Pirates of Amsterdam did the impossible. In the decisive seventh match of the Holland Series, the capital’s baseball players won 9:8 to win the national championship for the seventh time.
Coach Mervin Gario’s aerobatic team defeated heavy favorites Curaçao Neptunus in the best-of-seven series: 4-3.
After the withdrawal of the main sponsor and the departure of many players, the Amsterdam team had to start all over again. It was up to the new coach to build a new team without many resources. When Gario was named the Pirates’ new coach last year, there was no mention of a championship. At least not from the outside world.
“Everyone thought we would be in the middle of the table,” Gario recalls after winning the title. “But I told my kids: We will participate in the Netherlands Series. “Not everyone thought it was realistic, but I was confident.”
Gario was able to form a stunt team with many young players that surprisingly made it to the play-offs. HCAW had to settle for the semi-finals; The opponent and favorite in the Dutch Series was Neptunus. The Rotterdam team has become national champions nineteen times and has not missed a final since 2012.
Amsterdam took a surprising lead in the best-of-seven series by winning the first two games (6-1 and 3-1). Last weekend Neptunus made a strong recovery, winning the third (8:4), fourth (7:3) and fifth games (2:1). However, even a 3-2 lead was not enough for Neptunus to keep the Garios Pirates at bay.
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In the sixth match played over two days due to rain, Amsterdam equalized with a 5-1 victory. The decisive seventh game was a showcase with both teams taking four points in the second leg.
Neptunus then took one shot to make it 7-4, but after five shots the score was tied again: 8-8. The flood of shots subsided for a while until Penseel made a solid shot to put Cremer ahead in his own half: 9-8. Neptunus had another hit. There were two more men on base but then pitcher Angela struck out the decisive third.
“There are miracles,” said emotional coach Gario. “For me, and also for all the coaches, this is proof that you can do it with very little. “Be honest, be yourself, that’s how a team is built.”
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
