Quietly celebrating its 50th anniversary the European Champions Cup will be played between Unipol Bologna and Telemarket Rimini from August 1 to 3 this weekend. Bologna tries to defend its title, which they claimed last year in the final against Danesi Nettuno.
Game one will be played on Thursday at 9pm in Bologna. Game two and if necessary three follow on Friday and Saturday (each 9pm) in Rimini.
Schedule:
Thursday, August 1, 2013:
21:00 Unipol Bologna – Telemarket Rimini
Friday, August 2, 2013:
21:00 Telemarket Rimini – Unipol Bologna
Saturday, August 3, 2013:
21:00 Telemarket Rimini – Unipol Bologna*
(*if necessary)
Teams from the Italian Baseball League have picked up the top spot in European club baseball 32 times since 1963. Except for 2010, we have seen all-Italy finals in Europe since 2008, as the IBL teams dominate Europe’s A-Level club competition.
It should be a final series on an even level. Rimini is currently in first place in the Italian Baseball League with a 24-6 record, followed by Bologna at 23-7. Both teams already have met four times this year in the IBL with Unipol winning the season series 3-1.
The Pirates are led by Alex Romero (.471/.529/.672), Jack Santora, Mario Chiarini and Leonardo Zileri on offense. Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez and Roberto Corradini are at the front of their pitching staff. Alessandro Vaglio (.432/.500/.636) is celebrating another breakout season to head Bologna’s offense, which also relies on Juan Carlos Infante and Claudio Liverziani. Their top player at the European Cup in Regensburg, Chris Aguila, was cut after the tournament in Germany. Raul Rivero and Matteo D’Angelo are their main stays on the mound.
Bologna qualified for the European Champions Cup Finals with a win at the European Cup in Regensburg, Germany. They cruised through the first round with a perfect 5-0 record and defeated T&A San Marino in the final. Rimini won the European Cup in Barcelona, Spain. They had a 4-1 record during the preliminary phase and then held off Corendon Kinheim in the final.