San Marino fans in the stands of “Serravalle”
© Baseball.it
With the advance match this evening at 8pm at the Serravalle stadium between San Marino and UnipolSai Bologna, the fourth round of group A of the top Italian baseball championship gets underway. The one between Bologna and the Titans is the big match of the day: the two teams return to face each other again, after having been protagonists of the 2023 Italian Baseball Series (fourth final between the two teams in the last 5 years). And it was at Serravalle that Fortitudo played the last match of last season, winning the Italian championship.
Bologna–San Marino is a high-ranking match, given that the two teams arrive at this match with the same record (7 wins and 2 defeats) and are at the top of group A of the championship together with Parma. Tonight and Saturday they will be played on the Serravalle pitch, while tomorrow at the Gianni Falchi Stadium, again starting at 8.00 pm. In Friday’s home match, Bologna once again embraces Alessandro Grimaudo, an authentic Fortitudo star who recently said goodbye to playing baseball. And he will get the first pitch.
“We come from three victories against Grossetto which give us awareness and morale, now we know that an even more challenging weekend awaits us. They are a team that, like us, is built to win, they are very equipped in all departments with a great lineup that we will have to try to limit as much as possible. It will be an important test to see where we really are” said manager Lele Frignani.
Confirmed as starting pitchers Jefrem Leon, Filippo Crepaldi and Eduar Lopez. In doubt, however, captain Dobboletta who already missed the last race of last weekend; the technical and medical staff will evaluate the possible use of the Bolognese winger game by game.
San Marino has just returned from two victories and one defeat on the pitch of BSC Grosseto with the latest coming thanks to a decisive hit by Federico Celli, the Titans’ best hitter with a batting average of .412, with him also traveling well above .300 Ortwin Pieternella and Lorenzo Di Raffaele. Dangerous in the box are certainly Angulo and Batista, who have historically put in excellent performances against UnipolSai, and the new signing Jiandido Tromp. As far as the pitching mound is concerned, the Pedrol-Baez couple returned from a match without having conceded even one hit; the other two starters Pomponi and Quevedo are probable, with Kourtis, De Leon and Di Raffaele ready as quality reliefs.
On the San Marino front, the pre-match against Bologna is entrusted to Carlo Del Santo, given the disqualification of Doriano Bindi: “Three important matches for the team, to be faced with the right serenity and tranquility. Ours is a team of good batsmen who will emerge with time. We have to play our baseball week in and week out. There are a lot of new guys but the group is solid. I’ll give some examples: Alvarez, for example, is an extraordinary person who is helping Pieternella in his growth. But the same Diaz, Lopez and all the others. An excellent group.”
What game will it be? “The first time as manager was in game 1 of a championship semi-final with Nettuno, with the match won 1-0 in the 12th. I have been a bench coach for three years. I’m calm, I know the players.”
And Bologna? “Certainly an important team. We will have to pay maximum attention to their strengths. They have valuable players, people used to expressing themselves at the highest levels.”
How are the injured people? “They are recovering, but we are still monitoring them. Quevedo is available, but we are still evaluating who to start on the mound in game 1. Celli is also recovering, but for this round he will only go to the box as a designated hitter.”
In addition to Bologna-San Marino, group A also features the challenge between Parma Clima and Big Mat Grosseto with the ducals preparing to play the second home round of the season on the Nino Cavalli diamond. The sending off on Saturday evening led to a two-match ban for Wander Encarnacion while also creating curiosity about his replacement.
“Last Saturday we remedied this by moving Ascanio to third base and inserting Monello as catcher – explains coach Marcello Saccardi -. In the first two races of this weekend I will also have other alternatives available. We could use Angioi or Scerrato at third base, bring the recovered Noel Gonzalez to the interior line, confirm Ascanio… We will also have to evaluate the conditions of Monello, who arrived on Friday evening from the United States and was immediately thrown onto the field.”
However, there are few doubts about the rotation of pitchers. “We will follow the winning pattern of the first three days – continues Saccardi -. Maybe we will change something in the choices of the reliefs but the starters will be Casanova, Bocchi and Figueredo”.
Last week Big Mat Grosseto (1-8) achieved their first success of the season by winning the Italian pitchers’ match against San Marino. Over the winter, the Maremma team signed Pecci, Mercuri, Giordani and Sellaroli, all former Nettuno 1945 players, with the clear desire to strengthen the team which reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in 2023 after overcoming Macerata in the quarter-finals. To date, however, the results have not lived up to expectations. Stefano Cappuccini’s boys struggled in the batter’s box (overall average of .192) and on the mound (average PG of 5.90).
Parma Clima (7-2) boasts better overall numbers (mb .325 and mpgl 2.18) and six batters with a personal average above .300: the duel between Bologna and San Marino, the other league leaders, could allow the ducals to regain the solitary lead in the ranking in the event of a positive result.
The match between BBC Grosseto and Hotsand Macerata completes the fourth round of group A.
2024-05-16 12:02:51
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