by Pim van Nes
MLB coach Jay Quinn, known in Europe as instructor in baseball camps hosted at Tirrenia, Italy, arrived in the Netherlands with a selection of young players from New York region for a series of three games versus the Dutch national Under 18 team. To-night at 19.30 and to-morrow at 14.30 the same teams will meet again in Pioniers stadium at Hoofddorp. From Amsterdam the Quinn squad will fly to Stockholm (Sweden) and to Antwerp (Belgium) to get acquainted with baseball in Europe.
Yesterday, after two short innings, the home team opened the score in the third with six runs, added two runs in both the fifth and the sixth frame and demolished the Americans with 11 runs in the eighth inning. Thanks to 2 runs scored in the seventh, New York avoided the shut-out by four Dutch pitchers: starter Taylor Clemensia and relievers Giovanni Tensen (6), Koen Blom (8) and Nick Keur (9). Clemensia picked up the win in 5plus hitless innings. Chiel Berkhout homered with two on in the last Dutch attack.
The starting line-up of the Netherlands, warming up for European Championship tournament in Ostrava, consisted of Oliver Severino Van der Weijst (3B), Menno Lenting (2B), Max Draijer (SS), Chiel Berkhout (RF), Ruben Prins (C), Koen Halderman (CF), Tijmen Takkes (1B), Julian Rip (LF) and Tommy van der Sanden (DH). Extra bases were reached by Berkhout (homerun and double), Halderman (2 doubles), Rip (triple and double) and Severino Van der Weijst (triple).
Photos by Aad de Groot