by A.P. Beauregard, www.namur-angels.be
Following a bye week the Namur Angels looked to bounce back from a recent losing streak when they took on the Royal Greys of Antwerp in a weekend set on May 22nd and 23rd. Unfortunately for Namur, they would lose both of the games to drop to 5-7 on the season.
Saturday’s contest in Antwerp, a 3-1 Greys’ victory, was a story of strong pitching from both teams.
Both starters, Namur’s Shouta Ichinoseki and Antwerp’s Dennis Van Hoof, would pitch complete games, while Van Hoof especially dazzled in carrying a perfect game into the top of the ninth inning. Angels’ center fielder Matthieu Deltombe broke up Van Hoof’s bid for perfection by doubling down the left-field line, and following singles by Florentin Goyens and Thomas Vandenabeele, the deficit was only two runs.
That, however, would be all the offense Namur would muster on a day when those three ninth inning hits were all that would be collected by the visitors. For Antwerp, Kevin Knollenburg highlighted a seven hit team effort with a double and a single.
Sunday’s game in Namur would end up shortened after seven innings as inconsistent defense from the home team and, most importantly, timely hitting from the visiting Greys’ proved to be the difference in a 19-2 victory.
Six Antwerp players finished with multiple hit showings led by second baseman Tom Van Extergem who went 3-3 on the day with two runs scored and reached base safely all five of his plate appearances (BB, HBP also). Starter Robbe De Jongh went six strong in picking up the win.
For the Angels, Gracjan Kraszewski was 2-3 and Thomas Vandenabeele was 1-3 on the afternoon. Both players scored the teams only runs in the top half of the seventh inning.
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Photo: Frédéric de Laminne, www.event-pics.be