After finishing the regular season in the Dutch Hoofdklasse with a disappointing 5-37 record, ADO had to play a best-of-five regulation series against the EURO STARS, winner of the First Division in the Netherlands. And they had to go the distance to remain in the Major League for 2009.
The series started off with two mammoth extra-inning thrillers. In game one, ADO needed 18 (!) innings to beat the STARS 2-1. Alex Smith pitched in 17 innings of them to pick up the win. He allowed just four hits, one run and seven walks, while striking out twelve. He was opposed by Erik De Rijke, who went 13 1/3 innings, striking out 19. The game lasted five hours.
One day later both teams met again, and were locked into another marathon. This time ADO scored the decisive run in the 9-8 win in the 14th frame. Dave Steward had four hits and three RBIs in the game.
But the EURO STARS came back in the series. In the third match they were able to beat Smith during the regular nine innings, winning 5-4.In the fourth game, Jorian Van Acker struck out eleven to lead the STARS to a 4-1 victory to tie the series at 2-2.
In the decisive fifth game, Steward drove in two runs en route to a 3-2 win, overcoming an early 0-2 deficit. Smith went again the distance and received the win. He finished with 34 innings in the five-game series.
Results:
Euro Stars – ADO 1-2 (18) Box score
ADO – Euro Stars 9-8 (14) Box score
Euro Stars – ADO 5-4 Box score
ADO – Euro Stars 1-4 Box score
Euro Stars – ADO 2-3 Box score
Days after securing a spot in the 2009 Hoofdklasse, ADO announced that Leo Voogd takes over as new head coach of the club. He replaces Bart Volkerijk. Voogd worked as a coach for the second division club SCHIEDAM since 2005 and was a former pitcher and member of the national team in the 1999 Baseball World Cup in Nicaragua. He played in Holland for NEPTUNUS, SPARTA, FEYENOORD and the EURO STARS, winning the national championship and the European Cup during his time with NEPTUNUS.