The IBL showing to be everything but the expected
To those who follow the Italian Baseball League every week, one might say that T&A San Marino is in a deep crisis, but in reality the defending Italian Champs still hold their destiny in their own hands, and with two series sweeps against both Padova and Godo the percentage that they will be able to move on to this years second round increase dramatically. One certainty out of Division A is Bologna, a team that is coming off of their 3 consecutive sweep which pushes their overall record to a convincing 9 and 1 on the season. In Division B Nettuno was able to hold onto their lead over Rimini with a series split against Padova, while Rimini picked up a half a game after they were able to take game one in extra inning over San Marino on Sunday. Parma lost a game after being swept by Bologna, while there was no movement at the bottom of the standings with Nettuno2. Game two between Rimini and San Marino will be made up on Tuesday the 13th.
Lino's Coffee Parma suffered two losses over this past weekend at the hands of UnipolSai Bologna. For Bologna it was their third consecutive series sweep, which means that they have just about punched their ticket to the second round of this years Italian Baseball League out of Division A. Parma on the other hand has their work cut out for them if they want to make up ground in Division B. At the moment they find themselves a game back of Rimini, who won game one of their two game series in San Marino on Sunday, and two games back of Nettuno, a team some may say is the surprise of the Division thus far. In the following weeks Parma will take on the likes of both Godo and Padova in interleague play before they head back into league play for the last three weekends of the first round of the IBL, where they will have to really concentrate on taking both games from Nettuno2, Nettuno and maybe even a series split against Rimini. Another team that finds their backs to the wall is San Marino after dropping their 6th game on the year to Rimini on Sunday. At the moment T&A San Marino finds themselves in last place in Division A, behind both Godo and Padova who were able to spit their series’ over the weekend against Nettuno2 and Nettuno. The game on Sunday turned out to be a good one that last 12 innings, a game that was completely dominated by pitching as both Guerra (San Marino) and Ekstrom (Rimini) easily controlled the bats of their opponent. With the win, Rimini now moves ahead of Parma for that second spot in the Division, while San Marino has their work cut out for them if they want to even think about defending their title.
With just five weeks to go in this year’s first round of the Italian Baseball League, it looks as if Bologna is the only certainty thus far to move on. Elsewhere in Division A both Padova and Godo are currently hanging onto that second spot, while San Marino struggles in the rear. In Division B, Nettuno has been a nice surprise for the always-faithful fans out of the ‘City of Baseball’, while Rimini looks to have the upper hand at the moment over Parma. With all this said, it seems as if the only role that Nettuno2 can play at is that of the spoiler.
