It seems as if every matchup between the Netherlands and Italy, no matter the competition, always turns into an instant classic. The finale for the 32nd edition of Honkbal Week Haarlem was no exception. In an even, well-played game, both sides featured superb starting pitching, strong defense, and a clutch home run, but in the end, it was the Italians that were triumphant.
Championship Game
Fans were treated to a pair of aces on the bump, and Kevin Kelly and Mattia Aldegheri were electric from the start. Both sides had single baserunners in the early innings, though Italy did not have a hit until Gabriele Angioi doubled to lead off the fourth, but after a sacrifice bunt by slugger Robel García, Kelly ended the jam.
Kelly cruised until the sixth, when the Italians repeated the exact same formula as two innings earlier. Nathanael Batista ripped a full-count double and Ricardo Paolini bunted him over. This time, however, a passed ball let the game’s first run come home, and the Azzurri took a 1-0 lead.
In desperate need to prove it could mount a comeback against the visitors (batting second) this Honkbal Week, the Netherlands answered immediately, though without any long hits. The veteran Sharlon Schoop smacked a hit through the left side to start the seventh, and Sem Kuijper then poked a ball through the right. Raphael Smeek moved both over on a nifty bunt, and Gedionne Marlin tied the game with a grounder. With two out, Marnix Ruben dropped a bunt down the left side and beat it out, while Kuijper sprinted home for a 2-1 lead.
The lead nearly evaporated in the bottom half after Alberto Mineo doubled and Lorrenzo Morresi beat out a ball to second and later stole second, but Kelly exited the jam with a swinging strike out of one-time Dodgers’ farmhand Federico Celli. The right-hander finished with seven innings, permitting only four hits and a walk, punching out eight.
Instead, it was the Orange that scored next, when Shervyen Newton left the park for the fourth time in the Baseball Week to lead off the eighth. The Netherlands had two more on in the inning, but Alex Bassani entered and slammed the door yet again, extending his scoreless inning streak to 3.2 innings over the tourney.
Needing a pair of runs, Batista walked to start the eighth and Paolini followed with a single. A sac bunt from Angioi set up García, who launched a moonshot to deep right field to give Italy a 4-3 lead. In the ninth, an error gave Delano Selassa life at first and a long single by Newton put runners on the corners, causing manager Francisco Cervelli to bring in Gennaro Coviello. Dwayne Kemp then worked a 3-1 count, before the right-hander fired home wildly. The speedy Selassa took off for home, but Mineo somehow managed to find the ball and throw it to Coviello at the plate, and the tag was just in time, and the chances for a Dutch title at home came to an end.
In the thrilling championship, the Netherlands out-hit Italy 9-7, with the latter committing the only error. Newton and Darryl Collins were the only players with multiple hits. Selassa was named MVP of the tournament after hitting .382/.462/.559 in eight games, tying for the lead in doubles (3).
Batting Leaders
- Newton put on a power display, hitting four home runs, also leading HHW in runs (7), walks (7), and total bases (21), hitting .300/.432/.700.
- Ruben was the tournament’s Best Batter after hitting .500 through the first eight days. He finished at .417/.417/.481.
- Ericson Leonora (Curaçao) topped hitters in RBI (13) and hit .375/.375/.667.
- Christian Díaz (Curaçao) tied for most two-baggers (3), was No. 2 in hitting (.455), and top four in slugging (.591) and OPS (1.091).
- Mineo (Italy) also had three doubles and led his nation in most hitting categories, finishing at .389/.475/.556.
- Min-sih Chen (Taiwan) was named the Honkbal Week Most Popular Player and led his squad in multiple categories, slashing .250/.357/.500 and hitting his team’s only two home runs.
- The Globetrotters brought a large roster and shared playing time evenly, with Alex Madera topping in average (.300) and OBP (.417). Markus Bracey and Cory Everett each slugged .444 as the team’s co-leaders.
- Among players who suited up in at least half their team’s games, Matouš Bubeník (Czech Republic) led in slugging (.800) and OPS (1.300), while Ryson Polonius (Curaçao) topped the charts in average (.462).
Pitching Leaders
- Mattia Aldegheri and Matteo Bocchi both threw 11.1 shutout innings for Italy, tops for run prevention among Honkbal Haarlem Week pitchers. The former struck out nine with a 0.54 WHIP and .108 opponents’ batting average. Bocchi had six Ks and a 0.99 WHIP, while hitters managed just a .184 mark off him.
- Koen Postelmans (Netherlands) led the tournament in strikeouts (12), tying for second in innings (11.1). He had a 1.59 ERA.
- Kevin Kelly (Netherlands) was superb as starter and closer, permitting one run in 10 innings (0.90 ERA) with 10 strikeouts and a 0.50 WHIP. He earned two saves.
- Li-Meng Hung (Taiwan) led the event in frames (12.1), registering a 1.46 ERA and eight Ks.
- Yi-Wei Lin (Taiwan) had a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings, finishing second in strikeouts with 11.
- Nelmerson Angela (Curaçao) had a 1.74 ERA across 10.1 innings and two starts, permitting only one walk with strikeouts.
- Martin Schoonderwoerd and Kimi Verkruijssen both registered five innings with no earned runs in their starts for Curaçao. Jan Novák did the same in six frames for Czech Republic.
- Noah Zavolas (Globetrotters) struck out nine in four innings in his only appearance, with hitters managing a .143 average off his offerings.
Before the championship game, an “Old-Star Game” was played, with numerous former Dutch stars competing, including David Bergman, Diegomar Markwell, Michael Crouwel, Kenny Berkenbosch, Bryan Engelhardt, Dirk van’t Klooster, René Rijst, Eugene Henson, Raily Legito, Jeffrey Cranston, and Vince Rooi. Brian Farley and Charles Urbanus were the managers for the “Royal” and “Orange” teams.
Our coverage of Honkbal Week Haarlem includes: Introduction [link], Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link], Day 4 [link], Day 5 [link], Day 6 [link], Day 7 [link], Day 8 [link]. The wrap for Day 9 in Dutch, is here [link]. Box scores are available here [link].
Results
June 26
Globetrotters 1 – Netherlands 6
June 27
Curaçao 2 – Taiwan 3 (10)
Czech Republic 3 – Globetrotters 4
Netherlands 0 – Italy 2 (8)
June 28
Italy 3 – Globetrotters 1
Netherlands 15 – Taiwan 4
Curaçao 12 – Czech Republic 2
June 29
Czech Republic 1 – Taiwan 0
Italy 11 – Curaçao 3
June 30
Czech Republic 1 – Italy 3
Taiwan 10 – Globetrotters 0 (7)
Netherlands 6 – Curaçao 4
July 1
Taiwan 6 – Italy 4
Globetrotters 2 – Curaçao 12 (7)
Netherlands 7 – Czech Republic 4
July 2
Playoffs (4 vs. 3): Curaçao 2 – Taiwan 5
Playoffs (2 vs. 1): Netherlands 0 – Italy 1
July 3
Fifth: Czech Republic 6 – Globetrotters 5 (10)
Semi-Final: Taiwan 1 – Netherlands 9
July 4
Final: Netherlands 3 – Italy 4
Final Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Italy | 6-1 | 28 | 14 |
| Netherlands | 5-3 | 46 | 21 |
| Taiwan | 4-3 | 29 | 33 |
| Curaçao | 2-4 | 35 | 29 |
| Czech Republic | 2-4 | 17 | 31 |
| International Globetrotters | 1-5 | 13 | 40 |