Bologna defeats Parma 4-3 in 11 innings to claim Italy's Serie A1 Baseball Championship title
A nearly sold-out Stadio del Baseball “Nino Cavalli” witnessed what may have been one of the hardest fought battles in Italian Baseball Series history as UnipolSai Bologna defeated ParmaClima 4-3 in 11 innings to claim the Serie A1 Championship title on September 5, 2018. Home runs from Osman Marval in the top of the third inning and Robel Garcia in the top of the fourth inning off Parma starting pitcher Yomel Rivera gave Bologna a slim 2-0 lead. Parma reliever Michele Pompani was summoned from the bullpen and was effective in shutting down the explosive UnipolSai Bologna offense for two innings. He struck out four batters and surrendered just one hit before handing the ball off to losing pitcher Ulfrido Garcia in top of the sixth inning.
Yet the best pitching performance award of the game must go to Bologna starter Jorge Martinez, who struck out seven batters and only allowed four hits during his dominant 7.2 innings of work; however, one of those hits was a solo home run by Parma's Luca "Spetttacolare" Scalera to cut the Bologna advantage down to one run. Relief pitcher Raul Rivera was brought into contest to stop Parma from scoring and escaped any further damage. UnipolSai Bologna answered with one run in the top of the ninth inning to make it a 3-1 game.
Three outs from elimination, ParmaClima needed to rally in a hurry. With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sebastiano Poma and Reyes Morejon brought the faithful Parma fans to their feet with back-to-back singles off reliever Raul Rivera. The speedy Alessandro Deotto entered the game as a pinch-runner for catcher Reyes Morejon. Sebastiano Poma scored on designated hitter Lorenzo Gradali's RBI single, and Alessandro Deotto also crossed the plate on an ensuing infield error. With the game tied 3-3 at the end of nine innings of play, the contest went into extra innings. UnipolSai Bologna regained the lead in the top of the 11th inning and eventually prevailed as the winner when Kevin Moesquit singled and later scored on an RBI single by Giuseppe Mazzanti. Winning pitcher Murilo Brolo threw two hitless innings to silence the ParmaClima offense.
Bologna leadoff hitter Nick Nosti, who doubled in his first at-bat, was confident in his squad’s ability to win game four of the best-of-five games competition and clinch the championship title with its third victory of the Italian Baseball Series. He said, “We train year-round for the opportunity to hold up the Champions Cup at the end of the season, so having that emotion wrapped into one day is something no one can understand unless you've been through it before. We played game four tonight knowing we would be holding up the Champions Cup once it was over. I felt it and saw the conviction in everyone's eyes. I had never won a championship here in Italy before, and now I will be able to remember this day for the rest of my life.” There could not have been a better early present for Nick Nosti as his 33rd birthday celebration is just 10 days away.
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he San Francisco-born player came close to a national championship when he led the to an unprecedented trip to the 2008 College World Series in Sauget, Illinois, where he relished at the plate with a .381 batting average and hit six triples. Nick Nosti said, “The competition I faced in Northern California Division 2 College baseball and that in Italian baseball are very similar through my eyes. I don't see any differences between the passion and talent level around the leagues. The California leagues have always been very highly ranked in quality, and the Italian leagues have many similarities to them.”
Playing baseball in Italy has transformed Nick Nosti’s life. “I came to Italy to represent my Italian heritage and possibly get the chance to play against America someday so being able to wear a jersey with the top Italian team in the league is something irreplaceable. My first year playing in Italy was in 2010. I was lucky enough to meet my wife and later become a proud parent to my lovely five-year-old daughter. So needless to say, baseball has changed my life. Not only has it helped me to travel the world, but it has also helped create the opportunity for me to have a family here in Italy.” Congratulations to both UnipolSai Bologna and ParmaClima on an exciting 2018 season. Forza #Italia! #LetsMakeItHappen
by Roberto Angotti
