Italian Serie A Baseball: Week 2 – News

Summary
Only six of Italy’s 30 Serie A baseball clubs remained undefeated after Week 2, with seven teams sweeping a doubleheader. The big winners were all in the circuit’s fourth pool, Girone D, which started play with Grosseto, Macerata and Nettuno all racking up runs in their opening weekend. Elsewhere, Parma became the only unbeaten side in Girone A, Fortitudo Bologna claimed the same honors in Pool B, and Godo and San Marino remain tied at the top of the series’ third group.

Strong points
Bologna nearly fired a recovered Johnny Vander Meer against Cervignano, with three pitchers combining for 12 hitless innings on a doubleheader Sunday. In Game 1, Murilo Brolo – usually called Murilo Gouvea when he played for the Brazil and Italy national teams – was perfect through 4.1 frames and didn’t walk or hit a batter while striking out 11. Raúl Rivero then added a pair of perfect innings and four more Ks, putting Bologna within an error of a perfect game.

Maurizio Andretta, who pitched two balls at a junior college in the United States, then unleashed five no-hitter frames on Cervignano in Game 2, hitting seven and walking three in the 2-1 win. Andretta was Fortitudo’s first off-season rookie and allowed just two hits in his two starts, collecting 10 strikeouts. Alex Bassani earned the stoppage with four innings of one-hit pitching, allowing an unearned run while collecting eight Ks. In total, the Bolognese pitchers allowed one hit and three walks in 16 innings, recording 30 hitters on strikes.

The weekend game, however, could very well have been played in Brescia, where the city’s nine Ecotherm sponsors were tied at zero with Poviglia in Saturday’s nightcap until ninth. Tourist Julio Almora was excellent, striking out eight in six innings, but Héctor Ponce had been just as good for Brescia in eight, striking out 11 in eight innings, while allowing just four hits and a walk. A pair of relievers, however, handed the visitors a win by walking three in a row, with a runner already leading with a free pass. The hosts couldn’t do anything against Poviglio second pitcher Frank Medina, who sniffed out six batters and allowed just one hit in a dominant three-inning relief stint.

Grosseto hit seven doubles and eight singles in their 12-1 win Saturday, with former Los Angeles Angels minor leaguer Jose Herrera hitting a pair of two baggers. Herrera, who has played for Olimpija Karlovac in the Croatian national league in recent years, collected a pair of 3-for-5 efforts over the weekend, scoring four times and leading in three.

Elsewhere, Eddy García continued his incredible dominance for Godo in a 7-3 victory over Crocetta in the clubs’ second game on Saturday. Although the right-hander once again allowed just one scorer, he sent 15 strikes in just 5.2 frames, earning him a league-leading 25 punches in just 11.2 innings. A total of 54.3% of opposing batters returned to their dugouts without hitting García fairly.

Among the weekend’s best hitters, Gionni Luciani had a game-high four hits for Hotsand Macerata on Day 2 of play, hitting two doubles and driving four. The Marches’ top club beat Grosseto 1952 15-5 in Game 1, but only after a seven-point top of the eighth. Niccolò Cinelli had a rare 0-for-0 batting line with a run and five walks for the hosts. In the rubber game, Aliangel López and the Spanish national team Leslie Nácar combined on a shutout and Javier López went 4 for 5 with four ribbies.

San Marino picked up 9-3 and 15-2 wins, with longtime Phillies minor leaguer Gabriel Lino providing the firepower. The backstop threw a pair of long balls in the first game of the doubleheader, adding a double and leading in four. At the last drink, another round trip made him the home run leader in Italian baseball.

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