European Champions Cup 2019: Day 2

On the second day of the ECC, the following games were scheduled: 
Group A: Bonn Capitals @ Curaçao Neptunus and Parmaclima Parma @ Rouen Huskies
Group B: L&D Amsterdam Pirates @ Deurne Spartans and Arrows Ostrava @ UnipolSai Bologna.

Bonn Capitals  4  –  14  Curaçao Neptunus

Game report

L&D Amsterdam Pirates  17  –  0  Deurne Spartans

Game report

Parmaclima Parma  21  –  3  Rouen Huskies
Another mercy-rule shortened game as Parmaclima Parma didn’t show any mercy for the Rouen Huskies. For three innings, Rouen could keep pace as it trailed by only one run but in the fourth, the offense of Parma exploded which resulted in a rather flattering score. Eight singles, two doubles, a wild pitch and three home runs led to sixteen (!) runs in that fourth inning. A double, an HBP, a triple and a home run added four more runs to the total of Parma. All Rouen could do was scoring three runs, two in the fourth and one in the fifth. It must have been strange for Parma’s starting pitcher Owen Ozanich as he faced his old team. In five innings he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out eight for the win. Esteban Prioul was hit very hard in three innings as he gave up twelve runs on twelve hits and a walk and struck out one.
Sebastiano Poma was the best hitter for Parmaclima Parma with four hits in four at-bats with two RBI and two runs scored.

Arrows Ostrava  5  –  16  UnipolSai Bologna
In the fourth mercy rule-shortened game of the day, UnipolSai Bologna bested Arrows Ostrava. In what was a festival of errors, both teams combined for six errors, the Czechs scored three early runs in the first inning but the Italians evened the score in the bottom of the very same inning. In the next inning, Bologna took a four-run lead thanks to a two-out walk, three singles and a double. In the top of the third inning, Ostrava had a golden opportunity to get back in the game with no outs, but when Alex Bassani relieved Antonio Noguera, he retired three batters in a row and the Czechs left three runners behind without having scored. In the third inning, Bologna scored five more runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Ostrava scored another run in the top of the fourth and one in the sixth but that was all the club could do. Eventually, the game ended after seven innings. 
Best hitter for Bologna was Osman Marval, who went 3 for 3 with two doubles, a home run, five RBI and two runs scored. Alex Bassani, who pitched two innings in relief in which he allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk and struck out four. Wesley Roemer took the loss after 2.1 innings as he gave up ten runs on ten hits and a walk and fanned one.

Today proved that even though German baseball and Czech baseball has made some major strides in the past decade, the gap between those countries and Italy and the Netherlands is still rather big.

Standings after day two:

Standing Pool A
Pos	Team	GP	WO	LO	AVG	GB
1	Curaçao Neptunus (NED)	2	2	0	1000	0
2	Parmaclima (ITA)	2	1	1	500	1
3	Rouen Huskies (FRA)	2	1	1	500	1
4	Bonn Capitals (GER)	2	0	2	0	2

Standing Pool B
Pos	Team	GP	WO	LO	AVG	GB
1	L&D Amsterdam (NED)	2	2	0	1000	0
2	Ostrava Arrows (CZE)	2	1	1	500	1
3	UnipolSai Bologna (ITA)	2	1	1	500	1
4	Deurne Spartans (BEL)	2	0	2	0	2