NATRONA HEIGHTS — The Freeport International Baseball Invitational has become a yearly vacation destination for Tim Oosterveld.

As coach of The Netherlands team, the Holland Royals, Oosterveld has come to the annual baseball tournament four of the past five years and was a player on the team that came in 1998.

Making the decision to bring a team again is never a hard one.

"All baseball players who love the game and want to play a lot of games and see a lot of cultures, we try to combine those two things,"said Oosterveld.

"This tournament is a good opportunity to see the game at a different level," he added.

To make the Royals, players must be between the ages of 16 to 21 and play in the top two levels of baseball competition in the area.

After meeting that criteria, Oosterveld and his other coaches have their own set of requirements.

"We see who's into baseball and who wants to come," said Oosterveld. "You have to have the money. Not everyone can come.

"Everyone has to pay their own fare. Some get it from their parents or grandparents. They're all on their own.

"Company support in The Netherlands is not big. Soccer is the biggest sport there,"Oosterveld added.

Still, when the players get here, the certainly enjoy the chance to play.

"It's a big opportunity for a player like me," said pitcher Marcel Timmer, 21, who also came last year. "All these guys have played baseball in Holland."

The Royals were scheduled to play seven games between Tuesday and Saturday against Mayo-Annapolis, the Pittsburgh Dawgs, Brackenridge Legion, Conneaut Post No. 151, Niagara Falcons, Bluegrass Legion and Bourbon County Legion.

The team also played an exhibition game last Saturday against Japan.

Timmer got the chance to pitch Tuesday morning against Bluegrass (Ky.) Legion and Thursday morning against Bourbon County (Ky.) Legion.

The team also will have played on five of the tournament's six different fields.

Despite the various cultures, the one constant in this tournament is baseball.

"There are not a lot of differences to the game, but a little around it," said Oosterveld. "The way people behave, not bad or good, is different. Baseball is considered a U.S. sport and Europe plays like a U.S. sport."

This year's inaugural World Baseball Classic, which pitted many countries with players from their home origins, gave the Dutch team a chance to showcase its stars, such as Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones and former Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Randall Simon.

"It's a very big thing to have a Dutch team," said Oosterveld. "On a world level, it's good for a small country."

While in Freeport, the Royals have enjoyed their down time before the games got under way.

"We went to the Pittsburgh Pirates game with Japan Sunday against the (Washington) Nationals," said Oosterveld. "Monday, we had a stadium tour of PNC Park and then went to a mall shopping."

And to be able to see Major League Baseball up close and personal is a great experience, Timmer said.

"Sometimes we see the games on the internet, but the biggest problem is the time difference," said Timmer. "Most games are on around 2 a.m."