Neptunus Beats Amsterdam Pirates 8-1, Takes 3-0 Lead in 2026 Holland Series
Curaçao Neptunus beat Amsterdam Pirates 8-1 in Game 3 of the 2026 Holland Series behind Koen Postelmans to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 5 min read 
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Curaçao Neptunus moved within one victory of the Dutch baseball championship after defeating Amsterdam Pirates 8-1 in Game 3 of the 2026 Holland Series at Neptunus Familiestadion.
Right-hander Koen Postelmans delivered seven strong innings, while Neptunus broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Postelmans earned the win after limiting Amsterdam to one run over seven innings. Martijn Schoonderwoerd took the loss for the Pirates. Neptunus reliever Ryan Huntington then retired all six batters he faced over the final two innings to complete the victory.
Neptunus has now won the opening three games of the Holland Series by scores of 6-5, 10-6 and 8-1, outscoring Amsterdam 24-12 across the series.
2026 Holland Series Game 3 Result
Amsterdam Pirates 1, Curaçao Neptunus 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Curaçao Neptunus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 8 |
Winning pitcher: Koen Postelmans
Losing pitcher: Martijn Schoonderwoerd
Series: Neptunus leads 3-0
Koen Postelmans Controls Amsterdam Lineup
Postelmans gave Neptunus exactly the type of performance it needed from its Game 3 starter.
The right-hander worked seven innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six and issuing no walks, based on the official play-by-play. Amsterdam did not score until the seventh inning, by which point Neptunus had already constructed a six-run advantage.
The performance continued an outstanding 2026 season for Postelmans.
He went 8-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 75 strikeouts during the Hoofdklasse regular season, leading the league in ERA and finishing second in strikeouts. Neptunus went 33-3 during the regular season and posted a league-best 1.92 team ERA.
Postelmans kept Amsterdam scoreless through the first six innings Thursday.
Roelie Henrique collected singles in the second and fourth innings, but neither produced a run. Postelmans also worked a perfect third inning before retiring Amsterdam in order again in both the fifth and sixth.
The Pirates finally broke through in the seventh.
Tommy van de Sanden opened the inning with a single to left field. After Postelmans struck out Henrique, Alex Madera doubled into left-center field to bring Van de Sanden home, cutting the deficit to 6-1. Postelmans prevented further damage by retiring Quintin de Cuba and Brendly Martina.
That was Amsterdam’s only run of the night.
Stijn van der Meer Opens Scoring With Home Run
Neither offense scored during the opening three innings as Postelmans and Schoonderwoerd matched zeroes.
That changed immediately in the bottom of the fourth.
Stijn van der Meer homered down the right-field line, giving Neptunus a 1-0 advantage. Schoonderwoerd responded by retiring Christian Diaz, Dwayne Kemp and Darryl Collins, but the solo home run proved to be the beginning of a much larger offensive push.
Van der Meer entered the Holland Series after an exceptional regular season in which he hit .479 with a .556 on-base percentage, leading the Hoofdklasse in both categories as well as runs scored with 43.
Five-Run Fifth Inning Breaks Game Open
Neptunus took complete control in the fifth inning.
Sem Kuijper started the rally with a single up the middle before Drew Janssen walked. After Bob van der Meer was called out for interference with the catcher, Marnix Ruben also drew a walk to load the bases.
Stijn van der Meer then worked another walk, forcing home Kuijper and extending the lead to 2-0.
The biggest swing of the game followed.
Christian Diaz doubled into right-center field with the bases loaded, scoring Janssen, Ruben and Van der Meer and turning a two-run advantage into a 5-0 lead.
The hit ended Schoonderwoerd’s night.
Dennis Burgersdijk entered from the Amsterdam bullpen, but Dwayne Kemp immediately doubled into left-center field to score Diaz and make it 6-0.
Neptunus had scored five runs in the inning before Amsterdam could record the third out.
Schoonderwoerd’s outing ended after 4 2/3 innings. From the play-by-play, the Amsterdam starter allowed four hits and was responsible for six runs while walking four and striking out three.
Christian Diaz Delivers Biggest Hit of Game 3
Diaz’s three-run double provided the decisive offensive blow.
The Neptunus outfielder was already one of the league’s most productive hitters during the regular season, batting .472/.510/.654 with a league-leading 43 RBI.
His fifth-inning double transformed Game 3 from a close pitching contest into a comfortable Neptunus advantage.
Kemp also produced another productive night. He doubled in both the second and fifth innings, drove in Diaz during the five-run rally and later walked and scored in the eighth.
Neptunus Adds Two Insurance Runs in Eighth
Amsterdam had reduced the deficit to 6-1 in the seventh, but Neptunus added two more runs in its final offensive inning.
Kemp drew a leadoff walk before Collins singled into right field. Arthur Bonevacia reached on a fielder’s choice and Sem Kuijper walked to load the bases.
Drew Janssen then grounded out to third, allowing Kemp to score for 7-1.
Bonevacia later crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the margin to 8-1.
The late insurance runs ensured Amsterdam would need a major ninth-inning comeback simply to extend the game.
That comeback never developed.
Ryan Huntington Finishes Game With Six Straight Outs
Postelmans’ night ended after seven innings with Neptunus leading 6-1.
Ryan Huntington took over in the eighth and gave Amsterdam no opportunity to build another rally.
Huntington retired Victor Draijer on a fly ball to left, struck out Julian Goins and got Jeandro Tromp on a ground ball to second base.
He returned for the ninth and again retired all three hitters he faced. Delano Selassa flew out to left field, Tommy van de Sanden fouled out and Roelie Henrique popped out to shortstop to end the game.
Huntington therefore completed two perfect relief innings, preserving Postelmans’ victory and sending Neptunus to its third consecutive win in the series.
Neptunus One Win Away From 2026 Dutch Championship
The 8-1 victory puts Neptunus in complete control of the Holland Series.
The Rotterdam club now leads 3-0 in the best-of-seven championship series, meaning one more victory will secure the Dutch national championship.
Neptunus entered the series as the two-time defending champion after winning the Holland Series in both 2024 and 2025. The club already owns a record 21 Dutch championships.
Amsterdam, meanwhile, has no remaining margin for error.
The Pirates must win Game 4 to keep the 2026 Holland Series alive. Neptunus needs only one victory from the remaining four possible games to complete the championship.
After the first two games produced a combined 27 runs and were substantially more competitive, Game 3 belonged decisively to Neptunus.
Postelmans controlled the Amsterdam offense, Van der Meer supplied the opening home run, Diaz delivered the decisive three-run double and the Neptunus bullpen closed the door.
Final score: Curaçao Neptunus 8, Amsterdam Pirates 1. Neptunus leads the 2026 Holland Series 3-0.
