Rimini 020 100 130 7 12 1 Bologna 100 001 100 3 8 1

Box score

On Friday evening ASD Rimini took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Italian Baseball Series over Unipol Bologna thanks to a 7-3 victory. 1,000 people saw the game at Gianni Falchi Stadium in Bologna. Rimini got ahead in the second and added insurance runs in the eighth to down the defending Italian Baseball League champion.

A RBI single by Claudio Liverziani put Fortitudo on the board in the first. But RBI singles by Riccardo Babini and Stefano Desimoni turned the score around in favor of the Pirates. Both teams exchanged runs until Rimini added three in the eighth to seal the victory.

Alexander Romero and Giuseppe Mazzanti had two RBI apiece. Desimoni finished with three hits and two runs. Roberto Corradini went six-plus solid innings for the win. Carlos Richetti closed it out with scoreless relief. Luca Panerati took the loss.

Bologna 000 000 000 0 5 2 Rimini 020 000 01X 3 6 1

Box score

After taking the weekend off, both teams were back on the field on Monday for game three of the best-of-seven series. Playing at their own Pirati Stadium, ASD Rimini took a 3-0 lead in the Italian Baseball Series with a 3-0 shutout over Unipol Bologna. One more win would clinch their first title since 2006.

Jose Escalona, Leslie Nacar and Victor Moreno kept Bologna to five hits and four walks in nine scoreless frames. A two-run single by Giuseppe Spinelli gave the Pirates an early advantage. In the eighth Leonardo Zileri crossed the plate for a second time on a single by Riccardo Babini to add another run.

Marquis Fleming took the loss, conceding five hits, two runs (1 ER) and four walks in seven innings. Nacar, who threw three perfect innings in relief for Rimini, pitched the year for the Tenerife Marlins before joining Rimini during the postseason. It was his second appearance for the Pirates.

Photo by Ezio Ratti/FIBS