San Marino swept both home games against Bologna, taking a 2-0 lead in the semifinal series. After winning game one, Jairo Ramos’s side also claimed game two 6-5, in a finish charged with tension. On Tuesday and Wednesday the series will move to the Gianni Falchi stadium for game three and, if necessary, game four.
This time San Marino came out strong and never found itself trailing. Pieternella opened the scoring with a double, and Lino brought him home for a 1-0 lead. The first breakthrough came in the second inning: Pieternella again sent the ball out of the park, this time with a three-run homer that made it 4-0.
On the mound, Palumbo kept Bologna’s offense in check, while in the fourth Guevara added a solo home run to make it 5-0. Bologna broke the ice in the fifth thanks to Newton, but San Marino answered immediately with hits from Martini and Angulo to make it 6-1.
The game changed in the closing innings, however. In the seventh, Fortitudo scored twice to close the gap to 6-3. After a scoreless eighth, Bologna went for broke in the ninth: three consecutive hits made it 6-4, before Suarez trimmed the deficit further to 6-5.
With two runners in scoring position and only one out, Ramos called on Ettore Giulianelli, making his first appearance in a San Marino jersey, to take the mound. The newcomer didn’t flinch: he struck out Agretti and then forced Borghi into a fly ball caught by Pieternella, sealing the victory.
Palumbo picked up the win, Civit took the loss, and Giulianelli earned the save. San Marino can now head to Bologna with a two-game lead and the chance to close out the series as early as Tuesday evening.
