Four sweeps and a split as the sprint to the postseason gets underway

Four sweeps and a split as the sprint to the postseason gets underway
14/07/2013
In game one of the double header between Palfinger Reggio Emilia and Novara, Palfinger was able to reach the infamous

In game one of the double header between Palfinger Reggio Emilia and Novara, Palfinger was able to reach the infamous .500 mark that has been eluding them in the wins loss column with a 5-1 win over Mike Romano’s club in Piacenza. The game featured both foreigners on the bump, Bastardo for Reggio and Calero for Novara, as both these southpaws were locked in a pitchers duel for a good portion of the game. Over the first five frames Reggio’s offence left a number of runners on base, while on Novara’s side Bastardo was easly able to control the bats of Novara, throwing 4 shutout innings of no hit ball. In the 6th Novara was able to push across a run on two hits, Tavarez and De Maria, to take the 1-0 lead. A lead that was lost in the bottom half of the frame as soon as Torres took the mound in relief of Calero. Torres quickly gave up a single to Epifano, hit Marquez, which was then followed by a defensive error, a bases loaded walk to Bertoli and a two RBI single by Quintavalla which made it a 3-1 game. With an above par Bastardo on the bump (8.2 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 8 so) and the two more runs that Reggio tacked on between the seventh and eighth, Carrion’s club was able to walk away with a decisive win over Novara.. reaching the .500 mark in the wins loss column.

In game two of the double dip played in Piacenza between Palfinger and Novara, Novara seemed as if they were not going to be denied the victory as they set the pace with 3 quick runs in the first off of a cold Bertolini on the bump. A double by Tavarez and Molina and a triple by Rosa Colombo made it seem as if it would be a short day for Reggio’s young right hander, but after his shaky start he was able to settle down nicely as he pitched into the 7th (6.1 ip, 11 h, 5 r, 7 so) before being relieved by Salsi who picked up the save with 2.2 innings of relief work. On the offensive side of the ball Palfinger started to chip away at the 3 run deficit in the second when they pushed across their first run. One in the 2nd, one in the 3rd, and the big blow of four in the 5th, which put Reggio up for good. Novara did make it a game again in the top half of the 7th with 2 runs, but in the bottom half Palfinger made it once again a three run game with 2 of their own thanks to some shaky defense by Novara. In the top of the 9th Novara did bring the tying run to the plate, but the game ended when Suardi flied to center, making it six victories in a row for Palfinger.

Down in Nettuno, the home team had no problem disposing of the Godo Knights on Saturday afternoon in game one of a double dip by the final of 14-3. Godo did take an early lead in the third off of Carlos Tomassi thanks to 5 hits that pushed across 3 runs, but in the bottom half of the frame Nettuno began to bust out their sticks, pushing across a run in every single inning from the 3rd till they ended the game early thanks to the 10 run rule in the 8th (1 in the 3rd, 4 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, 4 in the 7th and finally 1 in the 8th). In the box Martone, Fondin, and Ambrosino all picked up three hits each, while Mazzanti, Imperiali, and Grimaudo all had two hits apiece. Pizziconi picked up the win for Nettuno with 4.2 innings of work, as the young righty gave up only 1 hit, 1 walk, and struck out 4.

In game two of the matchup between Nettuno and Godo, 3 doubles to open the bottom of the second by Mazzanti, Ambrosino and Grimaudo off of Ribeiro pretty much wrote the story in this one as the inning ended with Nettuno pushing across 3. Godo did come back with one in the 4th off of De Santis to make it only a two run lead, but with two in the 6th and 1 in the 7th the home team proved to be two strong for any chance of a comeback by the Knights. De Santis picked up the win for Nettuno with 6 innings of work on the hill giving up 6 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, while striking out 6 Godo batters. Notably, both Zappone and Rubboli were 3 for 3 with the bat for Godo.

In Grosseto, Mastiff played host to Unipol Bologna for two on Saturday. Mastiff, losers of 17 straight before the beginning of play sent the ex Unipol pitcher, Ularetti, out to start the game in hopes of giving his club a chance to break this very long negative streak. After two innings and one run scored off of 3 hits, he was relieved by Angel Marquez who kept his club in it till the 9th when Bologna broke the 1-1 tie with a three run inning, two of the runs crossing as unearned. 4-1 was the final in this one, and it was Oberto Junior who earned the victory for Bologna with his 2 innings of relief work. The lefty didn’t give up a hit and he allowed only one base runner on a single walk. The loss makes it an alarming 18 in a row for Grosseto.

Unipol Bologna made it 19 in a row for Grosseto as they handed them yet another loss in game two of the double header by the final of 9-2. Bologna’s offense racked up a total of 13 hits off of Grosseto’s pitchers, and both Vaglio and Liverziani picked up 3 hits apiece, both going 3 for 5. D’Angelo picked up the win for Nanni’s club, while as for Grosseto, it was Peccianti that suffered the loss. Notably, Reyes hit a two run homer in the 5th, his first of the season for Unipol Bologna since join the club a couple of weeks ago.

In Rimini a the combination of Bazardo and Marquez was just too much for the New Black Panthers in game one on Saturday. The game finished 6-0 for Rimini as they were able to keep their one game lead in the division over Bologna for that top spot. 11 hits in all for Rimini, with Zileri and Bertagnon both picking up two and the leagues leading batter, Romero, finishing the game 3 for 5 with 1 RBI. The win goes to Bazardo with the line of 5 innings pitched, 0 hits, and 6 punch-out’s, while the save went to Marquez with 4 innings of scoreless ball.

In game two Chris Catanoso handed the ball to his veteran, Roberto Coradini to take on the combination of Yepez and Litzinger. After a run in the first, a run in the second, and a two run shot off the bat of Zileri in the 5th.. Rimini found themselves up by the healthy score of 4-0, which turned out to be more then enough for Corradini and Patrone as the two combined for the 3 hit shutout. With the win the Pirates maintained their 1 game lead over Unipol Bologna at the top of the standings.

T&A San Marino took game two of their series with Parma on Sunday afternoon with an impressive 1-0 win on their home diamond. With the win San Marino retakes a half game lead over Munoz’s club and stays a game back of Nettuno who won both their games against Godo at home yesterday. The 0-0 tie was broken in the 6th when Duran drove home Ramos with a one out knock that split the left-center gap. Da Silva picked up the win in this one with 9 strikeouts on the afternoon, as the National team’s ace allowed only 5 hits in his outing.