Amsterdam Pirates and Neptunus Advance to 2026 Holland Series After Clinching Semifinals

Amsterdam Pirates and Curaçao Neptunus will meet in the 2026 Holland Series after both clubs closed out their Honkbal Hoofdklasse semifinals on Saturday. Pirates completed an official 3-0 sweep of Oosterhout Twins by winning the protested and resumed Game 2, 6-1, while Neptunus completed its recovery from a stunning playoff-opening defeat by beating Kinheim 9-1 to win that series 3-1.

The championship matchup brings together the top two teams from the 2026 regular season. Neptunus entered the playoffs after an extraordinary 33-3 campaign, while Amsterdam finished second at 30-6.

Their routes through the semifinals, however, could hardly have been more different.

Amsterdam never officially lost a game, although its series against Twins became one of the most unusual playoff matchups in recent Dutch baseball history after a successful protest erased Oosterhout’s apparent 1-0 extra-inning victory.

Neptunus, meanwhile, was stunned 7-2 by fourth-seeded Kinheim in Game 1 before responding with three consecutive victories and allowing only two runs across the final 27 innings of the series.

The result is a Holland Series between the two dominant clubs of the regular season.

Pirates wins resumed Game 2 to complete 3-0 sweep

Amsterdam Pirates entered Saturday needing only one victory to advance.

The unusual part was that the first opportunity came in a game that had originally been completed one week earlier.

Oosterhout Twins had initially defeated Pirates 1-0 in ten innings in Game 2, seemingly recording the first playoff victory in club history. That result was subsequently removed after Amsterdam successfully protested the ruling on a hidden-ball play involving Terrence Garcia, Ayumu Ishikawa and Pirates baserunner Brendly Martina.

The game was ordered to resume from the seventh inning, with the disputed out reversed and Martina restored as Amsterdam’s runner.

Because Pirates had already won Game 3 by 9-4 before the protest decision was finalized, Amsterdam officially entered the resumed contest with a 2-0 series lead.

The implications were simple: a Pirates victory would immediately end the semifinal.

That is exactly what happened.

Pirates scores three immediately after restart

The resumed game remained scoreless when play restarted in the seventh, but Amsterdam wasted little time changing that.

Brendly Martina was part of the restored seventh-inning situation that had caused the original controversy.

After a balk moved Martina to second, Julian Goins doubled to right field, bringing him home for the first run of the game.

That swing gave Amsterdam a 1-0 lead in a contest that had originally remained scoreless through nine innings.

Oosterhout replaced Ishikawa with Harcksen, but Pirates continued to apply pressure.

Roelie Henrique singled to right field to score Goins, extending the advantage to 2-0. Tommy van de Sanden then added another run-scoring single to left, bringing Henrique home.

By the end of the top of the seventh, Amsterdam had scored three runs.

For Twins, the resumed game had turned almost immediately from another opportunity to secure a historic playoff victory into an elimination battle.

Goins home run pushes Pirates toward Holland Series

Amsterdam returned with another three-run rally in the eighth.

Alex Madera singled up the middle and stole second before Jorrit Penseel singled to center field, driving Madera home.

Then Goins struck again.

The Pirates infielder launched a two-run home run to deep left field, scoring Penseel ahead of him and extending Amsterdam’s lead to 6-0.

Goins had driven in three runs across his first two plate appearances after the restart, first with his seventh-inning double and then with the eighth-inning homer.

For a game remembered primarily for the protest that forced it to be resumed, Goins ultimately became the offensive difference-maker when baseball finally restarted.

Twins scores once, but Huijer closes the door

Oosterhout avoided the shutout in the bottom of the eighth.

Gijs van Zalingen singled through the right side, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a passed ball.

Thijmen Peters then grounded out to third, allowing Van Zalingen to score.

That cut the deficit to 6-1.

There would be no comeback.

Lars Huijer, who had entered in the seventh in relief of Dennis Burgersdijk, closed the game in the ninth.

Jerzy van Gool struck out swinging and Railison Bentura went down looking. Luuk Bun was hit by a pitch, but the game ended when Axel Poesmans reached on a fielder’s choice and the runner was forced out at second.

Final score: Amsterdam Pirates 6-1 Oosterhout Twins.

Burgersdijk received the win, Ishikawa was charged with the loss and Huijer earned the save.

Pirates-Twins semifinal results

Game 1: Amsterdam Pirates 8-1 Oosterhout Twins
Game 2: Amsterdam Pirates 6-1 Oosterhout Twins — protested game resumed from seventh inning
Game 3: Amsterdam Pirates 9-4 Oosterhout Twins

Final series: Amsterdam Pirates wins 3-0

Across the three official victories, Amsterdam outscored Oosterhout 23-6.

Twins’ first playoff victory remains on hold

The final result also closes an unusual chapter in Oosterhout Twins history.

When Twins originally won Game 2 by 1-0 in ten innings, the club appeared to have secured its first-ever playoff victory.

That milestone was put on hold when the protest was granted.

Saturday gave Oosterhout a second opportunity to make the result official, but Amsterdam’s six-run offensive performance meant the historic first win disappeared from the record entirely.

Twins therefore finishes the 2026 semifinal without an official playoff victory.

The club will have to wait until a future postseason appearance for another opportunity to record the first playoff win in its history.

Neptunus finishes comeback with dominant 9-1 victory over Kinheim

While Amsterdam was finishing its unusual semifinal in Oosterhout, Curaçao Neptunus completed a much more conventional — but equally decisive — path to the Holland Series.

Neptunus beat Kinheim 9-1 in Game 4, winning the semifinal series 3-1. Shairon Martis earned the victory, while Rizvić took the loss.

It completed an impressive response from the regular-season champion after Kinheim had produced one of the biggest upsets of the Hoofdklasse season in the opening game.

Kinheim won Game 1 by 7-2 in Rotterdam.

Neptunus did not lose again.

The Rotterdam club won 2-1 in Game 2, shut Kinheim out 5-0 in Game 3 and then produced its largest victory of the series in the clincher.

Neptunus takes control early in Game 4

The decisive fourth game did not remain close for long.

Neptunus scored twice in the second inning.

Darryl Collins and Arthur Bonevacia opened the rally with singles before Drew Janssen was intentionally walked. Bob van der Meer then singled down the right-field line, scoring Collins.

Marnix Ruben subsequently put the ball in play, allowing Bonevacia to score another run before the inning ended.

Neptunus had a 2-0 advantage.

The lead grew in the fourth.

Sem Kuijper doubled to left-center and Drew Janssen tripled to deep right-center, scoring Kuijper.

That forced Kinheim into an early pitching change, with Van ‘t Klooster replacing Rizvić.

Neptunus was only getting started.

Kemp home run breaks Game 4 open

Another run followed in the fifth when Christian Diaz walked, Collins was hit by a pitch and Sem Kuijper singled to right field.

Diaz scored to make it 4-0.

The major breakthrough arrived in the sixth.

Marnix Ruben drew a walk before Stijn van der Meer singled to right field. Christian Diaz followed with an RBI single into left-center, scoring Van der Meer.

Then Dwayne Kemp homered to deep left field, bringing Diaz home with him.

The two-run shot extended the lead to 7-0.

Kinheim finally responded in the bottom of the sixth.

Raydley Legito doubled down the left-field line and eventually scored when Donny Kuijper singled to left.

It was Kinheim’s first run since Game 2.

It was also its last of the 2026 season.

Neptunus adds two more and closes series

Neptunus restored its seven-run advantage in the seventh.

Sem Kuijper singled and Janssen doubled before Bob van der Meer brought Kuijper home with an infield single.

Stijn van der Meer later added a sacrifice fly, allowing Janssen to score.

The lead had grown to 9-1.

Kinheim did not score again.

Martis eventually left after seven strong innings, with the Neptunus bullpen handling the final six outs.

Kinheim’s last opportunity ended in the ninth when Jayvon Vicario grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

That officially sent Neptunus back to the Holland Series.

Kinheim-Neptunus semifinal results

Game 1: Kinheim 7-2 Curaçao Neptunus
Game 2: Curaçao Neptunus 2-1 Kinheim
Game 3: Curaçao Neptunus 5-0 Kinheim
Game 4: Curaçao Neptunus 9-1 Kinheim

Final series: Curaçao Neptunus wins 3-1

Neptunus allows only two runs after Game 1 upset

Kinheim’s opening victory appeared to create the possibility of a major playoff upset.

Instead, it triggered a dominant response.

After conceding seven runs in Game 1, Neptunus allowed only:

One run in Game 2.
Zero runs in Game 3.
One run in Game 4.

That is just two runs allowed across the final 27 innings of the semifinal.

Neptunus also outscored Kinheim 16-2 over those three consecutive victories.

The pitching turnaround ultimately decided the series.

Kinheim proved in Game 1 that it could beat the overwhelming regular-season leader, but Neptunus never gave the Haarlem club an opportunity to reproduce that offensive performance.

Amsterdam Pirates vs Curaçao Neptunus set for 2026 Holland Series

The Hoofdklasse postseason now arrives at the matchup the regular-season standings suggested was most likely.

Curaçao Neptunus: 33-3 regular season.

Amsterdam Pirates: 30-6 regular season.

The two clubs combined for just nine regular-season losses and finished well clear of the rest of the competition.

Now they will play for the Dutch championship.

How Amsterdam reached the Holland Series

Pirates swept Oosterhout Twins 3-0.

Amsterdam scored eight runs in Game 1, nine in Game 3 and six when the controversial Game 2 was finally completed.

The pitching staff also limited Twins to only six runs across the three official games.

How Neptunus reached the Holland Series

Neptunus defeated Kinheim 3-1.

The regular-season champion had to recover from a shocking 7-2 opening defeat, but its response was emphatic.

Three consecutive victories followed, including a shutout and a 9-1 clincher.

Two regular-season giants now meet for Dutch championship

There will be no fourth seed completing a surprise run to the title series.

There will be no historic Oosterhout breakthrough continuing into September.

Instead, the 2026 Holland Series will feature the two teams that set the standard throughout the regular season.

Amsterdam arrives undefeated in official playoff decisions and with an offense that produced 23 runs in three semifinal victories.

Neptunus arrives after turning an alarming Game 1 defeat into three straight wins behind dominant pitching.

The semifinals started with Kinheim shocking the league and Oosterhout Twins believing it had made club history.

They end with the two Dutch baseball powers still standing.

Amsterdam Pirates versus Curaçao Neptunus will decide the 2026 Honkbal Hoofdklasse championship.