Oosterhout Twins Win Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament, Beating Pirates 6-2

The Oosterhout Twins added a tournament title to their pre-season ledger, beating Amsterdam Pirates 6-2 in the decisive Sunday fixture to claim the 42nd In Memoriam Charles Urbanus Sr. Tournament in Bussum. Held over Easter weekend at HCAW's Rob Hoffmann Vallei, the competition brought together four of the Hoofdklasse's highest-placed clubs from the prior season and delivered, in the end, a clear verdict: the Twins arrived in 2026 ready to compete.

The name above the tournament door carries real weight in Dutch baseball. Charles Urbanus Sr., born in 1914 and closely tied to OVVO Amsterdam, was one of the foundational figures of the sport in the Netherlands; he died in August 1980, the same year Amstel Tijgers, the Amsterdam club that OVVO had become, launched the memorial competition in his honor. Amstel Tijgers was eventually absorbed by HCAW in 1988, and running the tournament at the Rob Hoffmann Vallei keeps that lineage intact. Winning it carries the kind of symbolic heft that clubs notice, even if no one mistakes April form for October results.

Curaçao Neptunus, one of the tournament's stiffest presences, finished last after a walk-off defeat to host club HCAW on Sunday afternoon sealed the Rotterdam giants' disappointing weekend. That result was its own subplot: HCAW showed the capacity for late-game execution that makes them a team worth watching once league play begins, and they claimed second place on their own turf as a result. Amsterdam Pirates finished third, though Delano Selassa had offered a glimpse of his power potential for the Amsterdammers with a home run earlier in the weekend.

The Twins' path through the tournament pointed to consistent situational hitting and the kind of reliable production that wins Hoofdklasse games in May. Taking six runs off a Pirates pitching staff that will face considerably tighter competition when league play begins speaks to a lineup that came into the week sharp. Pitching depth is the question every pre-season tournament leaves only partially answered: rotations get tested, bullpen roles get auditioned, and coaches file away what they see. But the overall package the Twins put on display suggested a squad prepared for Opening Day rather than one still finding its shape.

That Opening Day arrives Thursday, April 9, with the Lucky Day Hoofdklasse schedule getting underway at 19:30 across its venues. Forty-two editions of this tournament have offered no iron-clad predictions for the season ahead, but they have reliably told coaches which clubs walk into the league opener with momentum. This Easter weekend, that club was Oosterhout.