The playoffs begin on August 15th with the quarterfinals (which come back for the first time since 1993) and could go as far as September 16 with the ‘beautiful’ of the Italian Baseball Series.
The best-of-5 series kicks off with the first two home games of the worst-placed teams in the Poule Scudetto and ends at the home of the best-placed team.
The winning teams advance to the semifinals (best of 7 games series) and then to the Italian Baseball Series (best of 7 games series).
Let’s discover all the challenges one by one.
Quarter Final A: Hotsand Macerata vs Big Mat Grosseto
The most successful team in the Poule Scudetto, Hotsand Macerata (20 wins and 4 defeats) is expected to be confirmed against the young Big Mat BSC Grosseto (10-14 in the Poule Scudetto), who finished group G in fourth place. The Tuscans can make use of an attack with expert guns such as Leo Rodriguez (.345 average, third in RBI with 32) and Mark Diaz (third in HR with 6 and leader in stolen bases with 14), as well as a group of young emerging players, some of whom were seen in blue in the recent U23 European Championship. The trio of top pitchers from Grosseto will most likely be made up of Eddy Garcia–Mattia Sireus–Joaquin Faria. Hotsand Macerata enter this series under pressure from a side that has had rare moments of weakness. A mix of solid pitchers with starters Dilmer Mejia, Gabriel Quattrini e Manaurys Correa and an effective lineup, with Jesus Carrera (.480 season average) e Anthony Pereira (4 HR and 4 3B) among the protagonists, dragged the team from the Marches to the top of the group. The two teams meet for the first time in the playoffs of the top division. Macerata participates in the second post-season in its history after that of 1993 (eliminated in the quarterfinals by Rimini), while BSC Grosseto is in the first final phase reached in the history of the club, born in 2012.
Quarter Final B: UnipolSai Bologna vs New Black Panthers
The match between UnipolSai Bologna and New Black Panthers Ronchi dei Legionari is an unprecedented match for the Serie A playoffs. The bisiac formation, for the first time in playoff history (9-15 in Poule Scudetto), will have the hard task of stopping a redemption team. The Ronchesi rely in particular on the pitcher Hector Rodriguez, ace of the team with 6 personal successes in the season and a formidable performance in the Poule Scudetto (0.63 ERA). On the platform, the Ronchesi will also rely on jean carlos ruiz e Francesco Nardi. The position player staff is entirely made up of Italian and local boys, with Mario Mice, Julius Da Re e Stefano Berini among the most productive in season. Fortitudo Bologna finished at the top of group G thanks to 7 victories in the last 9 games (17-7 the total count in Poule Scudetto). Apart from a few hiccups, the Bolognese have equipped themselves to go all the way with a deep battery of foreign pitchers (Rivero, Molina, porfirio lopez, Robles among others) and the tried and true trio Bassani–Crepaldi–Andretta for the match of Italian-trained pitchers. In attack the heart of the lineup (Josephina e Seferina with averages above .350) has brought perseverance and cynicism, while the returns of Ricardo Paulini e Robel Garcia have enriched a very competitive interior department.
Quarter Final C: Parma Clima vs Nettuno 1945
There is also a comparison between the realities of the great baseball tradition. Parma Clima-Nettuno 1945 brings its charm to a series of quarter-finals that will be played entirely at the “Cavalli”, due to technical problems at the “Steno Borghese” in Nettuno. The challenge is between two teams that share the same budget in the second phase and a strong territorial identity. The Emilians, vice-champions in charge, finished with 15 wins out of 24 matches in the Poule Scudetto, with the performances of Alberto Mineo batting (.373 average, 4 home runs) and Matthew Bocchi on the mound (0.26 ERA in Poule Scudetto with 5 wins) to emerge from the manager’s lineup Marcellus Saccardi. The Neptune 1945 led by Roberto De Franceschi he started with the aim of building a team made up of many Nettunesi, experts and young people, and local kids like Matthias Mercuri, Federico Giordani, Alessandro Grimaudo e Federico Pecci they answered present. From the foreign department, the pitcher Lars Liguori is called to confirm the excellent numbers of the year (0.96 ERA in Poule Scudetto), while the bat of Rosa Garabez was among the hottest with 3 home runs and a high on-base percentage. The last playoff confrontation between the two teams dates back to the 3 matches played in the 2011 semifinal round (the last dry series is the 2007 semifinal won by Nettuno in game 7).
Quarter Final D: San Marino vs Comcor Modena
The reigning champions San Marino (17-7 in Poule Scudetto) begin the race for the third consecutive championship against Comcor Modena, third in the group of the second phase with 9 wins out of 24 games. The formation of Doriano Bindi finished the group in second place by virtue of the direct clash against UnipolSai Bologna, but comes with the most powerful lineup in the championship (61 doubles, 30 home runs), which includes Gabriel Linoauthor of 11 home runs in the season (6 in the last 6 games), Nathanael Bautista (7 HR in season) e Federico Celli. On the mound the arm of Jesus Castillo has recently joined the now well-known ones of Carlos Quevedo (3-0, 2.63 ERA) and Dimitri Kourtis (3-2, 2.17 ERA in Poule Scudetto). For the playoffs there will also be Tiago Da Silva, fresh from the year in Mexico with the Generales de Durango. Modena qualified with a hat-trick over Ronchi dei Legionari’s Black Panthers. The yellow and blues have a balanced seasonal balance of 17 victories and as many defeats. The pitchers Angel Calero (2.74 in poule shield) ed Erik Soto Lopez (7 hits of the season), the hitters ramon bonilla e Alex Russo ei veterani Juan Carlos Infante e Cyprian Ventura they are among the special observers of Comcor, which returns to the playoffs 20 years after the final reached against Bologna in 2003 (in which Ventura himself pitched on two occasions). The two teams have never met in the playoffs before these quarterfinals.
THE PLAYOFF CALENDAR
Quarter Finals: 15, 16, 19, 20* and 21* August (*if necessary).
Semifinals: 24, 25, 28, 29, 30* August, 1*, 2* September (*if necessary).
Italian Baseball Series: 6, 7, 10, 11, 12*, 15*, 16* September (*if needed).
The full format of the calendar is published on the Federation’s website LINK.
Among the notes of the 2023 playoffs it should be highlighted that, if the quarter-final series that qualify for the same semi-final end in advance of the 5 scheduled matches, the semi-final matches will be brought forward, with the start of the semi-final series which will take place four days after the last quarter-final match played.
If, for example, San Marino-Modena and Macerata-Grosseto ended after 3 matches – on August 19th – the semifinal series between the winners would start on August 23rd instead of August 24th.
SERIES PLAYOFFS IN BASEBALL LIVE
The Serie A Baseball playoff programming provides for the possible coverage of all 8 teams qualified for the post-season, according to the following schedule:
Race 1 15/08 San Marino @ Comcor Modena from Modena
Race 2 16/08 Nettuno 1945 @ Parma Parma weather
Game 3 19/08 Black Panthers Ronchi @ UnipolSai Bologna from Bologna
Race 4 20/08 Big Mat Grosseto @ Hotsand Macerata (possible) from Macerata
Eventual Race 5 will be defined later.
The live broadcasts will be available free of charge through the platforms of the media partner FIBS Mediasport Group: streaming on the platform MS+ and on tv on MS Channel814 of Sky.
ALL THE NEWS ON SERIES A BASEBALL
CALENDAR, RESULTS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY
In the photo: San Marino celebrates the 2022 Scudetto (Photo Bass)
2023-08-14 10:36:34
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