Trying to forget about the game 2 they handed to Rimini on errors and keep those mistakes from turning the season, Bolonga brought the lumber in game 3, and two home runs keyed a 5-4 victory.
Bologna got it started in the first inning, when after two quick outs, Liverziani was hit by a pitch, Marval doubled, and Sambucci finished the rally with a three run blast to give Bologna an early lead that they would not give up. Neither starting pitcher Searle for Bologna or Escalona for Rimini would make it through the fifth inning. Rimini scored a run in the second with Zappone double sandwiched in between a walk and an RBI ground out. Bologna struck again in the fifth when after a leadoff walk to Fuzzi, Cedeño launched a homerun to left, making it a 5-1 game. In the bottom of the fifth after a fielding error and wa walk put two runners on, Frignani elected to pull Searle and with Rivero, who allowed the second run on a Ramos single to make it 5-2.
In the seventh another Bologna error along with a Mayora double lead to two Rimini runs, and breathed life back into the game at 5-4 as Rimini relievers Padron and Cubillan each held Bologna hitless in two relief innings, but Camargo struck out looking with the tying run to end the threat in the seventh. Bologna put the tying run on base in the eighth again with an error, and after a one out single and runners advancing to second and third, Rivero got Retrosi to ground out to end the threat. In the ninth only a two out single would give Rimini one final hope, before Rivero closed another scoreless inning, and completed 4.2 innings of 1 earned run relief for the victory.
The teams rematch on Tuesday, with Rimini desparate to even the series once again, and Bologna looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead in spite of their horrific defensive performance in the first three games.
