HAARLEM, Netherlands — Both teams walked in still looking for their first win. Curaçao left with it in a landslide. Behind a five-RBI night from Ericson Leonora — capped by a fourth-inning grand slam — and five scoreless innings from starter Martijn Schoonderwoerd, Curaçao buried Czechia 11-2 to close out Sunday at Pim Mulier Stadion and even its record at 1-1. Czechia drops to 0-2, the exact round-robin hole both clubs came in dreading.
The fourth broke it open
It was scoreless into the fourth before Curaçao sent eleven men to the plate and scored six. Phildrick Llewellyn started it with an RBI single, Raysheandall Michel and Riordan Windster kept the line moving, and then Leonora emptied the bases with a grand slam to deep left-center for a 6-0 lead. The visitors tacked on five more in the fifth — Christian Diaz, Dudley Leonora and Donovan Anthonia all driving in runs — to make it 11-0 and put the game out of reach.
Schoonderwoerd sets the tone
Curaçao never needed the cushion. Schoonderwoerd carved through Czechia for five innings, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out four, and the bullpen handled the rest. Czechia finally got on the board in the seventh, when Marek Krejčiřík — again the lone spark, as he was in the opener — tripled home a run and Jan Pospíšil added a sacrifice fly. By then it was long decided.
Leonora finished 3-for-4 with the slam and five RBI; Diaz reached base all night (3-for-4 with a double). Curaçao piled up 16 hits and committed no errors. For Czechia, the EK 2025 bronze medalists, it’s a second straight loss and a steep climb in a six-team round robin that feeds directly into the playoff stage.
Watch the highlights: full replay and condensed highlights are available on Honkbalsoftbal.tv, and the complete box score is here.
As always, we get right back to baseball.
“He Means Everything to Us”
Through an interpreter, Ericson Leonora said he was simply grateful for the chance to play and contribute for Curaçao, calling it an important European tournament on a short schedule where the group wants to give everything it has. He credited manager Carlos Pineda for a close-knit clubhouse — a team, he said, that works hard and dreams together.
His teammates were happy to say it louder. “He means everything to us,” said Raysheandall Michel. “He’s been a great hitter his entire career. He makes good contact, and right there he found his pitch and did damage to it.” Dudley Leonora, who has played four Honkbalweek tournaments, was watching from the dugout: “Everybody was excited. It’s a big, big hit for us — a grand slam. We’re really, really happy with that one.”
A Pitching Plan That Held
Curaçao’s arms were every bit as decisive as its bats. Starter Martijn Schoonderwoerd set the tone over five scoreless innings, and the bullpen kept attacking the zone behind him. “He’s been doing a great job this season, and we got a chance to invite him — a big addition to our staff,” Dudley Leonora said. Michel pointed to the simple formula: “He threw strikes. The other pitchers came in and threw strikes too, got ahead of the hitters. That’s how we make quick outs.”
Both players traced the team’s mid-season sharpness to a packed winter calendar — the Curaçao Professional Baseball League in January, then the Serie de las Américas in Caracas. “It helps everyone, because you’re constantly playing baseball all year round, so you stay in a good rhythm — especially for these mid-season games,” Dudley Leonora said.
Baseball Without Borders, Since 1961
For a Curaçaoan side, Haarlem is something close to a second home. “This is my fourth time in the Haarlem league, so it’s always fun being here,” Dudley Leonora said. “They’ve been doing a great job, putting in the work for different countries to come and play.” Michel — playing overseas for just the second time — kept coming back to the standard of play: “Different kind of environment, but a good tournament. Good competition. I like it.” And the island’s baseball pride runs straight to Cooperstown: asked what new Hall of Famer Andruw Jones means to Curaçao, Michel didn’t hesitate. “He means a lot. We all grew up watching him make great plays and hit home runs. It means a lot to us.”
Group A standings
Italy 2-0 · Netherlands 2-1 · Chinese Taipei 1-1 · Curaçao 1-1 · International Globetrotters 1-2 · Czechia 0-2.
Honkbalweek Haarlem 2026 — Schedule & Results
All games at Pim Mulier Stadion, Haarlem. Times listed CEST / ET. Every game streams live on Honkbalsoftbal.tv.
Friday, June 26
Netherlands 6, Globetrotters 1 — Final
Italy vs. Czechia — Postponed, moved to June 30
Saturday, June 27
Globetrotters 4, Czechia 3 — Final
Italy 2, Netherlands 0 — Final (8 inn., weather)
Sunday, June 28
Italy 3, Globetrotters 1 — Final
Netherlands 15, Chinese Taipei 4 — Final
Curaçao 11, Czechia 2 — Final
Monday, June 29
Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia — 15:00 / 9:00 a.m. ET
Curaçao vs. Italy — 19:30 / 1:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 30
Italy vs. Czechia — 11:30 / 5:30 a.m. ET (makeup)
Globetrotters vs. Chinese Taipei — 15:00 / 9:00 a.m. ET
Netherlands vs. Curaçao — 19:30 / 1:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday, July 1
Italy vs. Chinese Taipei — 11:30 / 5:30 a.m. ET
Curaçao vs. Globetrotters — 15:00 / 9:00 a.m. ET
Czechia vs. Netherlands — 19:30 / 1:30 p.m. ET
Playoff Stage · July 2–4
Thu Jul 2: #3 vs. #4 (9 a.m. ET) · #1 vs. #2 (1:30 p.m. ET)
Fri Jul 3: #5 vs. #6 (9 a.m. ET) · elimination (1:30 p.m. ET)
Sat Jul 4: Old Star Game (6 a.m. ET) · Championship (9 a.m. ET)
For more international baseball, visit worldbaseball.com.
