In the battle for the postseason, Parma and Nettuno catch up to San Marino with a week to go
Nettuno took game two on their home turf against Rimini on Saturday afternoon, 11-6. The game didn’t start off so hot for the home team, who found themselves down 3-1 after the first inning of play, but consistency in the box allowed Nettuno’s offense to climb back in the game. They were able to get to the Pirates starting pitcher, Cherubini, for six runs through three in this back and forth early inning battle. In the fourth Nettuno’s usually very consistent De Santis was chased from the game after he allowed anther three to cross the plate which tied the game up at six-all, a score that would hold up till the bottom half of the seventh when Mazzanti knocked a two run double to right center, plating both Harrison and Sgnaolin, and putting Nettuno up for good. In the eighth the home team tacked on thee more runs off of Sandy Patrone, putting the game out of reach of a possible Pirates comeback. Picking up the win for the Nettuno was the Cuban, Antonio Romero. The win puts them in a tie with San Marino, and Parma who picked up two over the weekend on T&A with a series sweep of Novara, all of which adds for extra drama in the last go around next weekend.
Parma swept Novara with their 12-2 up in Piamonte on Saturday afternoon. It was a story that was one sided throughout, as Parma was able to capitalize on 9 hits, 7 walks, and 6 errors. Picking up the win for Munoz’s club was Yomel Rivera, thanks to 5 solid innings of work, where he struck out 3, gave up 3 hits, walked none, and allowed only a single run to cross the plate in the fourth. On the offensive side of the ball it was Alex Sambucci that did all the taking with the bat. He went an impressive 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 run homers (2 run shot in the 7th and a 3 run shot in the 8th), 6 rbi’s in all. Next up for Parma will be a very tough matchup with Reggio Emilia in a home away series, which begins on Friday evening in Parma. Two wins and their in, anything else their just going to have to wait and see.
In Reggio Emilia it was a long day of ball between Reggio and Grosseto, three games played in all, with the first one taking place at 11.00 in the morning. Going in game one for Reggio it was Crepaldi, who made his fifth start of the season, as he was matched up with the super veteran, Peccianti, for Grosseto. The game was scoreless through the first four, but in the fifth Reggio was finally able to get on the board thanks to a two run single through the left side by Macaluso that plated both Bertoli and Ferrini. Reggio was back at it in the sixth when they scored three more on three hits and an error, as the protagonist in the inning went to Bertoli, who accounted for all three runs (a double, 2 rbi’s, and a run scored). On the bump Fillippo Crepaldi picked up the win (4 of the season), going seven strong, giving up only three hits, two walks, and striking out eight. Fabio Riccò came on to finish the game off for Reggio with two very solid innings of one hit, no run ball. The final in game one of three was 6-0 in favor of Reggio Emilia.
In game two of three it was once again Reggio that was the victor in a 14-0 game that saw Fillipo Bertolini pitch his best overall game of the 2013 season. The young righty went 6 innings on the bump, gave up only 4 hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out 9.. simply overpowering Grosseto’s lineup. There were many that contributed to the 14 runs scored in this one on Reggio’s side. Andrea Cerioli 2 rbi’s, Jose Ferrini 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 1 rbi, Erik Epifano 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 rbi, Jairo Marquez 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 2 rbi’s, Lorenzo Riccio 1 for 2 with 2 rbi’s, and Luca Riccò 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 rbi’s.
The third and final game of the day in Reggio Emilia once again went to Reggio by the final of 2-0 in a tightly contested pitchers dual between Acosta for Reggio and Marquez for Grosseto. The win, which was picked up by Acosta, puts Reggio back at a very respectable .500 record in the IBL, especially seeing as they are newcomers to the league this season. For Grosseto it was their 28th consecutive loss of this year, as the team out of Tuscany hasn’t won a game since the 20th of April. Marquez suffered the loss in the game, but still put forth a very impressive performance with 11 strikeouts and only 6 hits in 8 full innings on the bump. Driving in the runs for Reggio was Davide Murari on a double to left, and Alessandro Bertoli on a sac fly that plated Murari. Next week both teams will finish off their regular season off, as Grosseto will have to take on a fighting Nettuno club at home, while Reggio will faceoff against Parma in a sure to be very interesting and meaningful ‘Derby’.
The New Black Panthers took game one of their double dip at home against the Godo Knight by the final of 12-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Venezuelan Southpaw, Yepez, returned to his normal form after his rough go at it a week ago against San Marino. Yepez finished his day off with 5.1 inning of work on the hill, where he allowed only 2 hits and 1 earned run, while striking out an eye-popping 12 of 21 batters faced. Coming on to finish the game off was Matt Litzinger, who went 2.2 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits. Ronchi put the game out of reach in the 5th when they got to Godo’s starter, Galeotti, for 4 earned. The home team went onto pick up 6 more in the bottom of the 8th on their way to the easy 12-2 win. On a side note Zamó had a nice day with the bat, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an rbi.
In the nightcap it was the Godo Knights turn to pickup the win up in Ronchi dei Legionari by the final of 8 to 3. The pitching matchup featured Yulman Ribeiro for the visiting Knights, and Alessandro Petralia for the New Black Panthers. Striking first blood in this one was Ronchi, when they got Ribeiro for three in the bottom of the third, but thanks to one in the fifth, two in the sixth and seventh, and finally three in the eighth, Godo was able to hit the road back home with the 8-4 win. The Knights offense was able to capitalize on 16 free passes, and only 4 hits to pick up the ‘W’. Ribeiro went eight strong for Godo to earn the victory.
