| 2009 IBL Standings | |||
| W | L | GB | |
| Bologna | 30 | 12 | - |
| Rimini | 30 | 12 | 1.0 |
| San Marino | 26 | 16 | 5.0 |
| Parma | 24 | 18 | 6.0 |
| Nettuno | 23 | 19 | 9.0 |
| Grosseto | 17 | 25 | 13.0 |
| Godo | 10 | 32 | 21.0 |
| Reggio Emilia | 8 | 34 | 21.0 |
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| FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2009 | |
Bologna wins 2009 IBL Championship |
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Bologna dominated defending champion San Marino to win the 2009 Italian Baseball League championship, the clubs 8th championship. After taking a 2-1 series lead in three low scoring close games, the Bologna offense exploded in the final two games in San Marino, scoring 17 and 16 runs respectively and leaving no doubt about the top team this year. Bologna tried to play the underdog card due to financial troubles throughout the season, but the team was consistently one of the top performers at every level, and specifically with an explosive offense full of stars all of whom shined when it counted most. Claudio Liverziani was names series MVP hitting .571 with six RBIs and 7 runs scored. Richard Austin hit .471 with two home runs and Eddy Garabito hit three homeruns as well. Fabio Betto pitched seven dominant innings in his game 3 win, and Yulmann Ribiero picked up the win in the clinching game on three days rest. |
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Aggiunto alle 02:08 PM by Michael Etichette: IBL Bologna Finals |
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| WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009 | |
San Marino has a stunning comeback, while Rimini keeps rolling |
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Just when it seemed like we were marching to an inevitable Rimini-Bologna finals, San Marino mounted one of the most stunning playoff comebacks ever to keep things exciting in week 2 of the playoffs. Bologna built a 9-0 lead in San Marino behind two home runs by Richard Austin, but after Betto gave up three runs in the fifth and turned the ball over to the bullpen in the seventh, things collapsed as the high powered San Marino offence rolled over relievers Norrito and Milano for three runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth to take a 10-9 lead. Despite the early offensive explosion, Bologna was held scoreless over the final five innings by Pedro Orta and Mauro Schiavone. In the late outburst David Sheldon had a two run homer, Duran drove in four runs, and De Biase had the bases loaded single to take the lead. The win pulled San Marino even with Bologna for the second spot in the finals at 2-2 with five games left in the round robin series, as the teams shift to Bologna Friday and Saturday nights. Meanwhile in Bologna, Rimini continued to roll, building a quick 4-0 lead against Parma starter Corradini, and holding on for an easy 6-2 win. Rimini pitchers Patrone and Quattrini yielded 12 hits in the end, but only walked one and managed to escape trouble as Parma failed to come up with the big hit in numerous situations. The win moved Rimini to 3-1 and dropped Parma to 1-3, with the teams continuing the series in Rimini where Parma will face Rimini ace Garcia in what has become a must win game. |
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Aggiunto alle 06:07 PM by Michael Etichette: IBL San Marino Bologna Playoffs Rimini Parma |
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| FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009 | |
Godo stuns Parma again to send Reggio Emilia to A2 |
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Godo scored 5 runs in the second inning against a Parma team that seemed more intent on setting up its playoff rotation than winning baseball games, and cruised to an 8-1 win. Along with Godo's Thursday win and Reggio's loss on Friday in Nettuno, Godo clinched a place in the 2010 IBL with one game to go in the 2009 season, making up two games on Reggio in 27 hours, and making tomorrow's final games of the season unimportant. This marks Reggio Emilia's third one year stint in the top level in the last seven years, after a 2003 debut and a 2005 team that saved themselves but dropped after the season for financial reasons. In other playoff tune ups San Marino topped a young Grosseto team which started a number of prospects over veterans, and Rimini scored double digits against Bologna to pull into first place with one game to play. |
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Aggiunto alle 04:07 PM by Michael Etichette: IBL Godo Reggio Emilia |
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| WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2009 | |
Playoff picture is clear heading into the final weekend |
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Heading into the final week of the regular season, the playoff picture is clear and the only story lines are playoff seeding and the battle for last place. Bologna holds a one game lead over Rimini for the top playoff seed, and San Marino holds a one game edge over Parma for the third and fourth seeds. After a devestating sweep in San Marino, Nettuno was eliminated from the playoffs a full week early and is locked into fifth place four games ahead of Grosseto which has been steadily in sixth place all season. The real excitement is at the bottom where Godo upset Rimini last week to pull even with Reggio Emilia to avoid relegation to A2. Reggio Emilia holds the tie breaker so Godo has to do one better than their rivals in the final weekend series to stay in A1. Reggio Emilia heads to Nettuno where they have never one, but will face a down Nettuno team who misses the playoffs for the first time in five years, and might not be at full strength or concentration. Meanwhile Godo plays Parma who still hopes for the third playoff seed and to stay sharp, but who will be more worried about preparing for the playoffs and lining up their pitchers. And our playoff coverage begins next week! |
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Aggiunto alle 06:07 PM by Michael Etichette: IBL |
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| FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009 | |
Rimini stays on top as week 2 restores competitive balance |
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Week 2 of the Italian Baseball League season tightened up the standings after the season opened with a number of sweeps, but Rimini remained on top and continues to appear to be the strongest team in the league after missing the playoffs in recent years. Rimini dropped their first game of the season against Parma to open the series, in a close foreigner game decided in the 8th and 9th innings as each team's relievers struggled. Rimini rebounded to take the next two games in the series and stay on top, and slugger Rios continued with his power display to emerge as an early favorite for the leagues top player. Nettuno dropped two games to Bologna, and the loss of Richetti emerged as a potentially major issue for the preseason favorite as Giovanni Carrera struggled, and after a series opening win, Nettuno was dominated in the final two games of the series. Bologna showed some life and a strong and balanced team, despite losing some key players from last season's first place finishing team. San Marino was shocked twice by Godo. After dominating the foreigner game when Godo's only foreign pitcher was scratched with an injury, the defending champions wasted a strong performance from Da Silva with an 8th inning bullpen melt down, and then dropped game 3 as well as the Italian pitching rotation appeared to be the team's weak spot as it was throughout their 2008 championship run. Grosseto rebounded from their tough opening week behind strong pitching to keep Reggio Emilia without a win this year. Juan Figeroa was brilliant in handing Abe Alvarez his second straight 1-0 loss, and the Reggio offense was unable to put together anything all weekend, scoring only twice. Reggio has been very competitive in each of their six losses, and if the ball starts bouncing their way could be much more dangerous than their current record indicates. Week 3 should provide even more clarity for the season, as the top two teams meet in a historical rematch between Rimini and Nettuno, while the bottom two teams Godo and Reggio Emilia meet with the loser being in a tough position. San Marino and Bolonga square off and Grosseto hosts Parma in a week that could see significant movement in the standings. |
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Aggiunto alle 07:04 AM by Michael Etichette: IBL Regular Season |
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