The 2010 European Cup in Rotterdam started off with its first big upset, as the Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz stunned the home crowd at the Familie Stadion with a 4-2 win over DOOR Neptunus in the evening match of day one. Earlier on Wednesday the Italian Baseball League clubs Telemarket Rimini and T&A San Marino had kicked off the tournament with easy wins over the Savigny Lions respective the Hoboken Pioneers.
Telemarket Rimini – Savigny Lions 9-1
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Chris Di Roma (W 1-0) allowed just one on four hits and a walk in seven strong innings to lead Telemarket Rimini to a 9-1 win over the French vice champion Savigny Lions. He struck out eight. After scoring four runs in the first three innings, the Pirates blew things wide open with a combined five runs in the seventh and the eighth. Mario Chiarini went 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and three runs scored. Clinton Balgera drove in three. Pierrick Lemestre (L 0-1) gave up twelve hits, seven runs (6 ER) and a base on balls in seven innings.
Hoboken Pioneers – T&A San Marino 0-7
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After the game on Wednesday probably nobody disputed the decision by T&A San Marino to select Jose Escalona (W 1-0) for the Rotterdam roster instead of one of the two top hitters in the Italian Baseball League, Carlos Duran or Ardley Jansen. Escalona struck out eight batters in six strong three-hit innings to lead the Titans to a 7-0 shutout over the Hoboken Pioneers.
Shortstop Anthony Granato, who is on the verge of getting an Italian passport and could become eligible to play for the Italian national team during the European Championships in Germany this July, went 4-for-5 with two triples, three runs scored and two RBI. David Sheldon and Francesco Imperiali combined for five RBI. TJ Hendricks (L 0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits and two bb in four innings.
DOOR Neptunus – Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz 2-4
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The Tenerife Marlins won just one of five games in the European Cup in Nettuno last year. This time they already made a splash. The team from Puerto Cruz blitzed the hosting DOOR Neptunus in the night game on Wednesday, winning 4-2.
After Lesther Galvan (MPC) doubled in a run in the third and Raily Legito’s (NEP) RBI single evened the score right away, a RBI double by Jacobo Garrido in the top of the fifth broke the 1-1 tie and put the Marlins up in front. They added two much needed insurance runs in the ninth on a pair of RBIs by Nestor Perez and Leslie Nacar to seal the victory. Dwayne Kemp homered in the bottom of the frame, but it was not enough to initiate a rally by Rotterdam.
22-year-old left-hander Antonio Noguerra (W 1-0) out-dueled Dutch national team hurler Diegomar Markwell (L 0-1) on the mound and allowed just seven hits, an unearned run and a walk in five innings. Nacar closed it out for the save, issuing just two hits, a run and a bb in the remaining four innings. Markwell didn’t pitch bad either, conceding just three hits, two runs (1 ER) and two bb in eight innings. He struck out eight.
Schedule Rotterdam, Thursday June 3:
- 11am Savigny Lions – Hoboken Pioneers
- 3pm Tenerife Marlins – Telemarket Rimini
- 8pm T&A San Marino – DOOR Neptunus
Live play by play on the official competition website of the CEB