The Scudetto semi-finals start in the best of 7 on Thursday evening: between a classic and the holders who are still favorites in search of the trio
The going gets tough, from Friday the scudetto will start dancing in the crossroads of the semifinals to the best of 7. In Bologna and Parma the playoff rivalry between UnipolSai Bologna and Parmaclima will be renewed, in San Marino there is the young Big-Mat Bsc Grosseto which will challenge the outgoing Italian champions.
Tuscan novelty
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Bologna and San Marino finished in first place in the championship poule with the same record (17-7) and followed by Parma (15-9) and Grosseto (10-14), which on Monday eliminated the favorite Macerata from the postseason of the Italian championship , winning the decisive game five 5-0 in the most uncertain series (3-2). Grosseto in his second year in Serie A and for the first time at the finish line of the playoffs is making good use of youth work (Niccolò Cinelli, Niccolò Valore, Francesco Cappuccini, Diego Luciani, Maor Pasquini, Ion Doba and Mattia Sireus, Piccini, the second baseman Tiberi, the blue Aritzu and the catcher Milli), while the Cubans Marcos Diaz, Yordany Scull and the pitcher Eddy Garcia ensure experience, the infielder Leomartires Rodriguez protagonist last year in Parma, as well as Joaquin Farias and Leonard Backstrom, coming from from B, all decisive in the excellent season of the team coached by Stefano Cappuccini and already a protagonist in the first phase of the Serie A championship, in the difficult group D closed in a dead heat with Nettuno 1945 (8-2), eliminated in the playoffs by Parmaclima , and in front of the favorite and city rival Spirulina Becagli Bbc Grosseto. San Marino is aiming for a third consecutive Scudetto, a feat it already succeeded from 2011 to 2013, with Doriano Bindi on the bench. Ten years later, the Titan’s team is ready for the seventh semi-final series in its history. Between the first phase and the poule scudetto, San Marino has the best numbers: 387 valid hits, 272 runs scored, 32 home runs, 249 runs batted in and a triple line (343 batting average), by far the best numbers in the league thanks to the performances of Gabriel Lino (team leader in batting average, 433, home runs, 12, and runs batted in, 45), Federico Celli, Nathanael Batista and Ericson Leonora. The mound is no less and in addition to Quevedo, Di Raffaele, Garbella and Kourtis, who can be used together with Baez and Tognacci even outside the bullpen, Doriano Bindi can also count on the Venezuelan Jesus Castillo and above all on Tiago da Silva, who returned in time to the first match against Modena, in which he stood out with six shutout recovery. The defense is impenetrable: we’ll see if the Maremma attack, which makes running on bases (45 steals out of 59) its must, will put the tricolors in difficulty.
Third time
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It will be the third consecutive time, from 2019 to today, that UnipolSai Bologna and Parmaclima meet in the semifinals in addition to the 2018 final. Parma won the semifinals of 1994 and last year in race 7 after a very balanced series. Parma and Bologna are also two of the squares with the most appearances in semi-final series. In last year’s semi-final and in the six matches of the Scudetto 2023 poule, four victories for Parma. Bologna showed more power (417 slugging with 18 home runs) also the result of 18 home runs, for the Parmesan line 302 batting average, the highest among the semifinalists, thanks to a box that makes contact its strong point. Fortitudo is also among the top four for the team that has been able to make the most of the base run: of 48 steal attempts throughout the season, 42 have been successful by the explosive Curaçao shortstop Darren Seferina. Seferina is not the only Antillean to lead the Bolognese attack: Kevin Josephina and Shakir Albert, two other natives of Curaçao, and Eugene Helder (born in Aruba) are together with Seferina the pillars of the attack with 10 of the 18 Bolognese home runs , and 34 doubles and triples as well as 75 runs batted in. Without Daniel Monti, who has resumed in the US, Daniele Frignani can count on captain Lorenzo Dobboletta, Alessandro Deotto, Riccardo Bertossi and on the designated hitter and U23 international Samuele Gamberini, with excellent offensive potential and great ability to arrive on base. Parma have had more strikeouts (303 vs. Bologna’s 294) and a lower pitching average (.185 vs. Bologna’s .214) but have a slightly higher Pgl average (2.24 vs. 2.09). The former Bologna player Matteo Bocchi (5-1) and Luis Lugo were the best, more answers are expected from Pablo Guillen and Danny Rondon. Carlos Contreras and from the last innings, and in this he is also helped by Anderson De Leon while Diego Fabiani, Mattia Aldegheri and the joker Francesco Pomponi represent respectable complements, Bologna with Crepaldi, Bassani, Andretta and the expert Raul Rivero are a guarantee depth. Parmaclima awaits the return to Italy of Alex Liddi, still in the Mexican league (at this moment his team, El Aguila de Veracruz, is down 3-1 in the playoff series against Leones de Yucatan), Fortudido has done nothing but strengthen : Ricardo Paolini, Kevin Josephina, Ernesto Liberatore, Porfirio Lopez and the great return of Robel Garcia after his experiences in Mlb (2019 and 2021 with Cubs and Astros), in triple A. Parmaclima will continue to focus on the hard core who in the last three seasons led to three Champions Cup finals (two won) and a Scudetto final. It will be an exciting derby.
August 23, 2023 (change August 23, 2023 | 23:27)
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