ITALY – Cariparma Parma maintained their grip on the fourth and final playoff spot in the Italian Baseball League with a 3-2 win against Reggio Emilia Friday night. With the win, Parma improved to 22-16 with a 1 1/2 game lead over fifth-place Danesi Nettuno.

Parma plated a pair of first-inning runs off Reggio starter Gregory Palanzo. Shortstop Jhonny Carvajal delivered a run-scoring single and Orlando Munoz added an RBI sacrifice fly to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.

Reggio capitalized on a defensive miscue in the sixth to make the score 2-1. However, Parma hit paydirt again in the eighth.

Carvajal started the mini-rally with a leadoff triple, and sprinted home on Laidel Chapelli’s sacrifice fly to give Parma a 3-1 lead.

Claudio Biagini’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the eighth narrowed the gap to 3-2. But veteran pitcher Danny Newman relieved starter Marco Grifantini and slammed the door to earn the save and seal the win.

Photo courtesy of Ferrini FIBS

Tags: Italy