UnipolSai Bologna took home the IBL’s Italian Cup Championship this past Saturday thanks to their doubleheader sweep of Nettuno in Bologna. The best of three Italian Cup Championship finals win now means that Bologna is guaranteed a spot in the 2016 European Champions Cup, a prestigious tournament in which they finished as the runners up to Rotterdam in 2015.
Game one on Saturday evening was taken by the final of 4 to 1 with Ricardo De Santis picking up the important victory in an elimination game (Nettuno took game one of this best of three series on Thursday in Rome), going 6 full innings on the hill… allowing just a single run off of only 4 hits before handing the ball of to his pen of Panerati and Crepaldi (save). Suffering the loss on Nettuno’s side was Alessandro Ularetti, who surrendered all 4 runs over his 4.2 innings of work.
In the decisive game three (game two of the double header) it was all Raul Rivero and company. Rivero tossed up an impressive 6 innings of work on the bump (6 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 0 er, 7 so) before handing the ball over to Salomon Marinez who closed this blowout, 11 to 1 contest out. Bologna scored early and often, with 1 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd and 4th, and finally 3 in both the 6th and 8th innings. At the plate Bolonga banged out an impressive 14 hits with 7 starters picking up at least a hit, with 6 of those 7 recording multi hit on the evening.
