NETHERLANDS – L&D Amsterdam finished off a three-game sweep over Corendon Kinheim with a 5-4 road victory Thursday night in action from Dutch Major League. The Pirates, which swept Kinheim in the 2008 Holland Series, remained unbeaten with a 3-0 record.

Kinheim (0-3) opened the scoring in the second on Jason Halman’s solo homer off Amsterdam starter Nick Stuifbergen. Meanwhile, Kinheim second-year pitcher Robin van Eis – aided by a pair of double plays – blanked the reigning league champion until the fifth frame.

Vince Rooi reached on a walk to start the three-run rally, and Kenny Berkenbosch followed with a single to put two runners aboard with no outs. Van Eis dug himself a deeper hole moments later when he uncorked a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position, and Zaïr Koeiman’s RBI sacrifice fly tied the score at 1-all.

WEEKEND MATCHUPS:
Sparta/Feyenoord (0-2) vs. L&D Amsterdam (3-0)
ADO (0-2) vs. Konica Minolta Pioniers (2-0)
Corendon Kinheim (0-3) vs. MediaMonks RCH (0-2)
DOOR Neptunus (2-0) vs. Mr.Cocker HCAW (2-0)

Amsterdam took the lead an inning later when 48-year-old Cuban slugger Fausto Álvarez Rizo, who broke his own record as the oldest player to hit a home run in the Dutch League, popped a two-run shot to make the score 3-1. The Pirates stretched the lead to 5-1 in the seventh on Björn Henrichs’ two-run double.

The Haarlem squad inched closer in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring hit by Danny Rombley, and cut the lead to 5-4 in the eighth on Rafael Jozefa’s two-run double. However, Amsterdam closer Pim Walsma struck out Halman with two runners on in the ninth to end the game.

Photo courtesy of David Nicolò/FIBS

Tags: Netherlands