In a surprising move, the Italian club Unipol Bologna has dropped one of its best hitters so far this season, Chris Aguila.

Aguila was hitting .348 starting all 18 games for Bologna. He was tied for the team lead in home runs with three and led the team in doubles with six.

Replacing Aguila will be Dominican Raul Reyes. The left handed hitting outfielder spent seven years in the New York Mets organization making it as high as Triple-A.

Unipol Bologna is tied for first in the IBL with a record of 15-3 and just won the European Cup in Regensburg, Germany giving them the chance to play for the Euorpean Cup Championship in August.

With three of the Italian Baseball League teams playing in the European Cup Tournaments over the weekend, most of the rest had the weekend off. But it provided time for the Palfinger Reggio Emilia and the Godo Knights made up a previous series that got rained out earlier in the year as did Parma and the New Black Panthers.

Palfinger Reggio Emilia 12, Godo Knights 2
Palfinger Reggio Emilia 2, Godo Knights 3 (10)

Game 1 of the weekend series saw Palfinger Reggio Emilia pound on the Knights pitching staff for 12 runs and 19 hits.

Alessandro Bertoli had a nice day at the plate going 3-for-3 scoring a pair of runs and driving in another. Every one of the starters picked up at least one hit. Luca Tagliavini (2-for-5), Claudio Biagini (2-for-4), Luca Gregorini (2-for-6), Davide Murari (2-for-5), and Jose Ferrini (3-for-4) all collected more than one hit in the game.

Filippo Crepadi picked up the win for Palfinger going 5.1 shutout innings allowing just five hits. Filippo Bertolini picked up the save by pitching the remaining 3.2 innings.

Alessandro Casalini didn’t fare well on the mound for the Knights giving up seven runs on eleven hits in just five innings to take the loss.

Danilo Sanchez homered and went 2-for-4 in the loss for the Knights.

Game 2 saw a bit better pitching performance from the Knights staff. Matteo Galeotti pitched six scoreless innings allowing just four hits while striking out seven. He didn’t factor into the decision as the Knights needed a run in the bottom of the tenth inning to earn the win.

Godo got the winning run when Giacomo Meriggi scored the winning run on an error by Emilia catcher Simone Cammi. Meriggi had come in to run for Danilo Sanchez (2-for-3) who had singled to lead off the inning. Emilia would commit three errors in the game with the last one the most costly.

Gleb Volodin picked up the win in relief for Godo tossing two innings of one-hit ball. Nibaldo Acosta took the loss after giving up just two hits in 4.1 innings of relief work while striking out six.

In other IBL action:

Jose Sanchez pitched great for Parma in Game 1 of the weekend series. He tossed seven innings giving up just one hit while striking out eight to earn the win.

Stefano Desimoni stole a pair of bases and scored two runs going 1-for-3 for Parma in Game 1. In Game 2 he went 3-for-4 with a double and another stolen base.

Luca Scalera went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two doubles, and three RBI in Game 2 for Parma.

Jordano Collado went 4-for-5 in the Game 2 loss for the New Black Panthers.

Italian Baseball League Scores:

New Black Panthers 2, Parma Baseball 3
New Black Panthers 2, Parma Baseball 11

Palfinger Reggio Emilia 12, Godo Knights 2
Palfinger Reggio Emilia 2, Godo Knights 3 (10)

Italian Baseball League Standings:

1. Nettuno 15-3
2. Unipol Bologna 15-3
3. Telemarket Rimini 14-4
4. T&A San Marino 11-7
5. Parma Baseball 9-8
6. Palfinger Reggio Emilia 7-10
7. New Black Panthers 5-13
8. Godo Knights 5-13
9. Novara Baseball 4-13
10. Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 3-14

Telemarket Rimini trounced T&A San Marino in Game 1 of their weekend series. Game 2 was a bit closer but Rimini came out on top again to stay just a game back of the league leaders.

After starting the year 6-2, T&A San Marino has gone 5-5 over the past few weeks. They take that streak of mediocrity into this weeks European Cup in Regensburg, Germany.

While San Marino battles it out in Germany, Rimini will be playing in the European Cup in Barcelona this week.

Telemarket Rimini 21, T&A San Marino 8 (8)
T&A San Marino 3, Telemarket Rimini 5

Game 1 was closer than the score indicates, for most of the game anyway. Through five innings, San Marino actually led 3-2. Then San Marino starter Tiago Da Silva ran into some trouble giving up four runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Da Silva would wind up taking the loss tossing 5.2 innings giving up six runs on eight hits. Leonardo D’Amico came in to relieve Da Silva but didn’t fare any better giving up three runs in just a third of an inning.

Rimini scored 19 of their 21 runs in the last three innings including seven in the seventh and eight in the eighth.

Mario Chiarini had a huge game for Rimini. He went 4-for-6 in the game scoring four times and driving in five including three on a home run in the eighth inning. Jack Santora (4-for-6), Ramon Castro (4-for-5) both contributed to the 22-hit attack with four hits apiece.

Every starter for Rimini had at least one hit.

San Marino only scored eight runs, but they hit three home runs in the game. Wuillians Vaszuez (2-for-3), Mattia Reginato (1-for-4), and Simone Albanese (1-for-4) all homered in the loss.

Game 2 was a bit closer as Rimini won getting a strong relief appearance from Sandy Patrone who tossed four hitless innings. He did walk one but struck out six to pick up the save.

T&A San Marino starter Jim Magrane only lasted 3.2 innings giving up three runs on six hits. He needed 77 pitches and didn’t get through the fourth. Christopher Cooper took the loss in relieve giving up two runs in 3.1 innings.

Alexander Romero (1-for-4) added an insurance run in the seventh inning with a solo home run for Rimini.

In other league action:

Andrea Pizziconi pitched well for Nettuno picking up a win going five scoreless innings allowing just three hits. His teammate out did him in Game 2 as Riccardo De Santis tossed seven innings allowing just one unearned run on three hits striking out nine.

There were a lot of home runs hit in the weekend series between the Godo Knights and the Unipol Bologna.

Chris Aguila hit a home run in both games of the weekend series. He went a combined 4-for-8 with five runs scored and six RBI. In Game 2 of the series, he hit a grand slam in the first inning for Bologna.

Alessandro Vaglio hit a pair of home runs in the first game of the weekend driving in four runs helping Bologna to the win.

Daniele Malengo (2-for-4) hit a solo home run in Game 1 for Bologna.

The Godo Knights finally got into the home run derby in Game 2 hitting a pair. Danilo Sanchez (3-for-4) and Mattia Bucchi (1-for-3) both homered for the Knights.

Filippo Crepaldi pitched a good game for the Palfinger Reggio Emilia leading them to a Game 1 victory. He tossed seven innings giving up just one run on four hits while striking out seven.

Erik Epifano had a huge three-run triple in the second inning for Emilia in the win.

Parma came back in Game 2 of the series with Reggio Emilia with a good start from Jose Sanchez. He tossed seven innings allowing just a run on six hits while striking out eight. However, Sanchez didn’t get the win. Marcos Tabata picked up the win in relief.

Stefano Desimoni had a nice game for Parma in Game 2 with a perfect 3-for-3 game.

Both starters in Game 1 of the New Black Panthers and Novara Baseball series pitched well. Angel Calero tossed seven shutout innings allowing just three hits to earn the win for Novara. He struck out 15 in the win. Matt Litzinger pitched well for the New Black Panthers with seven innings of one-run ball to take the loss.

Jordano Collado homered for the New Black Panthers in Game 2 going 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the team to a win.

Alessandro Petralia pitched well to pick up the win for the Panthers in Game 2. He tossed six innings giving up just one run on four hits.

Italian Baseball League Scores:

Telemarket Rimini 21, T&A San Marino 8 (8)
T&A San Marino 3, Telemarket Rimini 5

Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 0, Nettuno 4
Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 1, Nettuno 7

Unipol Bologna 14, Godo Knights 4
Unipol Bologna 10, Godo Knights 4

Parma Baseball 1, Palfinger Reggio Emilia 7
Palfinger Reggio Emilia 3, Parma Baseball 4 (10)

New Black Panthers 0, Novara Baseball 4
New Black Panthers 8, Novara Baseball 4

Italian Baseball League Standings:

1. Nettuno 15-3
2. Unipol Bologna 15-3
3. Telemarket Rimini 14-4
4. T&A San Marino 11-7
5. Parma Baseball 7-8
6. Palfinger Reggio Emilia 6-9
7. New Black Panthers 5-11
8. Godo Knights 4-12
9. Novara Baseball 4-13
10. Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 3-14

The Italian Baseball League finished up week four of the season with every match up of the weekend ending in a sweep. T&A San Marino, Unipol Bologna, Telemarket Rimini, Nettuno, and Palfinger Reggio Emilia all won this past weekend.

The two wins by San Marino kept them two games behind league leader Unipol Bologna who, after a sweep of Grosseto, remains undefeated.

Parma Baseball 3, T&A San Marino 11

T&A San Marino 6, Parma Baseball 1

Game 1 saw a couple starting pitchers pitch well but not factor into the decision. The game was close until San Marino broke it open in the eighth inning with seven runs.

It all started with Francesco Imperiali (2-for-4) reacing on a throwing error. He was followed up by Mattia Reginato (2-for-5) who drove him in by driving a ball over the left field wall for a two-run home run. It all went downhill from there for Parma. Marcos Tabata (1.1 IP/7 runs/4 earned) would give up six more hits in the inning, including a pair of doubles, that led to five more runs for San Marino.

Jim Magrane of T&A San Marino tossed five innings giving up just two runs on two hits, but didn’t get the win as he left with the game tied 2-2. Christopher Cooper picked up the win with 2.1 innings of relief.

Jose Sanchez pitched well for Parma. He went six innings giving up just two runs on four hits while striking out six. He too left with the score tied 2-2 and didn’t factor into the decision. Mihai Burlea took the loss pitching just a third of an inning giving up two unearned runs on one hit.

Carlos Duran had a big day for San Marino going 3-for-5, scoring two runs, and driving in four. He led off the second inning with a solo home run.

Game 2 saw T&A San Marino get a dominate performance out of starter Tiago Da Silva who tossed six shutout innings allowing just one hit. He improved his ERA on the year to 0.69 while picking up the win.

He was given run support one again by Carlos Duran and Mattia Reginato who both went 3-for-4 in the game scoring two runs each. All of Duran’s hits were doubles.

Nicolas Giovanelli took the loss for Parma pitching 5.1 innings allowing four runs on eight hits. Stefano Desimoni tripled going 2-for-4 for Parma.

In other action:

Jack Santora had a big weekend going a combined 7-for-10 in two games for Rimini. He drove in five runs and stole two bases.

Santora’s teammate Roberto Corradini tossed seven shutout innings allowing just two hits winning Game 2 of the weekend set. He struck out nine.

Riccardo De Santis tossed six shutout innings for Nettuno in a win over the Godo Knights. He gave up just four hits and struck out seven.

Alessandro Grimaudo homered for Nettuno in a 9-1 win.

Raul Rivero pitched five shutout innings allowing just one hit and striking out 11 in a win for Bologna over Grossetto.

Erik Epifano went a combined 5-for-12 in the double header homering and scoring four times for Palfinger Reggio Emilia.

Epifano’s teammates Luca Gregorini (5-for-6/4 RBI) and Paul Macaluso (1-for-4/4RBI) both hit three-run home runs in an 18-8 win.

Italian Baseball League Results:

Parma Baseball 3, T&A San Marino 11
T&A San Marino 6, Parma Baseball 1

Telemarket Rimini 8, New Black Panthers 5
Telemarket Rimini 8, New Black Panthers 0

Nettuno 9, Godo Knights 1
Nettuno 3, Godo Knights 1

Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 1, Unipol Bologna 12 (7)
Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 1, Unipol Bologna 3

Palfinger Reggio Emilia 18, Baseball Novara 8
Palfinger Reggio Emilia 7, Baseball Novara 4 (11)

Italian Baseball League Standings:

1. Unipol Bologna 8-0
2. Telemarket Rimini 6-2
2. T&A San Marino 6-2
4. Nettuno 5-3
5. 2. Parma Baseball 3-3
5. Palfinger Reggio Emilia 3-3
7. Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 3-5
8. Godo Knights 1-5
9. New Black Panthers 1-5
10. Novara Baseball 0-8

The Italian Baseball League finished up Week 3 this past weekend as Unipol Bologna took a two game set from Telemarket Rimini. Two of the match ups were canceled due to bad weather, but the rest of the action was heated. Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto swept Novara while Nettuno and San Marino split their series.

Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 4, Novara Baseball 3
Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 11, Novara Baseball 1 (8)

Alessandro Ularetti pitched eight strong innings giving up just three runs (two earned) for Grosseto but didn’t factor into the decision. Grosseto needed a run in the bottom of the ninth to pull out the win in Game 1. Moreno Funzione picked up the win pitching the ninth inning.

Antonio Giovannini came up with a big hit in the bottom of the ninth inning driving in the winning run with a single.

Angel Calero pitched five shutout innings for Novara giving way to relief in the sixth. Franklin Torres pitched the final 3.2 innings giving up four runs (one earned) taking the loss.

The defense let Novara down in Game 1 giving up four errors, but it was the wild pitching that let them down in Game 2.

The Novara pitching staff gave up nine walks, hit five batters, and uncorked two wild pitches leading to eleven runs in a lopsided loss to Grosseto. Starter Mario Di Taddeo took the loss lasting only 1.1 innings giving up four runs (three earned) without giving up a hit. He did walk four and hit two.

On the other side of the field, Grosseto starter Angel Marquez picked up the win tossing six innings allowing just one run on three hits while striking out eight.

Nettuno 4, T&A San Marino 1

Nettuno 1, T&A San Marino 7

Andrea Pizziconi picked up the win in Game 1 for Neptunno tossing five innings giving up just one run on five hits. Antonio Romero pitched two innings to earn the save. He struck out five and didn’t allow a hit.

Jim Magrane pitched well for San Marino going six innings allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits but took the loss.

Vinicio Sparagna had a good game at the plate going 3-for-3 with a RBI for Nettuno.

T&A San Marino used a five-run seventh inning to take Game 2 behind three home runs.

Jairo Ramos had a great day at the plate going 2-for-5 including a grand slam home run in the fifth inning. Wuillians Vasquez (1-for-4) and Joseph Mazzuca (2-for-5) both homered as well for San Marino.

Tiago Da Silva pitched eight great innings to earn the win. Da Silva gave up one run on three hits while striking out nine. Leonardo D’Amico picked up the save pitching the ninth inning.

Riccardo De Santis took the loss tossing just 6.1 innings allowing three runs on six hits.

Telemarket Rimini 3, Unipol Bologna 11

Telemarket Rimini 1, Unipol Bologna 5

Unipol Bologna pounded Rimini pitching for 12 hits in Game 1. Juan Carlos Infante went 3-for-5 scoring three runs, stole a base, and hit a two-run home run. Luca Bischeri added another three RBI going 2-for-3 on the day.

Victor Moreno picked up the win for Bologna pitching 5.2 innings giving up three runs on four hits striking out seven along the way. Raul Rivero pitched the final 3.1 innings to earn the save.

Andrew Baldwin took the loss for Rimini giving up three runs (two earned) in 4.1 innings. The Rimini pitching staff struggled with control throughout the game walking nine and hitting one batter.

Alexander Romero (2-for-3) homered in the loss for Rimini.

Unipol Bologna came back with another victory in Game 2 behind a solid start from Matteo D’Angelo who went 4.2 innings allowing just one unearned run. Junior Oberto picked up the win in relief tossing 1.1 innings striking out two and not allowing a hit. Carlos Richetti picked up the save with two hitless innings of relief.

Roberto Corradini took the loss for Rimini tossing 5.2 innings giving up two runs on seven hits.

Alessandro Vaglio (2-for-4) driving in three runs while Infante added another pair of hits in the game.

Italian Baseball League Standings:

1. Unipol Bologna 6-0
2. Parma Baseball 3-1
3. Telemarket Rimini 4-2
4. T&A San Marino 4-2
5. Nettuno 3-3
6. Toshiba Mastiff Grosseto 3-3
7. Palfinger Reggio Emilia 1-3
8. Godo Knights 1-3
9. New Black Panthers 1-3
10. Novara Baseball 0-6

Puerto Rico Eliminates Italy, One Win from Semis

By Gabriel Fidler (@gabrielfidler)

It was a different night but the same story for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. After taking the lead on a big hit, this time by Anthony Rizzo, Italy wasted the efforts of an intrepid starting pitcher and allowed its opponent to come back late against their bullpen. Once more, their experienced closer, Jason Grilli, sat idly in the bullpen as a more experienced opponent chipped away at the lead before taking it for good.

This time it was Puerto Rico who was the beneficiary, as it took advantage of sloppy play by the Italians in the late innings to claim a 4-3 win. In the process, Puerto Rico narrowly escaped elimination and is now one win away from qualifying for the semifinals of the WBC. Italy finished 2-3 in the 2013 Classic.

Both starters were effective in the early innings. Italy sent Alex Maestri, the country’s top Italian-born hurler, to the mound. After a leadoff double to Ángel Pagán, Maestri set down the next nine hitters, five by ground ball, working low in the zone with a tight high-70s/mid-120s curveball and slider combination, mixing in a fastball that hit 90/145 consistently.

Giancarlo Alvarado was nearly as effective for Puerto Rico. Relying heavily on a high-80s/low-140s cut fastball that he located well, the right-hander gave up a hit in the first three innings, but got out of each inning unscathed.

Puerto Rico’s best threat early in the game was the fourth. Irving Falú worked a seven-pitch walk and went to third on a one-out single by Yadier Molina. Maestri threw a wild pitch to move Molina into scoring position, but the righty got Mike Aviles and Álex Ríos on outs to the left side of the infield.

Alvarado started to wear down in the fifth. Anthony Granato stroked a single to right with one out and went to second on catcher interference by Molina. Nick Punto reached on the play. Chris Denorfia had a one-base hit to load the bases, and Alvarado exited the game.

Xavier Cedeño came in with the sole purpose of getting out Anthony Rizzo, the Azzurri’s top hitter, but grooved a fastball that the first baseman ripped to the gap in right centre. All three runners crossed home, and Italy had a 3-0 lead.

José de la Torre, who struck out the side with a runner in scoring position only one night before, came in to face the dangerous combination of Alex Liddi and Chris Colabello, and a ground ball and a strikeout to escape the threat.

Maestri left the hill after getting into a jam in the fifth. Chris Cooper relieved with runners on first and second and one out, and got Pagán and Falú out to preserve Italy’s three-run advantage for another frame.

Hiram Burgos was the new pitcher for Puerto Rico and got three quick outs. Cooper gave up a hit with one out to Yadier Molina in the bottom of the sixth. He advanced to second on an error by Granato at shortstop and, with two down, another miscue by Granato gave Puerto Rico its first run. Cooper finally acquired the third out to keep the score at 3-1.

Neither side threatened in the seventh as Burgos and Cooper turned in strong innings, though Italy nearly struck against Burgos in the eighth. The Milwaukee Brewers’ minor leaguer gave up two hits with two outs, but stopped the rally with a ground ball out.

Cooper would not be so fortunate in the bottom of the inning. He was pulled after walking a slumping Carlos Beltrán, who went to third on a hit by Molina. With Grilli still not warming, Marco Mazzieri, Italy’s manager, elected to bring in veteran change-up specialist Brian Sweeney to face Aviles and Ríos. He got Aviles to erase Molina on a force out, but then allowed a RBI-single to Ríos to make it a one-run game.

Pat Venditte relieved and got the second out at a price, inducing a fly out to centre that score Aviles with the tying run. Italy’s centerfielder, Chris Denorfia, threw the ball home from deep centre, and Ríos went to second on the throw.

Andy González bounced a ball deep into the hole at shortstop and it eluded a diving Liddi, the third baseman. Jack Santora, who had entered as a defensive replacement for Granato, made a nice play to snag the ball, but the long throw to first pulled Rizzo off the bag, and Ríos sprinted from second and score untouched.

Italy’s mental mistakes continued after a hit to Eddie Rosario, as Santora threw to third on a grounder by Pagán. The toss was high and González slid in safely to load the bases on the Azzurri’s third error. Venditte bore down and got Falú for the third out, but all the air had been visibly sucked out Italy’s collective lungs.

Burgos stayed in for the first two outs, both retired by strikeout, though the first was on a 3-2 count to Punto, who thought it was ball four and ran all the way to first before someone told him he had been ruled out. Southpaw J.C. Romero came in to get the left-handed Rizzo. Rizzo walked, but Fernando Cabrera got Liddi to go down swinging for the first out.

Italy out-hit Puerto 9-8, but its three errors were the death blow to its chances of advancing in the bracket. Denorfia had three hits and Rizzo reached base three times, but the team and was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men stranded. Liddi and Colabello, both of whom had key hits earlier in the Classic, were 0-for-8 with four strikeouts, leaving seven men stranded. Italy struck out 11 times.

Molina had a three-hit day for Puerto Rico, who also left 10 men on base, hitting .067 with runners on second or third. It received strong pitching from Alvarado and Burgos in particular. Puerto Rico’s starter went 4 1/3 innings, scattering five hits and a walk while allowing two earned runs. Alvarado whiffed four.

Burgos, who earned the victory, threw 3 2/3 scoreless frames, striking out four. He allowed three hits and issued two free passes.

Maestri toed the rubber for 4 1/3 shutout innings, striking out three. He surrendered three hits and two walks. Cooper was solid, allowing only a hit and a walk in 2 1/3, notching one K. Sweeney took the loss, giving up Puerto Rico’s final run and getting only one out.

Italy will return for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, while Puerto Rico will take on the loser of the matchup between the Dominican Republic and the United States. That game will take place on Mar. 15 at 7 p.m. EST.

Stay tuned for all the news and reviews of the final six games of the World Baseball Classic.

Dominican Republic Squeaks By Upstart Italy

By Gabriel Fidler (@gabrielfidler)

Chris Colabello and Italy gave the Dominican Republic a scare, leading the heavily favoured Dominicans until the seventh inning. Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano joined Colabello in hitting home runs in a 5-4 Dominican victory.

Colabello hit a huge longball against Canada and got Italy off to a good start in the first inning with another. With the score 1-0 and runners on the corners, Italy’s designated hitter stroked a three-run tater to right field off EdinsónVolquez. Vólquez allowed only Colabello’s hit in the inning, but got into trouble by walking the first three batters of the game.

Italy’s Tiago da Silva, a top starter in the Italian Baseball League, held the Dominican lineup scoreless in the bottom of the frame, though he gave up a double to Canó. Neither club scored in the second.

Vólquez settled down quickly after the homer and pitched a second-straight 1-2-3 frame in the third. Reyes got the Dominican Republic one run closer with a home run to lead off the third. The blast hit the top of the foul pole in right field and bounced fair. Reyes had only missed a home run to same spot by a few feet in the first.

Da Silva kept dealing into the fifth inning, mixing a change and curveball in the mid-70s/high-110s with a fastball that regularly touched 90/145.Vólquez ran out of fuel in the fifth, giving up two hits with one out, but Juan Cedeño and Lorenzo Barcelo bailed him out of the jam.

Da Silva got two Ks in the fifth and Italy still held a 4-1 advantage going into the sixth, despite having only mustered three safeties.

Italy’s starter finally tired in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Canó blasted a solo home run and Marco Mazzieri, Italy’s skipper, pulled da Silva. Nick Pugliese came in to face the 4-5-6 hitters for the Dominican Republic, and they unloaded two hits, while a walk with two outs jammed the bases. Pat Venditte entered and got a fly out to keep the score at 4-2.

Pedro Strop followed Barcelo with more dominant relief work in the seventh, and the Dominicans unloaded against Venditte. With one down, Reyes hit a single up-the-middle and was followed by a safety from Erick Aybar. Canó blooped a ball into shallow left field that fell between the shortstop and left fielder, though the official scoring was an error on the shortstop.

With the bases loaded, a walk to Edwin Encarnacion plated Reyes, and Aybar came round on a sacrifice fly from Hanley Ramirez. Nelson Cruz then drove in Canó with a RBI-single, and the Dominicans had their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Italy had two final chances to score, but Santiago Casilla hurled a scoreless eighth and Fernando Rodney came on for the save. Rodney gave up a walk, but had a three-up, three-down inning thanks to a strikeout and a double play.

The victory moved the Dominican Republic one win away from a guaranteed spot in the semifinals, though they will have to face the winner of U.S.A.-Puerto Rico to qualify. Italy drops into the loser’s bracket in the double-elimination second round. They will play the loser of the same game, with only the winning team staying alive.

Canó had his fourth consecutive three-hit game to lead the Dominican. He scored twice, as did Reyes, who joined Cruz with a brace of hits. The Dominican Republic was only 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight on, but was aided by a strong defence that did not commit an error.

Punto had two of Italy’s four hits, raising his Classic average to .467, though the team walked six times against only five strikeouts. They had very few chances against a dominant Dominican bullpen that threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed only one hit. Strop earned the win, Casilla the hold, and Rodney his third save of the WBC.Venditte took the loss.

Italy will have to play on back-to-back days with their game against the other losing team from the pool. The game will be held at Marlins Park on Mar. 13 at 7 p.m. EST (midnight GMT on Mar. 14). The Dominicans will get the day off before hitting the field on Mar. 14 at 7 p.m. EST.

Both games will be covered here, along with all the rest of the World Baseball Classic, so check back for more coverage, analysis, and other information.

The USA is coming off a disappointing opening game loss to Mexico. With the 2012 N.L. Cy Young Award winner pitching, the USA figured to be a little more competitive, but credit Mexico for shutting down the big USA bats.

Italy, on the other hand, is on a roll. The upset Mexico to open the WBC. Then they demolished Canada run-ruling them in the eighth innings.

With a loss, the USA would all be out and Italy would win the pool. So let’s take a look at the starting pitchers.

USA

The San Francisco Giants Ryan Vogelsong will get the start for Team USA. In 2012, he went 14-9 in 31 starts with a 3.37 ERA. He was at his best in the postseason. In four starts, he went 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA helping the Giants win the World Series.

Originally drafted by the Giants in the 1998 Draft, Vogelsong failed to catch on with a team as a starter. So, he headed for Japan in 2007 where he pitched for three seasons. Finally getting his chance in 2011, he made the most of it.

Italy

Getting the start for Italy will be Luca Panerati who spent the 2012 season pitching for Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Baseball League. In 2012, he went 8-4 with a 3.28 ERA in 82.1 innings.

Panerati pitched in the US minor leagues from 2008-2011 pitching as high as Single-A.

He has international experience. In 2007, at the age of 17, he pitched in a win against the USA at the World Cup. It was the only loss for the USA in the tournament and the first time in 21 years that Italy had beaten the USA. He pitched in the 2009 WBC but only for a third of an inning.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Pool D kicked off at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, with a game between Italy and Mexico on Thursday afternoon. The game proved to be perhaps the most exciting so far in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Heading into Pool D, most thought that three teams would compete for the two spots into the next round. The one team that most figured wouldn’t be a part of that race was Italy. They proved everyone wrong on Thursday thrusting themselves in the mix with a 6-5 win over Mexico in front of almost 4,500 spectators.

The game was a seesaw affair with Italy striking first in the first.

In the first inning, Chris Denorfia (2-for-5) doubled to get the offense going after lead off hitter Nick Punto struck out. Anthony Rizzo (2-for-5) followed Denorfia with a soft single to center putting runners at the corners. Right-handed slugging third baseman Alex Liddi (2-for-3) got Italy on the board with a line drive single up the middle. Italy would pick up one more run on a Mike Costanzo (1-for-4) single.

Italy led 2-0 after a half inning, but it didn’t last.

Italy starter John Mariotti couldn’t hold the lead. He immediately walked the lead off hitter, then gave up a double to Ramiro Pena (2-for-4) to put runners on second and third with no outs. Mariotti then got an out and loaded the bases walking slugger Adrian Gonzalez for former MLBer Jorge Cantu.

Cantu cleared the bases with a three-run double giving Mexico the lead 3-2.

Mexico would add another run in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Eduardo Arredondo singled and advanced to second on an error by center fielder Denorfia. Ramiro Pena made them pay with a RBI double off newly inserted pitcher Tiago De Silva.

Mexico led 4-2, and that is where we would stay until the fourth.

After a Mario Chiarini single, Minnesota Twins catcher Drew Butera blasted a two-run home run onto the grass berm beyond the left field wall tying the game at four.

It didn’t stay tied for long.

Mexico center fielder Arredondo (2-for-3 / 3 runs) was at it again. He singled to center and was sacrificed to second by Pena. Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Luis Cruz then doubled home Arrendondo to give Mexico the lead once again at 5-4.

The bullpen for both teams settled in at this point and the game remained at 5-4 until the ninth inning.

That’s when things go very interesting.

The San Francisco Giants Sergio Romo came on to close out the game for Mexico. After getting one quick out, Nick Punto doubled to left field on what looked like a ball misplayed by Edgar Gonzalez. Next up was Chris Denorfia.

Denorfia had what had to be the best at bat of the game. After falling down 0-2 in the count, Denorfia laid off three close sliders by Romo to run the count full. He then fouled off four straight pitches spoiling some good sliders from Romo until he got one he could handle singling to left field.

Pinch runner Stefano Desimoni didn’t score on the play, but runners were at the corners with one out for Italy.

Next up was the Chicago Cubs Anthony Rizzo who doubled on a fly ball to left field that could have and maybe should have been caught once again by Edgar Gonzalez. Desimoni scored easily from third tying the game, and heads up running by Denorfia allowed him to score the go ahead run all the way from first.

Midway through the ninth, Italy led 6-5, but the excitement still wasn’t over.

Italy brought in the Pittsburgh Pirates Jason Grilli to close out the game. Grilli would face pinch-hitter Efren Navarro to start the inning. Navarro would single. After a sacrifice bunt moved pinch-runner Walter Ibarra to second base, Pena popped out. So with two outs and the tying run at second, the game got even more exciting.

Grilli proceeded to walk the next hitter, Cruz. That brought up the dangerous Adrian Gonzalez, whom Grilli hit with a pitch loading the bases.

So now the bases were loaded with two outs and up to bat is Jorge Cantu who already hit a bases clearing double in the first inning.  Grilli decided to make it even more interesting running the count full before getting Cantu to ground out to second base to end the inning.

Nick Pugliese picked up the win pitching 1.1 innings of hitless relief. Grilli got the save.

Sergio Romo took the loss giving up two runs on three hits in a single inning.

Italy will turn around and play Canada Friday at 2:30 pm EST, while Mexico will face USA at 9:00 pm EST Friday night.

T&A San Marino defended its Italian Series title with a win on Friday night over Telemarket Rimini. San Marino won in style with a walk-off RBI double with one out in the bottom of the 9th by Francesco Imperiali. 

T&A San Marino jumped out on top 3-0 scoring all 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd on a 3-run home run by Imperiali. They added another run in the 6th on an RBI single by Carlos Duran.

However, Rimini came back strong trailing 4-0 and tied the game with 4 runs of its own in the top of the 7th. Joseph Persichina (2-for-5) singled driving in 2 runs tying the game.

That’s where the game stayed until the bottom of the 9th. After Laidel Chapelli singled with one out, Imperiali drove him home to win the game with a double to right field.

Tiago Da Silva went the distance for San Marino allowing 4 runs (3 ER) on 12 hits to pick up the win. Carlos Pezzullo took the loss in relief.

T&A San Marino took the series 4-games-to-2 after winning the first 3 games.

Photo Courtesy FIBS and CB / Oldmanagency

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T&A San Marino is still just one win away from back-to-back Italian Series titles. San Marino won the first 3 games of the series but have dropped two straight games as the series moves back to San Marino.

T&A San Marino 7, Telemarket Rimini 3

After winning the first two games at home, T&A San Marino took Game 3 to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Rimini jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning but San Marino came back scoring 4 unanswered runs.

Tiago Da Silva pitched a complete game allowing 3 runs on 6 hits to pick up the win for T&A San Marino. Roberto Corradini took the loss going 4.1 innings giving up 4 runs (2 ER) on 9 hits.

Lorenzo Avagnina scored 2 runs going 3-for-4 for San Marino. Carlos Duran drove in 4 runs hitting a 3 run home run in the 8th inning.

Nobody for Rimini had over 1 hit. Joseph Persichina drove in the only run for Rimini.

T&A San Marino 2, Telemarket Rimini 3 (11)

Rimini finally got in the win column with a 3-2 extra inning win in Game 4.

Marcos Alexan Tabata pitched well starting for Rimini going 5 innings allowing only 2 runs but didn’t factor into the decision. Enorbel Marquez  picked up the win going 2 innings of scoreless relief.

Jairo Ramos had a big day at the plate for San Marino going 3-for-4 driving in 2 runs and hitting a solo home run in the 6th inning.

Juan Pablo Angrisano went 3-for-5 for Rimini, and Riccardo Suardi drove in 2 runs going 2-for-5. The big hit came from Jack Santora who singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

T&A San Marino 2, Telemarket Rimini 8

Rimini continued its comeback with a 2nd win in a row to push the series back to San Marino. Mark Di Felice picked up the win with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Maximiliano De Biase hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning to give Rimini the lead after falling behind 2-0 after half an inning. Joseph Persichina went 2-for-5 driving in a pair of runs to help Rimini with the win.

Lorenzo Avagnina was the only San Marino hitter with more than 1 hit going 2-for-4 with a RBI.

The series now moves back to San Marino.

2012 Italian Series Schedule:
Game 6 Friday August 24th
Telemarket Rimini vs T&A San Marino

*Game 7 Saturday August 25th
Telemarket Rimini vs T&A San Marino
*If necessary

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T&A San Marino has jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the Italian Series over Telemarket Rimini winning the first two games by scores of 8-5 and 2-0. Game 3 of the series will be Thursday August 16th.

Telemarket Rimini 5, T&A San Marino 8

Defending champion San Marino made a huge comeback in the bottom of the 9th inning to take Game 1. San Marino jumped out on top by scoring 3 runs in the 4th inning. However, Rimini came back by scoring a run in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th to take a 5-3 lead heading into the 9th inning.

San Marino started the 9th with a single and quickly loaded the bases with 1 out. Giovanni Pantaleoni singled up the middle to drive in 2 runs to tie the game at 5. The next hitter Simone Albanese was pinch hit for by MarcoYepez who quickly hit a walk-off home run to right field giving San Marino a 1-0 lead in the series.

Rodney Rodriguez pitched well for San Marino going 6 innings giving up 1 unearned run on 5 hits but didn’t factor into the decision. Yulman Ribeiro picked up the win with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Telemarket Rimini 0, T&A San Marino 2

Game 2 was a pitching duel between Rimini starter Enorbel Marquez and San Marino starter Christopher Cooper. Cooper tossed 5.1 innings of shutout ball striking out 4 to pick up the win. Marquez pitched well but got no offensive support going 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits.

Jairo Ramos had another big day at the plate hitting a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning. That would be all the scoring for the game. Francesco Imperiali and Lorenzo Avagnina both added two hits for San Marino.

Italian Series Schedule:
Thursday August 16th
T&A San Marino at Telemarket Rimini

Friday August 17th
T&A San Marino at Telemarket Rimini

*Saturday August 18h
T&A San Marino at Telemarket Rimini

*Friday August 24th
Telemarket Rimini at T&A San Marino

*Saturday August 25th
Telemarket Rimini at T&A San Marino

*if necessary

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Heading into the last weekend of the semi-final round of the 2012 Italian Baseball League Playoffs, Danesi Nettuno sat atop the standings. With wins in two of its final three games against Telemarket Rimini, Nettuno would advance to the championship. However, that wasn’t meant to be as Rimini took 2-of-3 to tie in the standings with Nettuno. Rimini would advance based on the head to head record. They will face defending champion T&A San Marino who is back again finishing atop the standings in the sem-final round robin as they swept Unipol Bologna in their last weekend series.

Roberto Corradini came up huge in the deciding 2nd game of the series between Rimini and Nettuno. He pitched 8.1 scoreless innings allowing just 5 hits to pick up the win sending Rimini to the championship. Jack Santora drove in the only run of the game as Rimini won 1-0 to take the first 2 games of the series.

Final Standings:
1. T&A San Marino 6-3
2. Telemarket Rimini 5-4
3. Danesi Nettuno 5-4
4. Unipol Bologna 2-7

T&A San Marino 8, Unipol Bologna 0
Unipol Bologna 5, T&A San Marino 6
Unipol Bologna 2, T&A San Marino 5

Danesi Nettuno 2, Telemarket Rimini 4
Telemarket Rimini 1, Danesi Nettuno 0
Telemarket Rimini 1, Danesi Nettuno 4

The best-of-7 Finals will start Friday August 10th in San Marino.

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Round 2 of the Italian Baseball League Semi-Final round was completed this weekend. The top four teams in the league play a round-robin format with the top two teams advancing to the championship round.

After Round 1 Danesi Nettuno and T&A San Marino were in the lead each winning 2 of their 3 matches. However, the two teams matched up with each other in Round 2 with Danesi taking control of the match up winning twice. In the other Round 2 match, Telemarket Rimini took 2-of-3 from Unipol Bologna after dropping the first game in 11 innings.

Heading into Round 3, T&A San Marino will face off with Unipol Bologna and Danesi Nettuno will square off with Telemarket Rimini. The top two will advance to the 2012 Italy Baseball Series.

Standings:

1. Danesi Nettuno 4-2
2. T&A San Marino 3-3
3. Telemarket Rimini – 3-3
4. Unipol Bologna 2-4

Round 1

Wednesday, July 18:
Danesi Nettuno 3, Unipol Bologna 2
Telemarket Rimini 2, T&A San Marino 4 (10)

Friday, July 20:
Unipol Bologna 11, Danesi Nettuno 7
T&A San Marino 11, Telemarket Rimini 5

Saturday, July 21:
Unipol Bologna 3, Danesi Nettuno 6

Sunday, July 22:
T&A San Marino o, Telemarket Rimini 5 (12)

Round 2

Wednesday, July 25:
Telemarket Rimini 2,  Unipol Bologna 3 (11)
Danesi Nettuno 3, T&A San Marino 0

Friday, July 27:
Unipol Bologna 3,  Telemarket Rimini 7
T&A San Marino 2, Danesi Nettuno 12

Saturday, July 28:
Unipol Bologna 2, Telemarket Rimini 4
T&A San Marino 12,  Danesi Nettuno 8

Round 3

Wednesday, August 1:
T&A San Marino – Unipol Bologna
Danesi Nettuno – Telemarket Rimini

Thursday, August 2:
Unipol Bologna – T&A San Marino
Telemarket Rimini – Danesi Nettuno

Friday, August 3:
Unipol Bologna – T&A San Marino
Telemarket Rimini – Danesi Nettuno

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By Marvin Moore

ITALY – Gabriele Ermini capped a three-hit game with a walk-off single and Unipol Bologna edged T&A San Marino 3-2 Saturday to capture the 2012 Italian Baseball League regular season title. Both squads finished with identical 31-11 cards but Bologna took the top seed with four wins in six outings against San Marino.

Bologna, which snapped the Titans 14-game winning streak with a suspense-filled 2-1 win on Friday night, fell behind early as San Marino delivered the first blow. Francesco Imperiali opened the fifth with a two-bagger off Tiago Da Silva and scored on Francesco Cingolani’s RBI sac fly.

The home team answered back in the bottom of the same frame. Leadoff man Juan Carlos Infante reached on a one-out walk and crossed the plate with the tying score on a run-scoring double by Claudio Liverziani.

The reigning Italian Series champion reclaimed the lead in the sixth on Laidel Chapelli’s RBI fielder’s choice. However, a pair of relief specialists, Cody Cillo and Nicholas Pugliese, combined for 3 2/3 scoreless frames to keep Bologna within striking distance.

Liverziani followed a one-out triple by Ermini in the seventh with an RBI sac fly to knot the score, and Bologna finished off the comeback win in the ninth to close the regular season on a winning note.

Pugliese (2-0) struck out two of the three batters he faced to seal the title-clinching win.

RIMINI 9, PARMA 0
Telemarket Rimini blanked Cariparma Parma to earn the third seed in the upcoming IBL postseason. Mario Chiarini blasted his seventh home run en route to a 3-for-5 effort at the plate, while Joe Persichina tallied four hits for the victorious Pirates. Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez (6-2) scattered two hits and fanned five over five strong innings to notch the win.

NETTUNO 10, GODO 5
Danesi Nettuno completed a three-game sweep over the Godo Knights to secure the final playoff spot. Nestore Morville, who stole home in a three-run opening frame, joined teammate Leonardo Mazzanti with three RBIs apiece. Massimiliano Masin (2-1) tossed one-hit ball over three innings to earn the win and Carlos Richetti picked up the save.

GROSSETO 10, NOVARA 4
Chris Grossman went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs to help Grosseto Baseball finish off a three-game sweep against Novara United. James Buccheri and Rolexis Molina both collected three hits for the seventh-place Grosseto franchise. Junior Oberto (1-7) pitched six shutout innings to get the win.

2012 ITALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:

Unipol Bologna (31-11)
T&A San Marino (31-11)
Telemarket Rimini (28-14)
Danesi Nettuno (28-14)
Cariparma Parma (21-21)
Godo Knights (14-28)
Grosseto Baseball (11-31)
Novara United (4-38)

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former internationall baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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By Marvin Moore

Carlos Duran drilled a pivotal two-run homer and T&A San Marino bagged its 14^th consecutive win Thursday night with a 7-5 win over Unipol Bologna in the Italian Baseball League.

The Titans (31-9) can clinch their second straight IBL regular season crown with one victory in their final two games.

Bologna (29-11) plated four quick scores off San Marino starter Rodney Rodriguez in the opening frame.  Gabriele Ermini and Takahiko Sato tallied RBI hits before Allesandro Vaglio capped the early uprising with a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

The reigning Italian Series champion answered back in the fourth with a four-run frame to pull even. Laidel Chapelli tripled home a pair of scores while both Francesco Imperiali and Francesco Cingolani tallied RBIs for the red-hot Titans.

Duran, who is batting .328 in 40 games, belted his fifth long ball of the season in the sixth to give San Marino its first taste of the lead. Bologna made it a one-run affair in the seventh on an RBI groundout off the bat of Ermini before reliever Darwin Cubilan retired seven of the next eight batters to seal the win.

Former Tenerife Marlins left-hander Ivan Granados (3-0) scattered a walk and two hits over five scoreless relief innings to notch the win.

PARMA 2, RIMINI 1

Jose Saanchez threw one-run ball over seven strong innings and Cariparma Parma nipped Telemarket Rimini Thursday night in the series opener of a three-game set.

Alex Sambucci snapped a scoreless deadlock with a leadoff solo bomb to start the fourth. Sebastiano Pomo capped the two-run frame with an RBI infield hit to put the visitors out front.

The Pirates (26-14) finally got on the board in the seventh and loaded the sacks an inning later after Parma closer Marco Grifantini issued a trio of free passes. However, the American hurler struck out Riccardo Suardi on a full count pitch to escape the frame unscathed.

NETTUNO 2, GODO 1

Juan Figueroa and Santo Hernandez combined on a five-hitter to lead Caffe Danesi Nettuno to a narrow win over the Godo Knights.

The Knights (15-25) opened the scoring in the third on a run-scoring single by Juan Gonzalez. But Nettuno answered back in the fourth on a two-run hit off the bat of shortstop William Bergolla.

Figueroa (7-3) allowed a lone run on four hits and a walk over five frames to notch the win. Hernandez collected the final 12 outs in dominant fashion with seven strikeouts to earn the save.

IBL STANDINGS:

1. T&A SAN MARINO (31-9)

2. UNIPOL BOLOGNA (29-11)

3. DANESI CAFFE’ NETTUNO (26-14)

3. TELEMARKET RIMINI (26-14)

5. CARIPARMA PARMA (21-19)

6. DE ANGELIS GODO KNIGHTS (14-26)

7. GROSSETO BASEBALL (8-31)

8. NOVARA UNITED (4-35)

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June 1 Day 3 – European Cup San Marino

Hoboken Pioneers 7, L&D Amsterdam 16
Unipol Bologna 19, Paderborn Untouchables 5 (7)
Draci Brno 0, T&A San Marino 9

June 2 Day 4

Draci Brno 7, Unipol Bologna 6

Czech power Draci Brno rebounded from a disappointing shutout the day before to upset Unipol Bologna on Saturday afternoon. Brno made a great comeback after trailing 4-0. They scored 5 runs in the 6th inning to take a 1 run lead only to see that evaporate the next half inning. An inning later they were trailing again 6-5, but with a single run in the 8th and the 9th they were able to pull ahead to stay.

Alexander Derhak (2-for-5) and Jan Felkl (1-for-3) both drove in a pair of runs. Jan Tomek started for Draci Brno but only lasted 3 innings allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. Radim Chroust picked up the win with 2 innings of scoreless relief.

Cody Cillo started for Bologna going 5.1 innings allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. Felix Romero took the loss pitching the last 2 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits.  Claudi Liverziani was the offensive leader for Bologna going 4-for-4 driving in 2 runs.

Hoboken Pioneers 1, Paderborn Untouchables 3

The Belgian entry Hoboken played its best game so far but remained winless after falling to Paderborn on Saturday. The game was a pitchers duel for 7 innings staying knotted at 1 apiece until Paderborn broke out for 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Kenn Van Den Branden pitched well for Hoboken going 8 innings allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 but took the loss. Alberto Valerio was the offensive star for Hoboken going 3-for-4.

Paderborn starter Brian Fields pitched a strong 7.1 innings allowing only 1 unearned run while striking out  but he didn’t factor into the decision. Eugen Heilmann finished the last 1.2 innings to earn the win. Kyle Botha led the way offensively going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and a RBI on a solo home run in the 8th inning.

T&A San Marino 4, L&D Amsterdam 5

L&D Amsterdam kept their title hopes alive with a win over host T&A San Marino in the night cap on Saturday.

Amsterdam got a solid pitching performance from starter Ben Grover who went 6 innings allowing only 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Nick Stuifbergen picked up the win in relief. Lead off hitter Wesley Conner set the table well going 3-for-5 scoring 2 runs and knocking in another with a solo home run. Percy Isenia (2-for-4) also homered for Amsterdam, while catcher Bas Nooij knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 8th with his first home run of the tournament.

Jairo Ramos hit his second home run for T&A San Marino going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and RBI. Simone Albanese helped out going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Darwin Cubilan took the loss pitching 3.2 innings in relief allowing 2 runs on 4 hits.

Standings:
Unipol Bologna (ITA) 3-1
L&D Amsterdam (NED) 3-1
T&A San Marino (SMR) 2-2
Paderborn Untouchables (GER) 2-2
Draci Brno (CZE)  2-2
Hoboken Pioneers (BEL) 0-4

Schedule:

Sunday June 3
Unipol Bologna (ITA) vs Hoboken Pioneers (BEL)
L&D Amsterdam (NED) vs Draci Brno (CZE)
Paderborn Untouchables (GER) vs T&A San Marino (SMR)

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May 31 Day 2 – European Cup in San Marino

Unipol Bologna took the lead in the standings with a win over host T&A San Marino on Thursday night. The lone Belgian entry dropped to 0-2 with another big loss.

Paderborn Untouchables 2, L&D Amsterdam 6

Paderborn jumped out on top 2-0 in the top of the first on a Daniel Hinz (2-for-4) 2-run home run, but that is all they would get as the Dutch pitchers shut them down the rest of the way allowing only 2 more hits over the next 8 innings.

Percy Isenia led the Pirates offensively going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Roeland Henrique hit a solo home run, and Jos de Jong pitched a complete game to pick up the win.

After the first two days, both teams records sit at 1-1.

Hoboken Pioneers 0, Draci Brno 10 (7)

The Czech power Draci Brno dominated the Belgian entry with a 10-0 win to drop Hoboken to 0-2.

Draci Brno scored 3 runs in 3 different innings including the 7th to end the game with the mercy rule. Brno pounded out 9 hits against the Pioneers pitching, but they were also helped by Hoboken’s 5 errors.

Martin Vesely led the offensive attack going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Alex Derhak walked twice and scored 2 runs. Martin Schneider pitched a complete game allowing only 4 hits while striking out 7.

John Anderson took the loss for Hoboken allowing 10 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits and 4 walks.

Unipol Bologna 8, T&A San Marino 1

The game was a pitching duel for the first 5 innings as neither team could get a runner home. Then in the top of the 6th, Bologna took the lead with a 4 spot.

The big blow in the 6th was a 3-run home run by Mark Castellitto who finished the game going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and 2 home runs. Juan Carlos Infante also homered for Bologna going 3-for-5.

Luca Panerati pitched 7 solid innings allowing only 4 hits and 1 run to earn the win. Rodney Rodriguez took the loss going 5.1 innings allowing 4 hits and 3 runs.

Standings:
Unipol Bologna (ITA) 2-0
T&A San Marino (SMR) 1-1
L&D Amsterdam (NED) 1-1
Paderborn Untouchables (GER) 1-1
Draci Brno (CZE)  1-1
Hoboken Pioneers (BEL) 0-2

Schedule:

Friday June 1
Hoboken Pioneers (BEL) vs L&D Amsterdam (NED)
Unipol Bologna (ITA) vs Paderborn Untouchables (GER)
Draci Brno (CZE) vs T&A San Marino (SMR)

Saturday June 2
Draci Brno (CZE) vs Unipol Bologna (ITA)
Hoboken Pioneers (BEL) vs Paderborn Untouchables (GER)
T&A San Marino (SMR) vs L&D Amsterdam (NED)

Sunday June 3
Unipol Bologna (ITA) vs Hoboken Pioneers (BEL)
L&D Amsterdam (NED) vs Draci Brno (CZE)
Paderborn Untouchables (GER) vs T&A San Marino (SMR)

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ITALY – A pair of Italian Baseball League heavyweights along with the reigning Dutch champion will butt heads at the 2012 European Cup at San Marino. The Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) tournament will take place from May 30 to June 3.

The top two teams will earn a ticket to this year’s European Champions Cup Final Four slated next month at an undetermined site.

Current IBL front-runner Unipol Bologna (20-7) and 2011 Italian Series champion T&A San Marino (18-9) will join Dutch League leader L&D Amsterdam as the tourney favorites.

PRE-TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS:

1. T&A San Marino (Italy)
2. L&D Amsterdam (Netherlands)
3. Unipol Bologna (Italy)
4. Paderborn Untouchables (Germany)
5. AVG Draci Brno (Czech Republic)
6. Hoboken Pioneers (Belgium)

Other teams participating at this year’s competition includes the German club Paderborn Untouchables (15-3), Czech powerhouse AVG Draci Brno (15-7), and the two-time defending Belgian champion Hoboken Pioneers (11-3).

2012 EUROPEAN CUP SCHEDULE/RESULTS:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
Draci Brno vs Paderborn Untouchables
L&D Amsterdam vs Fortitudo Bologna
T&A San Marino vs Hoboken Pioneers

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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ITALY – Anderson Machado capped a pivotal five-run ninth with a bases clearing double and Cariparma Parma beat Novara United 11-10 Saturday to complete a three-game sweep in the Italian Baseball League.

Parma (14-13) raced out to an early 4-0 lead off Novara starter Pedro Orta. Leonardo Zileri and Alex Sambucci delivered RBI hits in the opening frame, and catcher Osman Marval added a two-run single an inning later.

Cellar-dwelling Novara (3-24) chased Parma starter Andrea Pizziconi in the fourth before tallying six singles in a five-run sixth to grab a 9-6 advantage.

Marval went 4-for-5 with four RBIs to pace a 15-hit attack, while Machado drove in three scores.

Reliever Yomel Rivera (2-0) worked two frames of one-run ball to earn the win.

Unipol Bologna stopped Danesi Nettuno 3-1 in the rubber match of a low-scoring three-game set. Japanese slugger Takahiko Sato and Alessandro Vaglio broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth with run-scoring base hits.

League-leading Bologna (20-7) holds a two-game lead over both Telemarket Rimini and T&A San Marino, while Nettuno is three games back with a 17-10 record.

Rimini (18-10) regrouped from a series-opening 7-3 loss Friday evening to the Godo Knights (10-17) with a twinbill sweep the next day. Riccardo Suardi’s grand slam in the second stretched the Pirates lead to 9-0 and Luis Maza, who stole home during a five-run opening frame, capped the scoring in the third with a two-run double.

San Marino (18-9) avoided an embarrassing sweep to seventh-place Grosseto (8-18) with a lopsided 13-3 win in the series finale.

Lorenzo Avagnina, Marco Yepez and Carlos Duran all went deep for the reigning Italian Series champion.

2012 ITALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:

1. Unipol Bologna (20-7)
2. Telemarket Rimini (18-9)
3. T&A San Marino (18-9)
3. Danesi Nettuno (17-10)
5. Cariparma Parma (14-13)
6. Godo Knights (10-17)
7. Grosseto Baseball (8-18)
8. Novara United (3-24)

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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ITALY – Jairo Ramos and Joe Mazzuca collected six of San Marino’s 16 hits to help the Titans beat Novara United 10-4 Saturday to complete a three-game sweep in the Italian Baseball League.

Ramos went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Mazzuca added a trio of hits while scoring a run as the hometown squad tallied five quick scores en route to an easy win.

American southpaw Chris Cooper (3-1) scattered a run and seven hits with eight strikeouts over six innings to notch the win.

The reigning Italian Series champion escaped with a pair of one-run victories in the first two games of the set.

First baseman Pablo Leone run-scoring single in the seventh lifted the Titans to a 2-1 win in Friday’s series opener. Reliever Darwin Cubilan (2-0) picked up the win and combined with starting pitcher Rodney Rodriguez to post a whopping 19 strikeouts.

San Marino edged Novara, 2-1, in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Tiago da Silvea (5-1) went the distance allowing one run and three hits while posting eight posting eight strikeouts.

Unipol Bologna stopped fifth-place Cariparma Parma, 6-3, in the rubber match of a three-game set to stay one game ahead of San Marino for the IBL top spot. Takahiko Sato’s two-run double in the eighth sealed the win and Cody Cillo (2-2) worked 2 2/3 scoreless relief frames to earn the win.

Seventh-place Grosseto (6-18) took two out of three games against the sixth-place Godo Knights (9-15), and Danesi Nettuno (16-8) won the series against Telemarket Rimini (16-8) to stay near the top of the leaderboard.

2012 ITALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:

1. Unipol Bologna (18-6)
2. T&A San Marino (17-7)
3. Danesi Nettuno (16-8)
3. Telemarket Rimini (16-8)
5. Cariparma Parma (11-13)
6. Godo Knights (9-15)
7. Grosseto Baseball (6-18)
8. Novara United (3-21)

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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ITALY – Unipol Bologna continues to pace the Italian Baseball League after capturing two wins over T&A San Marino last weekend. However, the IBL’s hottest squad is a streaking Danesi Nettuno team that has won eight games in a row.

Bologna (15-5) opened the three-game set with a 6-5 home victory on Thursday night. Marco Sabbatani’s walk-off single rescued Bologna which led 4-0 heading into the seventh.

San Marino (14-7) pulled even in the series a day later with a narrow 2-1 triumph. An uncharacteristic display of command problems by American reliever Cody Cillo (0-2) in the ninth loaded the sacks before Mattia Reginato ended the contest with a base hit up the middle.

Takahiko Sato drove in two scores with four hits, and Leonardo De Donno added three RBIs to help Bologna claim an 8-5 win in Saturday’s rubber match. Fabio Betto (5-0) worked seven effective frames to earn the decision, and closer Nicholas Pugliese tallied the final three outs to notch his fourth save.

Nettuno (14-7) continued feasting on non-contenders with a three-game sweep over the Godo Knights. Nettuno, which has not lost since April 27, is knotted in the third spot with San Marino.

Cariparma Parma (10-11) used a wild 15-14 extra-innings win to deny Telemarket Rimini (15-6) a sweep. The second-place Pirates won the first two meetings, 11-8 and 6-1.

Novarra United (3-18) tasted victory for the first time this season with a sweep over a struggling Grosseto squad (4-17) that has dropped seven straight since knocking off Bologna twice.

2012 ITALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:

1. Unipol Bologna (15-5)
2. Telemarket Rimini (15-6)
3. Danesi Nettuno (14-7)
3. T&A San Marino (14-7)
5. Cariparma Parma (10-11)
6. Godo Knights (8-12)
7. Grosseto Baseball (4-17)
8. Novara United (3-18)

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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ITALY – Unipol Bologna swept past winless Novarra United in dominating fashion to climbed atop the Italian baseball League standings. Bologna (12-4), which holds a slim lead over second-place Telemarket Rimini (13-5) and T&A San Marino (13-5), limited Novarra to just one run in three easy victories.

Riccardo Babina’s two-run single capped a late seven-run rally to help Rimini knocked off San Marino, 8-2, Saturday in the rubber match of a highly-anticipated encounter.

Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates capitalized on two crucial defensive miscues to plate seven unearned runs off Titans’ reliever Yulman Ribeiro (1-2).

The light-hitting Babina, who entered the series finale batting .195 (8-for-41), opened the marathon frame with a groundout. The second baseman chased Ribeiro eight batters later with a base hit to right field.

San Marino starter Chris Cooper scattered a lone unearned run and four hits over seven frames in a tough-luck, no-decision stint.

Former big league pitcher Mark DiFelice (1-0), an Italian-American who will not occupy a foreign player slot on the Pirates’ active-roster, picked up the win in his IBL debut with three scoreless relief innings.

THURSDAY, MAY 3
Rimini 7 – San Marino 4

FRIDAY, MAY 4
San Marino 9 – Rimini 6
Bologna 10 – Novarra 0
Parma 6 – Godo 2
Nettuno 6 – Grosseto 3

SATURDAY, MAY 5
Rimini 8 – San Marino 2
Bologna 4,13 – Novarra 0,1
Parma 18,7 – Godo 8,8
Nettuno 6,10 – Grosseto 3,4

2012 ITALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:

Unipol Bologna (12-4)
T&A San Marino (13-5)
Telemarket Rimini (13-5)
Danesi Nettuno (10-7)
Cariparma Parma (9-9)
Godo Knights (8-8)
Grosseto Baseball (4-14)
Novara United (0-17)

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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The Telemarket Rimini Pirates and the Dutch club UVV bagged Thursday night wins to open this weekend’s slate of baseball action overseas in Europe.

Rimini (12-4), this week’s top-ranked squad in the European Baseball Power Rankings, knocked off reigning Italian Series champion T&A San Marino (12-4) by a 7-4 margin. Riccardo Suardi and Filippo Crociati delivered back-to-back two-run hits in a pivotal four-run eighth and Francisco Cruceta (4-1) fanned 12 over seven two-hit frames.

UVV (5-7) got clutch RBI hits from Austin Weymouth and Giovannie Samboe in a key three-run seventh to deal the Vaessen Pioniers (7-4-1) a 4-2 setback at Hoofddorp.

In Germany, North Division heavyweights Paderborn (9-1) and Solingen (11-1) tangle in their annual rivalry for the top spot. The Alligators have stormed out of the gate with 11 wins in 12 outings, but on paper the Untouchables remain the favorites with solid pitching, hitting and defense.

In Switzerland, the unbeaten Embrach Rainbows (4-0) will collide with the reigning league champion Bern Cardinals (4-0). Embrach is led by veteran “rubber arm” Roger Savoldelli, while Bern has quietly become one of the winningest baseball clubs on European soil.

In France, the second-place Senart Templiers (9-3) will try to pin a loss on the seven-time defending champion and unbeaten Rouen Huskies (12-0).

Below are this week’s European baseball best matchups:

THURSDAY, MAY 3:
Telemarket Rimini 7 – T&A San Marino 4
UVV 4 – Vaessen Pioniers 2

FRIDAY, MAY 4:
Telemarket Rimini (12-4) vs T&A San Marino (12-4) – Italy

SATURDAY, MAY 5:
Paderborn Untouchables (9-1) vs Solingen Alligators (11-1) – Germany*
Stockholm (1-1) vs Karlskoga (2-0) – Sweden*
Embrach Mustangs (4-0) – Bern Cardinals 4-0) – Switzerland*
Vaessen Pioniers (7-4-1) vs UVV (5-7) – The Netherlands
Telemarket Rimini (12-4) vs T&A San Marino (12-4) – Italy
Pamplona (7-9) vs Barcelona (14-2) – Spain*
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe (7-3) vs Mainz Athletics (8-2) – Germany
Arrows Ostrava (7-5) vs Cardion Hrosi Brno (8-4) – Czech Republic*
Dornbirn Indians (3-1) vs Attnang-Puchheim Athletics (4-2) – Austria*

SUNDAY, MAY 6:
Senart Templiers (9-3) vs Rouen Huskies (12-0) – France*
Vaessen Pioniers (7-4-1) vs UVV (5-7) – The Netherlands
Baseball Navarra (7-9) vs Valencia Astros (12-2) – Spain*
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe (7-3) vs Mainz Athletics (8-2) – Germany
Stock City Cubs (4-0) vs Vienna Metrostars (4-2) – Austria*
Harlow Nationals (5-1) vs London Mets (3-1) – Great Britain*

* Indicates Doubleheader

Marvin Moore is a freelance writer and former int’l baseball coach. He currently teaches baseball to underpriviliged Filipino boys at the Future Stars Baseball School in Bohol, Philippines.

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