
15:30 Borgerhout Squirrels – Hoboken Pioneers
15:30 Royal Greys – Namur Angels
Sunday, September 11:
15:30 Hoboken Pioneers – Borgerhout Squirrels
15:30 Namur Angels – Royal Greys

Standings:

1. Hoboken Pioneers 7-3
2. Namur Angels 6-3
3. Royal Greys 5-5
4. Borgerhout Squirrels 1-8

by Michael Benton, www.namur-angels.be

The Namur Angels continued their quest through the Belgian League playoffs with two games against the Borgerhout Squirrels on Saturday and Sunday (03-04.09.2011). The Angels entered the weekend with a slight lead over the Royal Greys for second place and added an extra game to that by sweeping the Squirrels while the Greys split their series with the Pioneers. The Angels pounded the Squirrels in both games, winning by scores of 8-1 on Saturday and 10-1 on Sunday.

In Game 1 on Saturday, the Angels came out swinging as they scored 5 runs in the second inning, which was led off with a home run by Michael Benton. The inning continued to roll after that with two walks and then three consecutive doubles from Thomas Vandenabeele, Vincent King, and Nicholas Frederick. The third inning started the same way as the second as Michael Benton led off by hitting his second homer of the game to put the Angels ahead by the score of 6-0. They would add two more runs in the 8th when Theodore deBellefroid and Cedric Nauts came around to score for a little extra insurance.

Justin Latta took the mound for the Angels and pitched another great game despite battling the heat and an illness. Through four innings he had faced the minimum and had only allowed one hit and no walks. He continued on to pitch eight complete innings, allowing just 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 10 batters. He allowed one run in the 7th inning on a shot to center field that rolled all the way to the wall and resulted in an inside-the-park-homer. Nicholas Frederick then came in and pitched a perfect 9th inning to complete the 8-1 victory.

Sunday would continue to be the same story as the Angels again jumped on the Squirrels early by scoring three run in the 2nd inning, this time completely given to them. The Squirrels walked the bases loaded and then a passed ball and an error allowed Michael Benton, Jerome Sana, and Cedric Nauts to score. The Angels continued to attack the Squirrels as the added three more runs in the 4th on an RBI double from Nicholas Frederic, an RBI groundout from Benton, and an RBI single from Sana. Two more runs came across in both the 5th and 6th innings as well to bring the Angels total up to 10 for the game.

Cedric Desmedt got the start on the mound for the Angels and he two set the tone early as he struck out the side in the first inning and then never looked back. He allowed one run on a chopped infield single with two outs in the second inning but would not relinquish anything else. He allowed only 5 hits and four walks in 7 innings with 7 strikeouts to earn the win before the rain came and ended the game early on in the 8th inning.

The middle of the lineup was big for the Angels as cleanup hitter Angel Williams Rosario collected three hits, and Nicholas Frederick and Michael Benton, the 3rd and 5th hitters, each had two hits as they combined to score 7 of the 10 Angels runs. Next week the Angels take on the Royal Greys on Saturday and Sunday (10-11.09.2011) needing just one win to clinch a spot in the Belgian Series and take on the Hoboken Pioneers, who clinched the first spot this weekend, for the Belgian League Championship.

Photo: Frédéric de Laminne, www.event-pics.be

Results
Saturday, September 3:
Top 4:
Hoboken Pioneers – Royal Greys 5-3
Namur Angels – Borgerhout Squirrels 8-1
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Mortsel Stars 9-0
Merchtem Cats – Deurne Spartans 2-12
Sunday, September 4:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Namur Angels 1-10
Royal Greys – Hoboken Pioneers 7-6
Bottom 4:
Deurne Spartans – Merchtem Cats 7-1
Mortsel Stars – Brasschaat Braves 5-4

Standings Top 4:

1. Hoboken Pioneers 7-3
2. Namur Angels 6-3
3. Royal Greys 5-5
4. Borgerhout Squirrels 1-8

Standings Bottom 4:

1. Deurne Spartans 8-2
2. Brasschaat Braves 6-4
3. Mortsel Stars 6-4
4. Merchtem Cats 0-10

Schedule:
Saturday, September 3:
Top 4:
Hoboken Pioneers – Royal Greys
Namur Angels – Borgerhout Squirrels
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Mortsel Stars
Merchtem Cats – Deurne Spartans
Sunday, September 4:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Namur Angels
Royal Greys – Hoboken Pioneers
Bottom 4:
Deurne Spartans – Merchtem Cats
Mortsel Stars – Brasschaat Braves
(all games start at 3.30pm CET)

Standings Top 4:

1. Hoboken Pioneers 6-2
2. Namur Angels 4-3
3. Royal Greys 4-4
4. Borgerhout Squirrels 1-6

Standings Bottom 4:

1. Deurne Spartans 6-2
2. Brasschaat Braves 5-3
3. Mortsel Stars 5-3
4. Merchtem Cats 0-8

by Michael Benton, www.namur-angels.be

Angels Top Pioneers, 8-6

Saturday (27.08.2011) the Angels headed up to Hoboken to face the Pioneers continuing the 2011 Belgian League playoffs and jumped out to a big lead after 4 very fast innings to start the game. The Angels took a 7-0 lead and held on despite a fighting effort from the Pioneers to take the 8-6 victory moving them with a half game of first place and can take over the top spot with another win Sunday at home against these same Pioneers.

The first 4 innings of this game flew by as both pitchers kept each team from putting much together offensively. In the fifth inning, however, the bats came to life for the Angels as they dropped 7 runs. The Pioneers gave the Angels their rally by walking leadoff man, Cedric Nauts, and then failed to record an out on two consecutive bunt attempts by the Angels, with Thomas Vandenabeele’s bunted ball being thrown down the right field line to give the Angels their first run. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Angel Williams Rosario hit a two-run single to extend the lead to 3-0 before Michael Benton then doubled in the 4th run of the inning. Cedric Nauts walked for the second time in the inning to bring in another run and then Ludovic Geuquet and Vandenabeele each singled in a run to run the score to 7-0. After the Pioneers scratched and clawed their way back into the game, Jerome Sana hit a home run to lead off the 9th, giving the Angels an extra insurance run.

Justin Latta got the start for the Angels and was real sharp in his first 4 innings continuing on his complete game shutout performance last weekend. In the bottom of the fifth, however, he began to have issues with his command as he gave the Pioneers their first two runs of game by walking four hitters and hitting another one with a pitch. Fortunately, he was able to get out of the inning without surrendering any more runs. After that he had to battle his way through the rest of the game, surrendering a two-run triple in the 6th and another RBI triple in the 7th. With the score at 8-5, Latta went out for the 9th to try and finish for his second CG in a row. He gave up an unearned run in the ninth and had runners on second and third with two outs but then came up with a big strikeout to end the threat and the game. He finished allowing 6 runs, 5 earned, on 7 hits, 5 walks with 10 strikeouts.

The Angels knocked 13 hits in the game, 3 each from Ludovic Geuquet and Theodore deBellefroid, who did well in his first game back following his trip to the MLB Academy in Italy. Vincent King also had a multiple hit game and everyone in the lineup reached base safely in the game. These same two teams finish up their series on Sunday (28.08.2011).

Angels Drop Game at Home to Pioneers

The Namur Angels did not have their best game on Sunday (28.08.2011) against the Hoboken Pioneers and eventually fell by a score of 3-1. The game could have been much worse but solid pitching from the Angels kept them close all the way but the offense could never put together a good rally, with only 4 runners reaching second base all game.

Cedric Desmedt got the start for the Angels and pitched into the 6th inning before leaving with the bases loaded. He had to battle all game long as while the Angels rarely put runners in scoring position, the Pioneers had at least one runner reach second in every inning except for the 7th. Cedric came up with the big pitches he needed in the first three innings and kept the Pioneers scoreless until the 4th when a walk and an error put a man on 3rd with nobody out. That runner would eventually score on a single. Runs came across in each of the 5th and 6th innings as well, all charged to Desmedt, who finished with 5 innings, 3 runs, 1 earned, on 7 hits and 4 walks with 2 strikeouts. Adrien Stokart pitched the final 12 outs of the game allowing no runs on 3 hits and one walk keeping the Angels in the game.

The Angels threatened in the first inning when Vincent King and Angel Williams Rosario each singled and then moved to second and third on a passed ball. However, the Angels could not come up with the big hit and there remained no score. The Angels got their one run in the 5th when Ludovic Geuquet singled then was bunted over to second by his brother Adrien, and then scored on a single from King with 2 outs. That was the last threat the Angels had against the Pioneers though dropped their 3rd game of 4 to the Pioneers in the playoffs.

Vincent King, Ludovic Geuquet, and Angel Williams Rosario each had multi-hit games for the Angels and Nicholas Frederick added one more for a total of 7 Angel hits on the game off of Pioneer starter Derek Bondo who threw a complete game. The Angels are now 1.5 games behind the Pioneers for first in the playoffs, but remain a half game ahead of the Royal Greys for second. Next week the Angels look to get back in the win column against the Borgerhout Squirrels next Saturday and Sunday (03-04.09.2011).

Photo: Frédéric de Laminne, www.event-pics.be

Results:
Saturday, August 27:
Top 4:
Royal Greys – Borgerhout Squirrels 13-12
Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels 6-8
Bottom 4:
Merchtem Cats – Mortsel Stars 10-12
Deurne Spartans – Brasschaat Braves 6-3
Sunday, August 28:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Royal Greys 1-10
Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers 1-3
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Deurne Spartans 6-2
Mortsel Stars – Merchtem Cats 7-6

Latta K’s 19 in Shutout

Justin Latta was superb for the Angels on Saturday (20.08.2011) as the Angels defeated the Merksem Royal Greys by a score of 3-0. This game marked the beginning of the third week of the Belgian League playoffs and with the win the Angels moved up into second place, trailing only the Hoboken Pioneers.

Pitching certainly had the upper hand in this game as two American starters dueled against each other, allowing a total of only 4 hits all game long. Merksem starter, Maxwell Brittenham, pitched 7 good innings, striking out 6 and only allowing just 1 hit, 4 walks and he had five, 1-2-3 innings. He was tagged for 3 runs in the fourth, however, when he walked Vincent King and Nicholas Frederick to start the inning, and then with two outs the defense made two costly errors behind him to allow three runs to score.

While Brittenham was good, he couldn’t match Latta who pitched his best game of the year despite dealing with minor flu-like symptoms. Latta was a little wild the first few innings as he worked deep into counts and walked a batter in each of the first, second, and third innings but also managed to get three huge strikeouts with runners in scoring position, two of them with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning. After that he was in complete control on the mound. In the 4th inning, Latta struck out the side and needed only 10 pitches to do so. He continued to strike out two batters an inning in each of the final 5 frames to set a Namur Angels record with 19 total strikeouts. Latta’s final line was 9 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 0 runs and 19 K’s to push the Angels ahead of Mersem in the standings.

Cedric Nauts had the only hit of the game for the Angels, a double to lead off the fifth inning, and Vincent King, Nicholas Frederick, and Jerome Sana each scored a run. The Angels will be back at it again against the Merksem Royal Greys on Sunday (21.08.2011).

Angels Sweep Greys with 7-4 Win

The Angels finished their two-game series against the Merksem Royal Greys on Sunday (21.08.2011) with a sweep. A day after these same two teams earned a total of 4 hits in an entire game, they combined for 26 total hits, 16 of them coming from the Angels. The win extended the Angels lead of second place and pushed them a game closer to first place in the 2011 Belgian League playoffs.

Vincent King had a great game offensively as he started of the game with hits in each of his first four at-bats and finished just a triple short of the cycle. After the Angels put up their first run in the second inning when Cedric Nauts drove in Jerome Sana with an RBI single, Vincent King and Nicholas Frederick hit back-to-back homers to lead off the third. It was King’s second homerun of these playoffs. Michael Benton added a two runs with his single in the 5th after Angel Williams Rosario bunted two runners into scoring position. Rosario also added an RBI single in the 7th as the Angels jumped out to a 7-1 lead that they would not give up.

Cedric Desmedt got the start for the Angels and pitched a strong 8 innings to earn the win, allowing 4 runs, 3 of them earned. After allowing an unearned run in the 3rd, the Greys loaded the bases against Desmedt but he was able to get out of trouble without any more damage done. The Greys did tag him for 3 runs in the 7th inning but by that point the game was out of reach for them. Desmedt finished allowing 10 hits and 5 walks with 5 strikeouts, 4 of which came in his final two innings of work. Nicolas Migeot pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save, his second of the playoffs.

King finished with the best game for the Angels, going 4-5, while Frederick had 3 hits and Rosario, Benton and Nauts added two hits each. The Angels restart their cycle of the playoffs as they take on Hoboken again next Saturday and Sunday (27.08.11, 28.08.11) in a rematch of the first weekend of playoff action in which the Pioneers took 2 games from the Angels.

Results Top 4:
Saturday, August 20:
Namur Angels – Royal Greys 3-0
Hoboken Pioneers – Borgerhout Squirrels 8-5
Sunday, August 21:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Hoboken Pioneers 5-1
Royal Greys – Namur Angels 4-7

Results Bottom 4:
Saturday, August 20:
Merchtem Cats – Brasschaat Braves 4-19
Mortsel Stars – Deurne Spartans 8-11
Sunday, August 21:
Deurne Spartans – Mortsel Stars 1-0
Brasschaat Braves – Merchtem Cats 14-1

The Namur Angels had two games scheduled this weekend against the Borgerhout Squirrels (13.08.11, 14.08.11) but the weather had other plans in mind. On Saturday, the Angels made the trip up to Borgerhout only to find a lake where the field was supposed to be. Needless to say the game was cancelled due to the poor field conditions. The game will be rescheduled in September, if necessary.

Sunday looked like it would be the same story as rain came down all night and throughout the morning leading up to the game. However, the rain finally stopped a couple hours before game time allowing the field plenty of time to dry enough to play. This turned out to be good news for the Angels as they came out swinging in the first inning putting up 6 runs while batting around the lineup against Squirrels starter Louis Larrinaga, who only lasted two-thirds of an inning before being knocked out by the potent Angel offense. The Angels loaded the bases with one out when American Michael Benton hit a 2-run single to start the scoring. Jerome Sana added an RBI single and Ludovic Geuquet hit a sacrifice fly before Thomas Vandenabeele capped of the scoring with another 2-run single in his second at-bat of the inning. The Angels added one run in both the second and third innings to jump out to an 8-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

Cedric Desmedt got the start for the Angels and he was superb through 5.1 innings after getting out of a first inning jam without allowing a run. He was charged with 2 runs in the 6th inning and allowed just two hits but walked 6 batters while striking out two to earn the win. Nicolas Migeot came in and pitched the final 3.2 innings to earn the save in the Angels 8-3 victory. He gave up one unearned run on 3 hits and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts.

The Angels knocked around the Squirrel pitching staff for 9 hits, 8 of them coming in the first 4 innings. Nicholas Frederick, Michael Benton, and Jerome Sana had two hits apiece for the Angels who are back in action again next Saturday and Sunday against the Merksem Royal Greys.

Results:
Saturday, August 13:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Namur Angels ppd
Royal Greys – Hoboken Pioneers 1-3
Bottom 4:
Deurne Spartans – Mechtem Cats 6-2
Mortsel Stars – Brasschaat Braves 5-6
Sunday, August 14:
Top 4:
Namur Angels – Borgerhout Squirrels 8-3
Hoboken Pioneers – Royal Greys 3-0
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Mortsel Stars 1-3
Merchtem Cats – Deurne Spartans 7-14

Schedule:
Saturday, August 13:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Namur Angels
Royal Greys – Hoboken Pioneers
Sunday, August 14:
Namur Angels – Borgerhout Squirrels
Hoboken Pioneers – Royal Greys
(all games start at 3.30pm)

Results:
Saturday, August 6:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Royal Greys 1-3
Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers 2-5
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Deurne Spartans 10-0
Mortsel Stars – Merchtem Cats 7-4
Sunday, August 7:
Top 4:
Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels 9-4
Royal Greys – Borgerhout Squirrels 2-1
Bottom 4:
Deurne Spartans – Brasschaat Braves 18-8
Merchtem Cats – Mortsel Stars 3-14

Schedule:
Saturday, August 6:
Top 4:
Borgerhout Squirrels – Royal Greys
Namur Angels – Hoboken Pioneers
Bottom 4:
Brasschaat Braves – Deurne Spartans
Mortsel Stars – Merchtem Cats
Sunday, August 7:
Top 4:
Hoboken Pioneers – Namur Angels
Royal Greys – Borgerhout Squirrels
Bottom 4:
Deurne Spartans – Brasschaat Braves
Merchtem Cats – Mortsel Stars
(all games start at 3.30pm)

Complete Schedule

After Mike Perkins, who helped the Angels to reach the playoffs, returned to the US at the term of his contract, Namur addressed his need for an experienced backstop by bringing over another left-handed hitting Mike.

Mike Benton, from Elk Grove (CA), played 4 years at the top academic and baseball program of the University of California at San Diego. During his time at UCSD, the Tritons made back to back NCAA D2 World Series appearances, reaching the finals in 2010. Benton sure contributed to the success of his college team, posting a lifetime 0.347 batting average in 349 at bats, with 8 homeruns.

In Belgium, the California player will be in charge of one of the best pitching staffs in the league, highlighted by former University of Maine closer Latta and National team players Desmedt and Migeot.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Tuesday, June 28 2011
	17:00	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans	ppd
	17:00	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats	ppd
	17:00	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	ppd
Wednesday, June 29 2011
	17:00	Hoboken Pioneers	Royal Greys	04:00
	17:00	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves	12:17
	17:00	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels	03:07
	17:00	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars	04:02
Thursday, June 30 2011
	17:00	Royal Greys	Hoboken Pioneers	ppd

Standings

The Namur Angels swept the Merchtem Cats this weekend in a two game series and extended their consecutive win total to 6 games.

The Angels got help from a former star player, Henry Perkins, who is the brother of Namur catcher Mike Perkins. Henry played for the Angels during the 2009 season and led the team that year to 1st place record and playoff birth.

American born Perkins (Columbia University) was brought over by the Angels to provide some extra firepower in their push to the playoffs. The addition proved successful Saturday, when Perkins went 3-5 with 3 RBIs in Namur’s 11-1 win over the visiting Merchtem Cats.

Nico Migeot threw a great game, going 8 strong innings to record the win. He only allowed one run in the contest.

Sunday’s game was another blowout win for the Angels, as the offense carried Namur to a decisive 16-3 victory. Henry Perkins showed off his pitching skills, going 5 innings without allowing a single run.

Jerome Sana and Vincent King provided the bulk of the run support in the matchup. King had 4 RBIs in the game, while Sana recorded 3 hits at the plate.

The Angels take on the Deurne Spartans for their last two games of the season before a break in July. A win against Deurne ensures a place in the playoffs for Namur.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 25 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats	11:01
	13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans	03:04
	13:30	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars	10:09
	13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	04:11
Sunday, June 26 2011
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys	06:05
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels	03:16
	13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves	09:08
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers	01:12

Standings

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 25 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats	11:01
	13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans	03:04
	13:30	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars	10:09
	13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	04:11
Sunday, June 26 2011
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys	06:05
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels	03:16
	13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves	09:08
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers	01:12

Standings

Time	Home	Visitor	Field
Dates and Times are subject to change! In case of doubt check with the responsible national federation!
Tuesday, June 28 2011
17:00	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels
17:00	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves
17:00	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars
Wednesday, June 29 2011
17:00	Hoboken Pioneers	Royal Greys	Hoboken Pioneers
17:00	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats
17:00	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans
17:00	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout S...

Time	Home	Visitor	Field
Dates and Times are subject to change! In case of doubt check with the responsible national federation!
Saturday, June 25 2011
13:30	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels
13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves
13:30	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys
13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers
Sunday, June 26 2011
13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars
13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats
13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans
13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout S...
Tuesday, June 28 2011
17:00	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels
17:00	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves
17:00	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars
Wednesday, June 29 2011
17:00	Hoboken Pioneers	Royal Greys	Hoboken Pioneers
17:00	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats
17:00	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans
17:00	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout S...

Standings

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Tuesday, June 21 2011
	17:00	Brasschaat Braves	Hoboken Pioneers	04:06
	17:00	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Namur Angels	03:02

Standings

Time	Home	Visitor	Field
Dates and Times are subject to change! In case of doubt check with the responsible national federation!
Saturday, June 25 2011
13:30	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels
13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves
13:30	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys
13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers
Sunday, June 26 2011
13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Royal Greys	K. Mortsel Stars
13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Namur Angels	The Merchtem Cats
13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Brasschaat Braves	K. Deurne Spartans
13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Borgerhout S...
Tuesday, June 28 2011
17:00	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels
17:00	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves
17:00	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars
Wednesday, June 29 2011
17:00	Hoboken Pioneers	Royal Greys	Hoboken Pioneers
17:00	The Merchtem Cats	Brasschaat Braves	The Merchtem Cats
17:00	K. Deurne Spartans	Namur Angels	K. Deurne Spartans
17:00	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Mortsel Stars	K. Borgerhout S...

The Namur Angels won their third and fourth consecutive games this weekend, combining to score 21 runs in 2 games to outlast the Mortsel Stars. The offensive onslaught began Saturday when Namur visited Mortsel for the first game of a two-game set. First baseman Ludovic Geuquet proved that he is more than just a veteran presence on the team by having a perfect day at the plate, going 5-5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and a run scored.

“It feels great to help the team,” noted Geuquet after the game. “I was just seeing the ball so well today. Every pitch looked like it was in slow motion, and I was fortunate to put a together a bunch of good swings.”

Geuquet wasn’t the only Angel with a good offensive day Saturday; the team combined to tally 18 hits in the contest. Angel Rosario Williams continued swinging a hot bat, going 4-5 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Thomas Vandenabeele, Theo De Bellefroid, Mike Perkins, and Cedric Nauts all had multi-hit games. Newly acquired American Nicholas Frederick tripled in the 6th, scoring two runners, for his first hit in the Belgian League.

Justin Latta continued mowing down hitters for the Angels, allowing only 2 runs in 8 innings of work. He struck out a season high 12 batters and allowed only 2 walks and 7 hits in the game. Frederick pitched the 9th without surrendering a run and striking out 2. Final score: Angels 11 Stars 2.

Game 2 against the Mortsel Stars was played Sunday afternoon in Namur. The teams fought through tough field conditions early because of numerous passing rainstorms. The game got off to a shaky start for the Angels when the Stars plated 6 runners in the top of the first inning. Spot starter Adrien Stokart got the nod for Namur. Stokart settled down after the rough first inning and didn’t allow another run for the remainder of his outing (5.2 IP, 6 runs, 8 hits, 1 K, 5 BBs). Nicolas Migeot finished the game; he threw 3.1 innings and allowed one unearned run on 4 hits while striking out 1.

Namur showed a lot of heart by clawing their way back into the game after being down 6 runs at the beginning of the game. The Angels rallied to score 3 in the first, 2 in the fifth, three in the seventh, and 2 in the eighth to eventually take the lead and defeat Mortsel.

The Angels showed great discipline at the plate, drawing 11 walks in the contest off of pitchers Steve De Saedeleer and Ben Van Nuffel. Thomas Vandenabeele and Angel Rosario Williams each had 2 hitsin the game while Nicolas Frederick and Florentin Goyens provided the run production with 2 RBIs each.

The comeback victory concluded with a 10-7 victory for the Namur Angels. The win marked their 4th straight, and it looks as if the team is playing some of their best baseball of the season. A win next weekend against the Merchtem Cats would tie their longest win streak of the season (5 games).

The Angels travel Tuesday to Borgerhout to top off an unfinished game with the Squirrels. The game will pick up in the top of the 10th inning with a tie, and will continuing until either side scores or a winner is declared.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 18 2011
	13:30	Royal Greys	The Merchtem Cats	ppd
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Namur Angels	02:11
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Deurne Spartans	02:04
Sunday, June 19 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	K. Mortsel Stars	10:07
	13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Brasschaat Braves	09:08
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Royal Greys	ppd
	13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	06:05

Standings

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 18 2011
	13:30	Royal Greys	The Merchtem Cats	ppd
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Namur Angels	02:11
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Deurne Spartans	02:04
Sunday, June 19 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	K. Mortsel Stars	10:07
	13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Brasschaat Braves	09:08
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Royal Greys	ppd
	13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	06:05

Standings

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Tuesday, June 14 2011
	17:00	Hoboken Pioneers	K. Deurne Spartans	04:03
Wednesday, June 15 2011
	17:00	K. Deurne Spartans	Hoboken Pioneers	01:04

Standings

Time	Home	Visitor	Field
Dates and Times are subject to change! In case of doubt check with the responsible national federation!
Saturday, June 18 2011
13:30	Royal Greys	The Merchtem Cats	Royal Greys
13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Namur Angels	K. Mortsel Stars
13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Deurne Spartans	K. Borgerhout S...
Sunday, June 19 2011
13:30	Namur Angels	K. Mortsel Stars	Namur Angels
13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Brasschaat Braves	Hoboken Pioneers
13:30	The Merchtem Cats	Royal Greys	The Merchtem Cats
13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	K. Deurne Spartans

One Shutout and One Walk-Off Win; Angels Sweep Pioneers

The Namur Angels swept the defending Belgian League champion Hoboken Pioneers this weekend in a tough-fought 2 game series.

The action kicked off Saturday afternoon in Antwerp with American pitcher Justin Latta getting the nod on the mound. Latta, who has arguably been the most dominant pitcher in the Belgian League this year, once again did not disappoint. He completely shut down the Pioneers’ offense, throwing the entire game for his first complete game shutout of the year.

Latta mixed a fastball and slider brilliantly to befuddle Hoboken hitters throughout the game. The Pioneers managed to muster only 5 hits in the contest, many of which were infield singles.

“I just had everything working today,” noted Latta after the game. “I threw a lot of first pitch strikes which then allowed me to mix my off-speed pitches more effectively.”

Latta showed incredible command throughout the game, allowing only one walk and striking out 7 and frustrated hitters by working on both sides of the plate.

Offensively, the Angels scored only 4 runs off tough Belgian pitcher Terrence Antonacci. Angel Williams Rosario and Jerome Sana led the team with 2 hits apiece. Catcher Mike Perkins was 1-5 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base, while Vincent King went 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Brothers Ludovic and Adrien Geuquet each had solid offensive days as well. They both tallied hits in the contest and each had an RBI. The final score of Saturday’s game: Angels 4, Pioneers 0.

Sunday’s contest was a bit more evenly matched and resulted in one of the most exciting finishes for the Angels this season.

Hoboken got off to an early lead, scoring runs in each of the first 3 innings off of Angels pitcher Cedric Desmedt. Desmedt threw 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits while striking out 2.

The Angels answered back in the 5th inning when Mike Perkins delivered a bases loaded single that scored 2 runs. Thomas Vandenabeele then showed off his speed by stealing home for the Angels 3rd run. Before the 5th inning the Angels hadn’t managed to score off of Hoboken’s pitcher Derek Bondo.

The Pioneers, however, scored again in the 6th and 8th innings off pitcher Nicolas Migeot to increase their lead 5-3. Migeot provided a solid performance in the game, going the remaining 4 innings and allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits while striking out 4. He also recorded the win in the contest.

Fireworks flew in the bottom of the 9th inning when the Angels rallied from 2 runs down to beat the Pioneers. Angel Williams Rosario provided a clutch 2 out, bases loaded single to tie the game. The next batter, Vincent King, then singled in shortstop Theo De Bellefroid for the walk-off and game winning run.

“It felt great to get that hit,” explained King after the game. “You always want to be that guy that comes through late in the game. I just got a pitch I thought I could handle and muscled it to the outfield. It was a great team win.”

The walk-off 6-5 victory solidified the Angels in third place in the standings and distanced themselves from Hoboken. The sweep was very important for Namur because they are battling to reach the playoffs and finish the first half of the season in the top 4.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 11 2011
	13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Mortsel Stars	11:10
	13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Namur Angels	00:04
	13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Royal Greys	05:01
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	The Merchtem Cats	15:07
Sunday, June 12 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	Hoboken Pioneers	06:05
	13:30	Royal Greys	K. Deurne Spartans	10:07
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Brasschaat Braves	11:01
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	04:14

Standings

Time	Home	Visitor	Field
Dates and Times are subject to change! In case of doubt check with the responsible national federation!
Saturday, June 11 2011
13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Mortsel Stars	Brasschaat Braves
13:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Namur Angels	Hoboken Pioneers
13:30	K. Deurne Spartans	Royal Greys	K. Deurne Spartans
13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	The Merchtem Cats	K. Borgerhout S...
Sunday, June 12 2011
13:30	Namur Angels	Hoboken Pioneers	Namur Angels
13:30	Royal Greys	K. Deurne Spartans	Royal Greys
13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Brasschaat Braves	K. Mortsel Stars
13:30	The Merchtem Cats	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	The Merchtem Cats

Standings

The Namur Angels took to battle for their second consecutive series this weekend against the Royal Greys (4.6.11,4.5.11). Last weekend the Greys swept the Angels, ousting them in very close matchups.

The Angels got off to a hot start on Saturday in Namur, pounding American pitcher Dillon Griffin for 7 runs in the first inning. Vincent King and Nicolas Migeot both had 2 RBI singles in the inning. Nearly every Angel scored in the inning, as the Angels batted around to start the series. King led the offensive charge for the Angels, finishing the day 3-4 with 2RBIs and 2 runs scored.

Three innings later, Mike Perkins blasted his 4th homerun of the season deep to right-center field. The 2 run shot plated Theo De Bellefroid and put the Angels up 9-2 in the game. Perkins finished the day 2-5 with 3 RBIs, 3 runs scored, and a stolen base.

Justin Latta outdueled his American counterpart by throwing 7 strong innings, only allowing 2 runs on 10 hits while striking out an impressive 10 batters. Fellow American teammate Jakob Huffman pitched a scoreless 8th inning to preserve the 12-2 victory for the Angels.

Sunday’s matchup proved less promising for the Angels, as they dropped the game 13-5 to the Royal Greys. The game was tied for several innings, but the Greys scored 9 runs in the remaining 2 innings to increase their lead.

Starting pitcher Cedric Desmedt through 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4. Nicolas Migeot and Cedric Nauts combined to throw the remainder of the game.

Offensively, the Angel’s bats were held in check by a strong performance by Grey’s pitcher Robbe De Jongh, who threw his second consecutive complete-game against the Angels. Jake Huffman starred for Namur, going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Theo De Bellefroid also had 2 hits in the contest.

The Namur Angels look to “bounce back” next week against their rivals, the Hoboken Pioneers. The Pioneers and Angels are both fighting for a spot in the Belgian Baseball League Playoffs, so both teams have a lot on the line in the series.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 04 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	Royal Greys	12:02
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	The Merchtem Cats	11:06
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Brasschaat Braves	10:08
Sunday, June 05 2011
	13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	07:13
	13:30	Royal Greys	Namur Angels	13:05
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	K. Mortsel Stars	10:03

Standings

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 04 2011
	13:30	Namur Angels	Royal Greys	12:02
	13:30	K. Mortsel Stars	The Merchtem Cats	11:06
	13:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Brasschaat Braves	10:08
Sunday, June 05 2011
	13:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	07:13
	13:30	Royal Greys	Namur Angels	13:05
	13:30	The Merchtem Cats	K. Mortsel Stars	10:03

Standings