2018 European Champions Cup Day One Recap
Unipolsa Bologna starting pitcher Antonio Noguera allowed just one run in his 6.2 innings of work against Draci Brno. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when the Czech Republic team took a 1-0 lead. Unipolsa Bologna came charging back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Outfielder Gilmer Lampe led off with a walk, and Osman Marvel was hit by a pitch. Then an RBI single by Giuseppe Mazzanti and a sacrifice fly to left field from Alessandro Vaglio gave Bologna a 2-1 advantage. A two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning began when Kevin Moesquit and Gilmer Lampe singled. A two-RBI single from Osman Marvel followed to provide two more insurance runs and resulted in an impressive 4-1 win over Draci Brno.
A.S.D. Rimini went right to work in the bottom of the first inning against France's Rouen Huskies. After leadoff hitter Miguel Noguera singled, Alexander Romero followed with a two-run homer to center field. Then Luis Ustariz walked, and Federico Celli singled. Nathanael Batista drove in both baserunners with his two-RBI double to give Rimini a commanding 4-0 lead. In the second inning Miguel Noguera singled and scored on an RBI double down the right field line from Alexander Romero to make it 5-0. Rimini returned in the bottom of the third inning to put the game out of reach with a seven-run rally highlighted by a pair of singles from Federico Celli and Alexander Romero as well as a pair of doubles by Nathanael Batista and Oscar Angulo. In the end, it was a Rimini 12-5 blow out over the Rouen Huskies. Rimini starter Raul Ruiz picked up the win (5.2 innings, five hits, three earned runs, one walk, six strikeouts).
With on the T&A San Marino roster for the 2018 European Champions Cup, manager Mario Chiarini had his secret weapon ready for a clash against reigning Euro Cup Champion Curacao Neptunus. T&A San Marino sent out some of Serie A1's best pitchers--Viso Quevedo, Alessandro Maestri and Tommaso Cherubini--during the course of the game. Although the trio collectively only allowed three runs to Curacao Neptunus, T&A San Marino could not mount a rally to score to help their pitchers out. In the top of the first inning, it looked like T&A San Marino would surely strike after singles from Lorenzo Avagnini and Chris Colabello; however, the squad came up empty. It happened again in the top of the ninth inning when Thomas De Wolf and Luca Pulzetti singled, but T&A San Marino could not score. On the bright side, both Lorenzo Avagnini and Luca Pulzetti had two hits each in the game. With scoring opportunities left stranded on the bases yielding no runs, T&A San Marino suffered a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Netherlands powerhouse.
by Roberto Angotti
