The most venerable of all the European baseball tournaments commences its 32nd edition today at Pim Mulier Stadium, with games continuing through July 4. Honkbal Week Haarlem boasts another impressive roster of teams, with the Kingdom of the Netherlands squad competing against representative teams of Curaçao, Czech Republic, Italy, and Taiwan, along with the International Globetrotters all-stars. You can find out more about the tournament here [link].
Globetrotters 1 – Netherlands 6
The International Globetrotters, with Dutchman Tommy van de Sanden in the starting line-up, took the lead in the first inning. Van de Sanden scored the lone run for the visitors against Dutch starer, Juan Carlos Sulbaran. He reached base on an error then advanced on a single by Belgian Nando Mostaert, followed by a walk for the London Mets’ Quin Cotton, finally crossing home plate on a sacrifice bunt by Lucas Scott. In the bottom half of the first, however, the Dutch team took the lead for good. A single by Shervyen Newton, a Junior Martina double, and a sacrifice fly from Darryl Collins plated Delano Selassa, Dwayne Kemp, and Newton for a 3-1 lead.
Lars Huijer came in to slam the door for the Netherlands, and Selassa ripped a two-run single in the fourth in support. Selassa then scored the game’s final run after a double, with Sharlon Schoop sending him home on a base hit.
The event’s game wrap, in Dutch, is here [link]. Box scores are available here [link].
Results
June 26
Globetrotters 1 – Netherlands 6
June 27
Curaçao – Taiwan
Czech Republic – Globetrotters
Netherlands – Italy
Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Netherlands | 1-0 | 6 | 1 |
| Italy | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curaçao | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taiwan | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| International Globetrotters | 0-1 | 1 | 6 |