Bologna, seeking its second straight title, allowed 4 unearned run on a couple throwing errors. Parma scored 3 runs in both the 2nd and 8th innings, but Bologna never threatened.

Both teams combined for only 1 extra base hit the entire night, a double by Parma’s Leonardo Zileri.

So far the visiting team has won all 3 games.

Game 4 will be Friday night at Falchi Stadium.

Photo courtesy of Ferrini/FIBS

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In the 4th inning, with the Nats winning 14-3, Volstad hit Morgan.  He promptly stole 2nd and 3rd base with his team up 11 runs.  A lot of people in baseball look upon that with disdain as the Marlins did Wednesday night.  When Morgan dug into the box in the 5th, Volstad sailed a pitch behind his back.  Morgan didn’t blink.  He just tossed his bat aside and charged the mound.

What ensued was caos.  Morgan got a good shot on Volstad.  Then Gabby Sanchez came flying in clotheslining Morgan and the benches cleared.  The suspensions should come down soon, but the funniest thing is that Morgan was already suspended for throwing a ball at a fan in the stands in Philadelphia.

Check out the video here.

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OTTAWA-Nova Scotia has once again hosted a successful girl’s instructional clinic. For the third year in a row a clinic has been provided to teach baseball skills and also increase the profile of the sport amongst females in the province. This year the event was held in Bedford, a small community that is just outside of Halifax where over 150 girls participated.

“We had 151 girls registered and then we had walk-ups,” explained event organizer and Baseball Nova Scotia Treasurer, Holly Lapierre. “I’m still plugging all of the names into our registration database.”

With the amount of participants that registered for the event, the day had to be split into two sessions based on age. The morning group was for girls aged 4 to 9 and the afternoon group had 10 to 16 year olds. A great feature to the event is that it is open to any female interesting in participating regardless of their baseball experience.

“Anyone is welcome to attend,” said Lapierre. “It doesn’t matter if you have never played before or aren’t even registered, c’mon out!”

When the morning session got underway the young girl’s rotated through stations that were coordinated by Bantam girl’s provincial team coach, Stephen Benjamin. Benjamin had the help of player’s from his provincial team to provide instruction to the young ball players and give them a glimpse of what kind of opportunities are available for female baseball players in the province.

The top quality instruction didn’t stop there as Paul Prince, head coach of the Senior Women’s provincial team also provided instruction along with two of his assistant coaches and four members of the Senior Women’s team. The highlight for everyone involved was a guest coach appearance by former Toronto Blue Jay and Canadian National Team player, Rob Ducey.

“I had a wonderful time here in Halifax this weekend,” said Ducey. “The day was a great way to introduce baseball to girls and re-enforce baseball skills for those girls who have already been playing.

Ducey was able to rotate around the field and act as a ‘floating instructor’ and filled in with the various stations that were set up. The girls were also treated to a signing period where Ducey signed autographs and was able to interact with participants.

“Overall, it is a great way for grass roots programs to get started and continue to develop girl’s baseball in Canada,” noted Ducey.

Ducey’s presence and the event itself caused some well deserved media attention and it also gave a telling sign of what the participants thought of having a former pro like Ducey attend the event.

“One of the girls that were interviewed on TV was asked what it meant to have (Rob) Ducey at the event,” explained Lapierre. “She said I had instruction from a former major league baseball player, how awesome is that!”

Lapierre was also happy to report that she received numerous notes from parents of participants thanking her for organizing the clinic and relaying how much of a positive experience it was for their daughters.

“Parents have told me that it was great to see the girls get this much attention, guidance and encouragement,” said Lapierre. “They also told me how much their daughters are looking forward to playing baseball now and in the future for those who are new to the sport.

She also anticipates that because of the feedback she has received the event is headed for bigger and better times in the future. Some families travelled as far as two hours away to attend the event proving that the span the event and the sport has is felt throughout the province.

“The first year the girl’s were from only two associations (Hammond Plains and Fall River),” said Lapierre. Last year we (out of 145 participants) had about 30 girls from other associations and this year the number went up again to about 70 girls (from other associations).”

Lapierre also fielded phone calls and e-mails from parents who were upset that their daughter missed this year’s event, but couldn’t wait until next year.

“I guess I’ll have to keep running the clinics,” said Lapierre with a laugh.

Based on the success of the event, Holly Lapierre better get used to running them for many years to come.

Source: International Baseball Federation

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Konan of Okinawa Prefecture roughed up highly touted right-hander Shinta Hifumi and trounced Kanagawa’s Tokaidai Sagami 13-1 in the final of the national High School baseball championship in Japan.

Konan became only the sixth school in the long history of Japanese High School baseball to win both the Spring and Summer national meets and first since Daisuke Matsuzaka, now with the Boston Red Sox, helped Yokohama do so in 1998.
In front of 47,000 spectators at “Koshien” Stadium, Konan had two big innings—a seven-run fourth and a five-run sixth—while left-handed ace Yosuke Shimabukuro scattered nine hits and allowed just one unearned run in his fourth complete game of the tournament.

Source: International Baseball Federation

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Since then he has spent time with two teams in the New York Mets organization. Starting off with Savannah in the South Atlantic League. Here Gronauer hit .267 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI. Even more impressive was Gronauer’s caught stealing percentage of 45%.

With that he earned a promotion to high A ball and the Port St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League. In St. Lucie, Gronauer hit .313 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI in 35 games. He continued his impressive caught stealing percentage at 38%.

Gronauer will play for the Mesa Solar Sox in Arizona when the league starts up on October 12th.

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Lincoln dropped an extra-inning heartbreaker on a bases-loaded eleventh inning sacrifice fly to drop game two of the best-of-five division series 4-3. After 1B Brandon Sing was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt following his double to start the inning, Lincoln walked the bases loaded only to succumb to C Eddy Rodriguez’s (pictured) sacrifice fly to right field. Pheasants’ leadoff man Joe Anthonsen enjoyed a 4-for-5 night, blasting a solo home run in the first after hitting none during the regular season, and later added an RBI single. Lincoln tied the game at three in the sixth with a two-run home run from 1B Phil Hawke, but Sioux Falls’ bullpen tossed four one-hit innings to put out the fire and earn the victory. Starting pitchers John James and Chris Salberg each threw seven innings, surrendering three runs in quality starts. Lincoln will try to avoid a three-game sweep Friday night at 7:05 PM CST. LHP Ryan Rodriguez is probable to take the hill for Sioux Falls while RHP Chris Cullen gets the nod for Lincoln.

Shreveport-Bossier 8, Pensacola 4

Late insurance sealed a 2-0 series lead for Shreveport-Bossier in their best-of-five division series with Pensacola. Entering the ninth up 5-4, the Captains strung together a pair of infield hits, walks, and a couple wild pitches to put together three insurance runs against the Pelicans’ bullpen. RHP Osvaldo Rodriguez picked up the win for Shreveport-Bossier, allowing one earned run over 5.1 innings of work. Palmer Karr, Jr., Andres Rodriguez, and Jorge Alvarez each contributed two RBI for the Captains. Pensacola put together a three-run seventh to pull within one of the lead, but ultimately game two slipped away. Pensacola will try to avoid a sweep on the road Friday. RHP Bryan Rembisz will take the hill for the Pelicans while Shreveport-Bossier will send southpaw Ryan DiPietro to the mound at 7:05 PM CST.

Source: AmericanAssociationBaseball.com

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Joining Palmer in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame 2011 induction class is former Southern Miss punter Jerrel Wilson

Aug. 31, 2010

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced today the 2011 induction class which includes former Southern Miss head baseball coach Corky Palmer.

“I am very honored and humbled to be a member of such an elite fraternity of Mississippians,” Palmer said. “I consider this one of the highest honors in my career, right there with being named the head coach at Southern Miss and taking the Golden Eagles to Omaha in 2009. It is truly special to be inducted in your home state’s hall of fame.”

Palmer coached baseball at all levels for 32 years in the state of Mississippi, but is most remembered for turning his Alma Mater at Southern Miss into one of the nation’s elite programs.

In his 12 years at the helm of the Golden Eagles, Palmer amassed a 458-281-1 record while guiding Southern Miss to eight NCAA Regionals, including each of his final seven seasons. It was also Palmer who guided Southern Miss to the 2009 College World Series, one of the most memorable events in the history of Southern Miss athletics.

Joining Palmer in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame 2011 induction class is former Southern Miss punter Jerrel Wilson, who is the only punter in NFL history to led league in punting average four times. In his fourteen-year pro career he played more games in a Kansas City Chiefs/Dallas Texans uniform than any other player in franchise history. He was selected by Pro Football Hall of Fame to All-Time AFL team.

The other members of the induction class includes: Jeff Brantley, Con Maloney, Rita Easterling, and Mike Kinnison.

The six will be enshrined at the 49th annual BancorpSouth Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Weekend on July 29-30, 2011.

Source: USM Release

Ackley, Sanchez, Wood, Vitters among players selected

The Arizona Fall League will feature 30 former first-round Draft picks this year, including 2009 No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley and No. 4 selection Tony Sanchez.

Nationals’ 2010 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper, rumored to debut in the AFL this fall, was not included among the league’s preliminary rosters.

The AFL is an annual winter league run by Major League Baseball that often showcases the top talent from all 30 organizations — Stephen Strasburg and Buster Posey were among the impact players to see time in Arizona last fall.

The league consists of six teams and is owned and operated by Major League Baseball. Each big league club is required to provide seven players to the league, which kicks off on Oct. 12 in the Phoenix area. The fifth annual “Rising Stars Game” will be played Nov. 6 at Surprise Stadium.

Ackley (Peoria Javelinas) and Sanchez (Mesa Solar Sox) are among the most notable names going to Arizona this autumn. Freddie Freeman, who was selected Tuesday as the International League’s Rookie of the Year, will join the Phoenix Desert Dogs following an expected promotion to Atlanta on Wednesday. He’s among the Braves’ top prospects after hitting .319 with 18 homers and 87 RBIs in 127 games at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Ackley will be joined in the infield by Jose Iglesias, a Cuban defector who debuted in the AFL last year, and Koby Clemens, the power-hitting son of Roger Clemens who has 24 homers and 80 RBIs as a Texas League All-Star with Corpus Christi this year.

Major League veteran Brandon Wood will join the Solar Sox along with Cubs prospect Josh Vitters, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2007 Draft.

The Twins send a solid group to Peoria, including top prospect Ben Revere and pitchers Dave Bromberg, Kyle Walberg and Tyler Robertson. Padres prospect Brad Brach, who leads the California League with 40 saves, will also join Peoria.

Other notable players heading West: 2007 sixth-round pick Matt Rizzotti, a two-time Eastern League All-Star with Philadelphia, will join Mesa along with former Pirates fourth-rounder Andrew Lambo. … Boston’s Ryan Lavarnway, with 21 homers and 93 RBIs at two levels, will catch for Peoria. … Switch-hitting Indians second baseman Cord Phelps will also join the Javelinas. … Padres right-hander Craig Italiano, a 2005 second-round pick, will join the Saguaros along with White Sox ‘09 first-rounder Josh Phegley, who will split time behind the plate with Reds ‘07 first-round pick Devin Mesoraco. … Dodgers coach Don Mattingly will manage the Desert Dogs, a team that includes Dodgers farmhands. … Kyle Skipworth, the No. 6 overall pick in 2008 by Florida, will split catching duties with former ‘07 second-round pick, Austin Romine, one of the Yankees’ prized backstops. … Ivan De Jesus, the Dodgers’ second-round pick in 2005 who broke his leg last year, will join Phoenix. … Grant Green, the A’s first-round pick in ‘09, was a Futures Game and California League All-Star in 2010; he’ll head to Phoenix. … A’s slugger Michael Taylor, traded in the Roy Halladay deal, joins Phoenix. He posted huge offensive years in 2008 and ‘09. … Rex Brothers, Colorado’s top pick last year, will pitch for Scottsdale alongside fellow Rockies prospect Bruce Billings. … Nationals catcher Derek Norris, voted MiLB.com’s top Class A hitter in 2009, will join the Scorpions. … Giants prospect Brandon Belt, one of only two Minor Leaguers with at least 20 homers, doubles and steals, will also head to Scottsdale. … Eric Hosmer, the No. 3 overall pick in 2008, will represent Kansas City with Surprise.

“As we approach our 19th season, the Arizona Fall League is proud of its continuing contributions to the development of the sport’s most outstanding young players,” said AFL director Steve Cobb. “Just nine months ago, players like Ike Davis, Jason Heyward, Chris Heisey, Mike Leake, Buster Posey, Mike Stanton, Drew Storen, Stephen Strasburg, Jose Tabata and many others were polishing their skills in Arizona for the six weeks prior to Thanksgiving and just months before they became household names to baseball fans across America.”

Source: www.minorleaguebaseball.com

The Telemarket Rimini Pirates and T&A San Marino have been regulated to the Italian Cup second round.  Both squads were eliminated from the Italian Baseball League postseason after the semifinal playoff round-robin, where UGF Bologna and Cariparma Parma qualified 1 and 2 for the Italian Baseball Series Championship.

Telemarket Rimini will now be pitted against Danesi Nettuno.  The Nettunesi advanced past the first round of the Italian Cup by finishing second with a 4-2 record.

San Marino will face first-round winner Montepaschi Grosseto.  The Grosseto Orioles cruised past Nettuno, Catania and Godo in the first round, posting a 5-1 mark.

The winners of these two quarterfinal match-ups will play each other next week.  The winner of the semifinal series will then play the loser of the Italian Baseball Series (Bologna or Parma) for the Italian Cup Championship.

The winner of the 2010 Italian Cup will join the Italian Baseball Series champion in representing Italy in the 2011 European Champions Cup.

Source: ItalyBaseball.com

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In the first game Bulgaria dominated Slovenia 7-1 with great pitching and some help from Slovenia defense that made some crucial errors in outfield that eventually cost them the game.

Second game was played between Serbia and Slovenia, and it was Slovenia who took early lead when Nikola Karacon, Serbia’s starting pitcher couldn’t find strike zone, and mostly on walks he gave up 4 runs while getting just 4 outs, he was later replaced by Milan Djordjevic who allowed just one more run, but the initial lead proved to be enough for Slovenia who were playing stellar defense. Serbia had their chances late in the game, but some baserunning blunders cost them couple of runs and eventually the game.

Even though they lost to Slovenia, Serbia still had the chance to play in the finals and for that they needed to win against Bulgaria by two runs or more. Bulgaria proven to be the better team and by playing some unbelievable defense (6 double plays) they shut down Serbian offence who came to life in 9th inning with 5 consecutive doubles but again Bulgarian right fielder gunned down Predrag Kukoleca who tried to score from first and that was the end for Serbian hopes to win in front of the home crowd.

Finals took place on Sunday and it was Bulgaria who got early lead in the first by playing small ball very well, couple of bunts and steals, and Bulgaria was up 2-0 in the first, Slovenia came back in 3rd with some timely hits and production from the bottom of the lineup. Jakob Trobec Slovenian shortstop was 3 for 3 with couple of walks and his hit made it 4-2 Slovenia after 3. Score remained intact until 7th inning but then Bulgaria bats came to life, after the first two walks from tired Slovenia pitcher Alesh Mravlje, who pitched 8 innings of one run ball two days earlier against Serbia, Bulgaria had 3 hits and scoreboard said it was 5-4 Bulgaria with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out. Trobec came in to pitch and he struck out two but a wild pitch allowed one more run for Bulgaria and it was 6-4 before the seventh inning stretch. Slovenia had their chances in the ninth with first two hitters getting on base, but hey only scored one run on a sac fly from their catcher and best defensive player in the tournament Klemen Gajzer. Final score Bulgaria 6 Slovenia 5.

Event had very good organization and media coverage and first ceremonial pitch was thrown by American Ambassador in Serbia Miss Mary Warlick while the Cuban Ambassador miss Mercedes Valdes presented teams and players with the awards.

Source: www.baseballeurope.com

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