Corendon Kinheim – Almere Magpies 9-2, 4-5
ALM 100 000 010 2 3 2 KIN 102 000 06X 9 13 1
Kinheim opened the 2010 season in the Dutch Hoofdklasse with a 9-2 victory over the promoted Magpies. After Almere cut the deficit to a 2-3 in the top of the eighth, Corendon answered with six runs to blow things wide open. Brian Engelhardt hit a solo homerun and drove in two. Jason Halman had three RBI. Rene Cremer went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a two-run triple. David Bergman (W 1-0) allowed three hits, a run and a walk in five innings. He struck out seven. Sten van den Berg (L 0-1) surrendered six hits, three runs and three bb in four innings.
KIN 000 000 202 4 6 2 ALM 001 020 011 5 7 1
In the second game of the series on Sunday in Almere, the Magpies stunned the favored playoff candidate with a 5-4 victory after Mitchell Graham (2-5, 3 RBI) drove in the winning run with a long two-out walk-off RBI single down the right field line in the bottom half of the ninth. Kinheim just had evened the score in the top half on a pair of RBI singles by Tjerk Smeets and Dave Draijer. Ferd van Stekelenburg hit a solo homerun for Almere. Justin Prinstein (W 1-0) received the win in relief. Michiel van Kampen (L 0-1) took the loss.
Mr. Cocker HCAW – Konica Minolta Pioniers 4-10, 2-1
PIO 400 400 002 10 8 1 HCA 001 000 003 4 10 6
Thanks to a pair of four-run innings and the help of six HCAW errors the Pioniers kicked off the new year in the Hoofdklasse with a 10-4 victory on the road. Linoy Croes hit a homerun and drove in two. Michael Duursma and Mervin Gario added a two-run double and a two-run triple. Jurjen van Zijl (W 1-0) allowed four hits, a run and a walk in five innings. His former ALB Orkas teammate Shane Gnade closed it out. Kevin Miner (L 0-1) issued six hits, eight runs (4 ER) and three bb in four innings.
HCA 000 000 002 2 5 0 PIO 000 000 100 1 3 0
Game two of the series on Sunday in Hoofddorp turned out to be a pitcher’s duel. After the Pioniers had taken a 1-0 lead in the seventh, when Norbert Lokhorst scored on a wild pitch, Mr. Cocker came back in the ninth. Randy Daal homered to tie the game. Bart Gabriels followed with a RBI single to seal the 2-1 win. Kyle Ward (W 1-0) picked up the win with 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings. Maarten Mulder (L 0-1) took the loss. Eddie Aucoin (PIO) impressed in his Netherlands debut, allowing just one hit and three walks in five innings. But he was matched by Joey Eijpe (HCA), who gave up just two hits and a walk in five frames too.
L&D Amsterdam – Ado 2-1, 9-3
ADO 001 000 000 1 5 2 AMS 010 000 001 2 7 1
The Pirates needed a walk-off RBI single by Nick Urbanus in the bottom of the ninth to defeat ADO 2-1 on Saturday. Urbanus already had a RBI single in the second to put Amsterdam ahead. But the club from The Hague answered with a Berti Richardson RBI single in the third. Jos de Jong (AMS) struck out eight in seven innings, giving up one run on four hits. Rik Geestman (W 1-0) picked up the win in relief. Ludwin Obispo (L 0-1) surrendered seven hits, two runs (1 ER) and four bb in 8 1/3 innings.
AMS 000 011 025 9 16 2 ADO 000 010 020 3 6 4
On Sunday afternoon the L&D offense scored nine runs on 16 hits to beat ADO 9-3. Rashid Gerard doubled three times. Bas de Jong went 4-for-5 with a double, a run and a RBI. Matt Ryan had a two-run double for the hosts. Frank van Heijst (W 1-0) received the win in relief of Ben Grover, who issued two hits and three walks in four solid innings. Jurrian Koks (L 0-1) gave up ten hits, two runs and two bb in 5 2/3 innings.
DOOR Neptunus – Sparta/Feyenoord Rotterdam 3-2, 7-1
SPA 010 000 001 0 2 5 2 NEP 020 000 000 1 3 6 0
The reigning champion DOOR Neptunus started against the inner-city rivals from Sparta/Feyenoord into the new season. Danny Rombley, who was signed during the winter, delivered the walk-off hit with a RBI single in the bottom of the tenth. Sparta had forced extra innings in the top of the ninth on a RBI single by Ramiro Balentina. They nearly had taken the lead on the same play, but Nick Eppinga was thrown out at the plate. Berry van Driel (W 1-0) got the win in relief. Diegomar Markwell (NEP) had allowed just two hits, a run and a walk in his five-inning start. Jose Ventura (L 0-1) was charged with the loss. Gregory Gustina (SPA) conceded three hits, two runs (1 ER) and three bb in six innings.
NEP 000 002 050 7 8 1 SPA 001 000 000 1 4 3
Kevin Heijstek (W 1-0) allowed just three hits, a run and a walk in five innings to lead Neptunus to a 7-1 win on Sunday. Richard Orman and Leon Boyd each struck out three in two scoreless innings to close it out. DOOR had taken the lead with a two-run double by Dwayne Kemp in the sixth and added five insurance runs in the eighth to secure the sweep. A RBI groundout by Jan Baldee had put Sparta/Feyenoord ahead in the third. Tim Roodenburg (L 0-1) gave up three hits, two runs (1 ER) and two bb in seven innings.
{mrb-standing:netherlands-2010}