UnipolSai Bologna wins the 2014 Italian Baseball Series
UnipolSai Bologna are the new champions of the Italian Baseball League after winning game seven of the Italian Baseball Series by the final of 4-0 over the Rimini Pirates on Saturday evening in Bologna. Picking up the win for Bologna was Raul Rivero, who threw up a complete game, 2 hit, 2 walk, 12 strikeout, shutout. The game saw just 8 hit in total, 6 by Bologna and just 2 by Rimini. The series MVP went to Bologna’s catcher, Guillermo Rodriguez. Rodriguez finished game seven with a 2 for 4 performance at the plate, with 1 run scored and 2 RBI’s of which included a monster shot in the 3rd off of Rimini’s starter Roberto Corradini. Saturday’s performance added to Rodriguez’s MVP numbers of a .379 avg. 7 r, 11 h, 4 2b, 1 hr, 10 rbi, .621 slg%, .455 ob%. Bologna’s Saturday win marked the first time in the series that a team won on back-to-back days.
Bologna got things started early in game 7 with a run in the bottom of the 1st off of Corradini. The 1-nothing lead was thanks to a leadoff double by Infante, a sac bunt by Fuzzi, and a single off the bat of Liverziani. In the 3rd Bologna picked up another run when Guillermo Rodriguez hit a solo monster shot that flew well over the leftfield fence. From that point on the game settled down quite a bit with Escalona pitching lights out into the 7th in relief of Corradini and Raul Rivero mowing down the opposition on his way to the complete game victory.
In the bottom of the 7th Bologna picked up their third run of the game when Rodriguez single through the left side of the diamond, driving in Fuzzi who had previously reached on a 1 out single up the middle. In the bottom of the very next inning Bologna was able to put anther runs distance between them and the Pirates on a successful squeeze play off of Marquez with Sabbatani laying down the bunt and Grimaudo scoring from third with a running start.
In the top of the 9th Rivero finished off his complete game victory with a 1-2-3 frame. He first got Romero to fly out to center, then Salazar to ground out to short, and finally Mazzanti to strikeout swinging on a 1-2 count for the 3 and final out of the game. The win was a big one for Rivero who had stumbled in both games 1 and 3 of the series with 2 blow saves and a loss. Rivero’s final line read 9 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts, facing just 5 over the minimum 27 batters in a game. The IBL Championship is Bologna’s first since 2009, successfully earning the right to head back to the Europeans Champions Cup in 2015.
