NETHERLANDS – The L&D Amsterdam Pirates erupted for nine late runs and extended their season-opening winning streak to six games with a lopsided 13-1 victory against ADO Thursday night at The Hague.

The reigning Dutch champion tagged ADO starter Tyler Levin for three runs in the opening frame to take the early lead. Wesley Connor started the fireworks with a leadoff double, and after a free pass to Maikel Benner, Sidney de Jong belted an RBI double off the American pitcher. Fausto Álvarez Rizo followed with a two-run double to finish off the rally.

ADO answered back in the bottom of the inning with their only run of the game off Amsterdam starter Nick Stuifbergen. However, the Pirates stretched the lead to 4-1 before blowing the game wide open with a six-run eighth.

Relief pitcher Reynaldo Sarmiento Claro allowed back-to-back singles to stat the inning, and then hit Connor with an inside pitch to load the bases. Things went from bad to worse for the ADO hurler as Benner and de Jong hit consecutive run-scoring singles, and Rizo cleared the bases with a three-run double to send the reliever to a quick shower.

Amsterdam finished off the late surge with a trio of runs in the ninth to remain perfect heading into the third weekend of the Dutch season.

Rizo, a 48-year-old Cuban slugger, led the Pirates 17-hit attack with four hits – including a pair of doubles – and six RBIs.
Zaïr Koeiman also tallied four hits while Connor had three hits and reached base five times.

Stuifbergen opened the game with five hitless innings and allowed just a lone infield single in six impressive frames to get the win.

HCAW STUNS CORENDON KINHEIM WITH LATE RALLY
Jason Rees popped his third home run of the season and Mr. Cocker HCAW erased a 3-0 deficit with two late rallies to beat Corendon Kinheim 8-3 at Bussum.

Tjerk Smeets and Bryan Engelhardt worked HCAW starter Kevin Miner for back-to-back walks to open the fourth. The next batter, Rafaël Jozefa, lined a base hit to load the bases before Smeets scored on a Kevin Weijgertse groundout. Kinheim increased the lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Smeets’ two-run triple.

Kinheim ace David Bergman had his way with the HCAW lineup for most of the game and finished with a season-high 13 strikeouts. However, Rees hit a two-run drive in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2, and Adrian Anthony’s three-run triple off closer Michiel van Kampen highlighted a six-run rally in the eighth to complete the improbable comeback win.

NEPTUNUS AND KONICA MINOLTA BATTLE ENDS IN A TIE
The Konica Minolta Pioniers and DOOR Neptunus battled to the first tie in the Dutch Major League this season when the game ended after nine innings with the score deadlocked at 3-3 at Hoofddorp. A league-imposed curfew stipulates that no new inning can begin past 10:50 PM.

Neptunus plated two first-inning runs off 2008 Holland Series MVP Ryan Murphy, who left L&D Amsterdam over the winter to join the Pioniers. Eugène Kingsale’s leadoff double and Jeffrey Arends’ two-run single highlighted the early offensive fireworks.

Konica Minolta cut the lead in half with a score in the bottom of the inning. Jefferson Muzo greeted Neptunus rookie Niels Harteveld to the Dutch big leagues with a leadoff two-base hit, and motored to third base on a wild pitch. Norbert Lokhorst connected for an RBI single to make the score 2-1.

The Pioniers tied the game in the third when relief pitcher Jurjen van Zijl walked Sergino Martis with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. The home team grabbed the lead two innings later when Martis’ infield hit plated Lokhorst with the go-ahead score.

Neptunus pulled even in the sixth on Raily Legito’s leadoff solo homer, and the two squads combined to strand nine runners over the final three innings en route to a rare tie ballgame.

SPARTA/FEYENOORD BLANKS MEDIAMONKS RCH
Rob Cordemans turned in a dominant peformance and Sparta/Feyenoord survived a ninth-inning scare to capture their first win of the new season with a 2-0 victory against MediaMonks RCH at Rotterdam.

Sparta/Feyenoord tagged RCH starter Jimmy van der Veldt for the game-winning score in the opening frame when Nick Eppinga crossed the plate for a quick 1-0 lead. Rodney Michel, who led off the third with an infield hit, scored the final run of the game on Eldrion Regina’s two-out RBI single.

The MediaMonks load the bases against Roy Beems in the ninth before the reliever retired Reggie Valpoort on a flyout to end the game.

Cordemans (1-0) notched his first win of the season in a stellar eight-inning outing. The veteran right-hander, who was 9-0 a year ago with a league-best 112 strikeouts, fanned 12 while surrendering only three hits.

Photo courtesy of Henk Seppen/L&D Amsterdam Pirates

Tags: Netherlands