Dutch Women Softball Team

2011

Dutch players win Italian title

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Three current, one former National Team-players conclude Italian season

Nederlandse tekst

LEGNANO (Italy) - National Team-player Nathalie Gosewehr and former National Team-player Linda Hoenderdos on Sunday, October 9 captured the national championship title in the final of the Italian Softball League, concluding their first season playing for Caserta. After winning the first two games of the best-of-five against Legnano, the opponent tied the series a week later to force a fifth and deciding game that was played today. Caserta won that game 1-0 to claim the title. Saskia Kosterink reached the Italian Play-Offs with her team Sanotint Bollate, while pitcher Lindsey Meadows this season was the third active National Team-player in the Italian Softball League, playing for Nuoro.

After having played in the Dutch big league since 2002 for DSC '74 (2002-2004), Terrasvogels (2005-2009) and Sparks Haarlem (2010), Nathalie Gosewehr (photo right) this season made her debut in the Italian Softball League playing for reigning champion Caserta. She was joined later in the squad by Linda Hoenderdos (photo left), who initially had retired after last season when she played for Terrasvogels.

In her first Italian season, Nathalie played in 35 games and was the third best hitter of Caserta with a .374 batting average, but leads the team in runs scored (37), basehits (40), doubles (13) and stolen bases (12), while having 14 runs batted in. Linda Hoenderdos is the team's best hitter with a .409 average.

In the Play-Offs, Caserta sweeps Fiorini Forlė, winning 3-1, 8-6 and 2-0. In the opener, on Saturday, September 10, the score is tied 2-2 in the seventh inning with two outs when Nathalie hits a 2-run, walk-off homerun to give Caserta the win. Linda is 1-for-3 in this game. In Game 2, Nathalie is 1-for-4, while Linda hits 2-for-4, scores a run and has one RBI. In Game 3, on Saturday, September 17, Caserta decides the game in the 10th inning, scoring two runs. Nathalie is 1-for-3 and Linda is 0-for-3, but is the tie-break runner in the tenth inning that scores the first run.

In the Italian Championship Series against Legnano, the two Dutch players account for the lone run in the opener on Saturday, October 1. In the first inning, Nathalie leads off with a walk, steals second base, advances on a sacrifice bunt, then scores on a 2-out single by Linda. Game 2 on the same day is won 7-1 with Nathalie hitting 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Linda is 1-for-3. A week later, on Saturday, October 8, Caserta ends up emty-handed twice meaning the Series is tied 2-2. The third game is lost 3-2 and both Nathalie and Linda have one basehit. In the next game of the double-header, Caserta is beaten 8-7, despite leading 5-2 in the fourth inning. Trailing 7-5 in the seventh inning, Legnano decides the game by scoring three runs. Nathalie is 1-for-3, scores a run and has one RBI, while Linda is 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. The next day, Caserta wins 1-0 to claim the Italian championship title. The lone run is scored in the seventh inning, thanks to a single by Piera Rezzo. Nathalie and Linda are both hitless in this game.

Saskia Kosterink (photo right) played in her second Italian season for Sanotint Bollate and led her team with a .455 batting average, which is only .002 less than the league's leading hitter Christina Rolla, who played the previous two seasons in the Dutch big league for Iber Lengua Terrasvogels. Saskia also leads Bollate in runs scored (38), basehits (50), doubles (13), triples (4) and stolen bases (21), while having 14 runs batted in. Saskia leads the league with her runs scored, basehits, doubles and stolen bases. The lead in doubles, she shares with Nathalie Gosewehr, who is second in the league with her 37 run scored.

With Bollate, Saskia qualifies for the Play-Offs in which her team meets Legnano. On the first day, on Sunday, September 10, Bollate is beaten twice, 7-3 and 3-2. In the opener, Saskia is 0-for-3, but scores once, in the next game, she is 2-for-4 and scores again. In the first inning on Game 2, Saskia leads of with a single and later scores. A week later, the next double-header rains out on both September 17 and 18, but then is played on Saturday, September 24. Bollate wins the first game 1-0 in 10 innings to avoid a sweep. Saskia hits 0-for-3, but comes to bat in the tenth inning with the tie-break runner on second base. Saskia is walked intentionally, then the two runners advance on a wild pitch, followed by a runscoring single. In the next game, Bollate is beaten 5-1 and is eliminated for the final. Saskia is 1-for-3 in this last game.

Due to an injury, Lindsey Meadows appears in only eight games as pitcher in her first season playing for Nuoro on the isle of Sardinia. Lindsey strikes out 70 batters in 42 1/3 inning and has a 3-5 record. Offensively, Lindsey hits .368 with two homeruns and five RBI's. Due to her injury, Lindsey returned back to the Netherlands in June.