Photo courtesy by Henk Seppen / De Telegraaf: MVP Stijn van der Meer (22) eliminating Juan Carlos Infante (34) at second base.
by Pim van Nes
Main national newspaper De Telegraaf: “NEPTUNUS STRIKES AGAIN”. Neptunus had not been successful since 2008 till present year. The club participated in preliminary rounds five times, but failed as many times to reach the final round. Last June Neptunus hosted the preliminary round for the third time and finally the team headed by manager Evert-Jan ‘t Hoen won the tournament and qualified for the best-of-three versus Bologna, which had beaten Amsterdam in a close game. Last Thursday in Bologna, Neptunus started with a 5-3 loss , but on Saturday in Rotterdam they reached the final decision game by winning 3-2. Evert-Jan ‘t Hoen: “We scored twice in the first inning putting their pitcher under pressure right away”, he said about the single by Stijn van der Meer on mound veteran Riccardo de Santis. After the game Van der Meer was declared MVP of European Cup series. (PvN: declared by CEB technical commission, according to a statement by CEB president Jan Esselman to Mister-Baseball.com).
Second national newspaper Algemeen Dagblad: “In the fourth inning Neptunus advanced to 7-1. Five hits, among which a double by Legito, produced as many runs. Dwayne Kemp batted in two runners. This meant the stepping down of experienced Italian pitcher Riccardo de Santis and also reliever Salomon Marinez.”
Rotterdam regional newspaper AD/Rotterdams Dagblad: “UnipolSai Bologna with Marquis Fleming on Thursday and Raul Rivero on Saturday played out their foreign aces on the mound, but all over the series the Italian club did not have sufficient pitching potential to stop the dangerous hitting power by Curacao Neptunus.”
Belgian newspapers Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Nieuwsblad (by Dutch reporter Guus Mater): “VAN DEN BRANDEN MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN EUROPEAN CUP FINAL BASEBALL. In his first season with Dutch club Neptunus, this Belgian international team player became winning pitcher versus Italian champion club UnipolSai Bologna. Van den Branden (27) was not used to be the focal point of excited celebrations by his team mates. His team manager Evert-Jan ‘t Hoen: “Kenny controled the batting line-up of Bologna and we could score on their Game 3 starting pitcher. Our Game 3 starter made the difference to-day!” Two weeks ago during Flanders Baseball Week, he got injured in a game between Belgium and France. Van den Branden: “I had to work hard with our physio therapist in order to recover in time. Fortunately I am the third pitcher in our starters rotation, so I had just time enough to be ready for the last game of the series!”
Italian first sports daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (by Maurizio Caldarelli at Grosseto): “BASEBALL CHAMPIONS CUP: BOLOGNA LOSES IN THE NETHERLANDS, ROTTERDAM TRIUMPHING. The Dutch team beats Unipol in Game 2 and Game 3 and clinches the eighth Champions Cup in their history. After seven years the European Champions Cup returns in the Netherlands, but for the first time with the new formula. The team, managed by Evert-Jan ‘t Hoen, which had closed game 3 at 7-3, confirmed its offensive solidity with 10 hits versus 7 for the Italian team, using every occasion offered by Riccardo de Santis and his relievers.
Radio International Bologna delegated two radio reporters by car to Rotterdam for two full game live transmissions on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, but their written game articles on the station’s website stopped after Game 2.
Italian federation FIBS delegated Daniele Mattioli to Rotterdam for fast and complete coverage of Games 2 and 3: “ROTTERDAM COMPLETELY COMES BACK FROM BEHIND AND GRADUATES CHAMPION”. Neptunus, which had already beaten Bologna in European Cup final 2004, started well immediately and scored twice in their first attack. CNF Unipol tried to stay in the game in the third inning, but the game was decided in the fourth frame, when Neptunus realized five points by hitting hard De Santis and Marinez. “Like after every defeat, it is clear we are very disappointed and especially I regret the Saturday night game, when we missed lucidity at the decisive moments”, Bologna captain Claudio Liverziani commented. Marco Nanni, manager of the Italian team: “We also have to respect our opponents for having something extra compared with us. The first two games were rather similar, because on Thursday we advantaged from their defensive errors and on Saturday we committed uncertainties they took advantage from.”
Specialized website Baseball.it has Mino Prati explain to their readers, that Dutch baseball philosophy is to keep the best pitcher for last game, refering to the three Neptunus starting pitchers’s ERA in present Hoofdklasse regular season: Yntema 2.86, Markwell 2.06 and Van den Branden 1.26.