San Marino vs Bologna

Bermudez's exit after six dominant innings was always going to be the seam in Bologna's armour. Veliz had been reliable in the regular season (2.00 ERA across 18 regular-season appearances) but the San Marino lineup ambushed him immediately. Wong's pinch-hit homer — his second of the season — was the decisive blow, a single swing that erased 5.2 innings of Bermudez's brilliance and gave San Marino all the momentum.

The margin of the swing: San Marino went from trailing 1–0 to leading 3–1 in a span of three pitches. Bologna never recovered.

• Williams Wong (San Marino): Pinch-hit three-run homer in the 7th with an 0–2 count — the game's defining moment. His second home run since joining San Marino mid-season.
• Werner Leal (San Marino): 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, 5 strikeouts, 0 hits allowed. Inherited two runners in the 6th and stranded both. Picked up the win.
• Jose Ignacio Bermudez (Bologna): Pitched six innings of two-hit, scoreless baseball with 9 strikeouts. Got a no-decision after his bullpen could not hold the 1–0 lead.
• Ademar Rifaela (San Marino): 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, consistently putting pressure on Bologna's pitchers from the DH spot.

Player of the Match: Williams Wong (San Marino) — one at-bat, one swing, three runs batted in, complete game turnaround.

The box score tells a story of two games within one. For six innings, Bologna held San Marino to two hits and a .095 batting average (2-for-21). San Marino's lineup could not square up Bermudez, who racked up nine strikeouts with only two walks.

Once Veliz entered, everything flipped. San Marino batted .455 (5-for-11) against him and barrelled nearly everything they put in play. Bologna's bullpen ERA of 27.00 (6 ER in 2 IP) contrasts starkly with San Marino's relief corps (0.00 ERA, 6 K in 3.1 IP).

There were no stolen base attempts for either side. The game turned on pure contact quality and bullpen execution.

The final hit tally: San Marino 7, Bologna 4. Each side committed one error.

San Marino take a 1–0 lead in the best-of-seven semifinal series. They hold home-field advantage for Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 (if necessary). Game 2 takes place Saturday 15 August at Serravalle with first pitch at 20:00 local time.

The winner of this series advances to the Italian Baseball Series (best-of-seven) against the winner of the other semifinal between Parma Clima and Hotsand Macerata — Macerata also won Game 1, beating Parma 8–4 on the road.

For Bologna, the margin for error has shrunk. They need to take Game 2 to avoid returning to the Falchi down 2–0 with three consecutive home games scheduled (Games 3–5, 18–20 August).

A game that belonged to Bermudez for six innings was stolen by a single pinch-hit swing in the seventh. San Marino's depth — the ability to bring a power hitter like Wong off the bench against a tiring bullpen — proved decisive. Bologna's pitching plan was sound; the execution after the starter departed was not. If this series is decided by bullpens, San Marino have the early edge.