2016 European Champions Cup

The 2016 European Champions Cup was held from May 31 to June 5, 2016 in Rimini, Italy and San Marino. The format went to eight teams playing all in one time frame instead of the 2008-2015 format of two pools of six playing in different cities then meeting later in the year with two or four finalists.

The L&D Amsterdam Pirates won their first European crown beating ASD Rimini in the final.

The lone former major leaguer present was Ronny Cedeno of Bologna.

Competing Teams / Manager

• UnipolSai Bologna (Italy) (Daniele Frignani)
• Heidenheim Heideköpfe (Germany) (Klaus Eckle)
• Curacao Neptunus (Netherlands) (Evert-Jan 't Hoen)
• T&A San Marino (San Marino) (Mauro Mazzotti)
• Kotlarka Prague (Czech Republic) (Ondřej Chocholatý)
• ASD Rimini (Italy) (Orlando Muñoz)
• L&D Amsterdam Pirates (Netherlands) (Charlie Urbanus Jr.)
• Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg (Germany) (Ivan Rodriguez)

Results

May 31

• Neptunus Rotterdam 14, Heidenheim Heideköpfe 9. DH Gianison Boekhoudt hit a 3-run homer in the first off Wes Roemer to start the fireworks. 3B Raily Legito, C Dashenko Ricardo and 1B Rien Vernooij all added homers for Neptunus while 2B Benjamin Dille and Legito each rap 3 hits. Bayron Cornelisse got the win in relief of Orlando Yntema (7 R, 9 H in 4 1/3 IP) while Patrick Seyfried took the loss. DH Johannes Krumm had 3 hits and 3 RBI for the losing team.
• Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg 7, Kotlarka Prague 4. The game was 2-2 going into the bottom of the 6th when C Daniel Vavruša hit a two-run homer off Mike Bolsenbroek to put Prague ahead. They still led 4-2 going into the 9th before Regensburg rallied for five runs to win as Marek Červenka faded after 8 fine frames. The winning hit was a two-run single from CF Maik Ehmcke. Daniel Mendelsohn got the victory with 3 shutout innings of relief.
• Fortitudo Bologna 5, T&A San Marino 3. San Marino led 3-0 after 3 1/2 but the hosts blow it. With the game still at 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th, SS Ronny Cedeno doubles off Junior Oberto and RF Claudio Liverziani homers for the winning blow. Cedeno finished with 3 hits and reliever Brent Buffa got the victory.
• Pirates Amsterdam 6, ASD Rimini 2. 2B Nick Urbanus is the big sparkplug for Amsterdam, scoring four runs and collecting 3 hits. Kevin Heijstek pitched six shutout innings for the win while Tom de Blok notched a save. 1B Mirco Caradonna was 3 for 3 in a losing cause. 2015 Italian Series MVP Alexis Candelario is lit up for 4 runs in 2 2/3 IP in a rough start.

June 1

• Fortitudo Bologna 1, Neptunus Rotterdam 0. In a tight pitching duel, Raul Rivero and Nick Pugliese allow 7 hits but no runs to beat Diegomar Markwell and Neptunus. The lone run came in the 2nd when 2B Alessandro Vaglio doubled and scored on a single to left by CF Paolino Ambrosino. The Dutch squad had a good shot in the 6th, loading the bases with one out, C Dashenko Ricardo hit into a twin killing. In the 9th, they loaded the bags again, this time with two away, but Pugliese got LF Dwayne Kemp on a game-ending fly.
• Pirates Amsterdam 10, Kotlarka Prague 2. After a 2 hour, 40 minute rain delay, Amsterdam cruises again. 2B Nick Urbanus scores another 3 runs while DH Koen Nooij gets 3 hits. Pim Walsma and Jimmy Osinga combine on a 4-hitter, though they walk 8. Former minor leaguer Marek Minařík is hit hard in the loss.
• T&A San Marino 4, Heidenheim Heideköpfe 3. Fraylin Florian (San Marino) and Luke Sommer (Heidenheim) trade goose eggs for eight innings. In the top of the 9th, Heidenheim got to reliever Ludovico Coveri with two outs as 3B Jay Pecci walked and advanced on a wild pitch then scored on a single by LF Sascha Lutz, who stole second. Filippo Crepaldi relieved but gave up a RBI single to CF Jamie McOwen. Sommer got the first two in the bottom of the 9th and was one out from a shutout win but 3B Joe Mazzuca singled. Sommer got a full count on 1B Francesco Imperiali, who fouled off three straight pitches before drawing a walk. RF Nicholas Morreale then doubled in both runs to blow the shutout and tie the game. In the top of the 10th, McOwen scored on a passed ball for a run off reliever Yoimer Camacho. In the bottom of the inning, Wes Roemer relieved Sommer but the former AAA hurler struggled, giving up a game-tying hit to 2B Luca Pulzetti and a game-losing one to CF Sebastiano Poma.
• ASD Rimini 5, Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg 3. CF Maik Ehmcke hit a two-run homer off Carlos Richetti in the first to put Regensburg ahead but Rimini rallied to win, going ahead for good in the 6th. Clayton Voechting took the loss. CF Stefano De Simoni scored two and 2B Freddy Noguera drove in two. Rimini relievers José Escalona and Carlos Teran combine to retire 10 of 11 batters as their staff fans 12.

June 2

• Fortitudo Bologna 2, Heidenheim Heideköpfe 1. Bologna wrapped up one of the #1 seeds with an unbeaten round-robin in pool play. In the top of the 3rd, LF Alessandro Grimaudo drew a walk from Lukas Antoniuk and stole second. He took third on a fly out by 3B Francesco Fuzzi and scored on a sacrifice fly by 2B Martin Mondino. Luca Panerati allowed his lone run in the 4th when veteran 1B Simon Gühring went deep. In the top of the 6th, 1B Alex Sambucci drew a walk off reliever Marcel Giraud, as did C Tyler LaTorre. SS Alessandro Vaglio bunted them over. Julius Spann relieved Giraud but allowed a single to CF Paolino Ambrosino to put Bologna ahead for good. A heavy thunderstorm ended the game after six.
• Pirates Amsterdam 1, Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg 0. Amsterdam also finished their pool unbeaten with another close game. Robin Schel allowed three hits in eight shutout innings while Regensburg's Jan Tomek gave up just one hit in 6 1/3 IP. In the top of the 3rd, the German club had its best shot. SS Nino Sacasa singled and was bunted over by RF Marcel Jimenez. After a passed ball, C Elias Von Garssen grounded to SS Mike Duursma; Sacasa tried to score but was gunned down at the plate. In the bottom of the 7th, 1B Kenny Berkenbosch hit into an error by 3B Matt Vance and DH Linoy Croes drew Tomek's 4th walk. After a sacrifice bunt by C Rashid Gerard, Tomek was replaced by David Brandl. PH Koen Nooij struck out but a wild pitch on the play scored Berkenbosch with the game's only run. Daan Hendrix relieved Schel in the 9th and got the save.
• ASD Rimini 4, Kotlarka Prague 0. Rimini advanced to the second round for a rematch with 2015 Italian Series foe Bologna. LF Ennio Retrosi had 4 hits, while Tommaso Cherubini gave up only two hits in five innings (though he walked four). Roberto Corradini worked the final 3 1/3 for a save. Roldan Ochoa took the loss.
• Neptunus Rotterdam 5, T&A San Marino 4. The battle for the last semifinal spot was an exciting one. Rotterdam got on the board in the first against Yoimer Camacho on a single by LF Dwayne Kemp and a two-out RBI double by DH Gianison Boekhoudt. Camacho allowed no more runs in the next five-plus innings and finished with 12 whiffs. In the top of the 4th, San Marino went ahead when DH Jack Santora drew a walk from Kenny Vandenbranden and SS Willie Vasquez homered. In the top of the 6th, they got insurance. Vandenbranden hit 3B Joe Mazzuca and Kevin Kelly relieved. Mazzuca stole second and took third on a throwing error by C Dashenko Ricardo. RF Nicholas Morreale's sacrifice fly made it 3-1. In the bottom of the 7th, Junior Oberto relieved Camacho. RF Christian Diaz greeted him with a single and was balked over with one out. 1B Rien Vernooij walked and SS Stijn van der Meer singled in Diaz.

It was still 3-2 entering the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Vernooij drew another walk from Oberto. With two outs, Neptunus was down to their last strike when Oberto got a 1-2 count on Urving Kemp (who had replaced his brother in left, Dwayne Kemp moving to 2B). Urving Kemp grounded to Mazzuca, but the former Marlins minor leaguer made a critical run-scoring error to tie it and send the game into extra innings. In the top of the 10th, San Marino went ahead when C Simone Albanese scored on a wild pitch by Loek van Mil. In the bottom of the 10th, Ludovico Coveri hit RF Daniel Fernandes to load the bases (two runners starting aboard due to the IBAF Extra Innings Rule). 3B Raily Legito drew his 3rd walk of the day, forcing in Urving Kemp. Filippo Crepaldi relieved Coveri but he also battled with control, walking Boekhoudt on five pitches to force in Dwayne Kemp with the winning run.

June 3

• Heidenheim Heideköpfe 2, Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg 0. In a rematch of the 2015 German finals, Heidenheim prevailed thanks to the shutout pitching of Wes Roemer (7 H, 1 BB, 5 K). They got the only offense of the game in the top of the first. LF Sascha Lutz singled off Niklas Rimmel. With one out, CF Jamie McOwen singled and 2B Aaron Hornostaj walked. RF Shawn Larry cracked a two-run double for the winning blow.
• Pirates Amsterdam 11, Neptunus Rotterdam 7. In a match-up of Dutch powers, Amsterdam went ahead 2-0 entering the 3rd but Rotterdam scored four times in the top of the 4th, with a 3-run triple by 1B Rien Vernooij the big blow. Neither starter lasted long; Kevin Kelly went 2 2/3 IP (2 R) for Neptunus and Dennis Burgersdijk 3 2/3 IP (4 R) for the Pirates. Neptunus still led 5-4 going into the bottom of the 7th when Amsterdam scored twice; LF Gilmer Lampe doubled in 2B Nick Urbanus and came home on a hit by RF Danny Rombley. Amsterdam scored five more in the bottom of the 8th with a two-out homer by DH Linoy Croes the biggest blow. The difference came down to the bullpens: Neptunus's trio of Berry van Driel (3 R, 6 H in 3 2/3 IP), Bayron Cornelisse (L, 3 R, 3 H, 2 BB in 2/3 IP) and Loek van Mil (3 H, 3 R in 1 IP) struggled while the Pirates' Daan Hendrix (1 IP, 0 R) and Kyle Ward (1 R in 2 2/3 IP) fared better. Tom de Blok (2 UER in 1 2/3 IP) got the win. Lampe (4 H), Urbanus (3 H, 3 R), Rombley (3 H, 3 RBI) and Croes (2 H, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI) all hit well for Amsterdam.
• ASD Rimini 4, Fortitudo Bologna 2. In a rematch of the 2015 Italian Series, Rimini again triumphed over Bologna. They got going quickly against Brent Buffa. LF Ennio Retrosi had a one-out single and SS Jose Flores singled as well, sending him to third. C Tyler LaTorre had a passed ball to make it 1-0. In the top of the 3rd, Flores hit a two-out double, 1B Daniel Mayora doubled him in and DH Jairo Ramos Gizzi singled to score Mayora but was out trying for two. Buffa was yanked after 7 hits and 3 runs in 3 innings. In the bottom of the 4th, against Ricardo Hernandez, 1B Alex Sambucci had a one-out double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by LaTorre to make it 3-1. In the top of the 6th, Rimini got the run back as RF Mirco Caradonna drew a one-out walk from Riccardo De Santis, stole second and scored on a hit by C Luis Ricardo Serafin De Camargo. In the bottom of the 6th, 3B Juan Carlos Infante drew a walk from Hernandez, who threw another wild pitch, and Sambucci hit a two-out single to bring in Infante. Carlos Teran replaced Hernandez and retired 9 of 10 batters for a three-inning save.

June 4

• T&A San Marino 10, Kotlarka Prague 6. In a game delayed a day by a thunderstorm, San Marino survived a scare to avoid a chance at last place. Neither starter fared well - Matteo Galeotti of San Marino allowed 8 hits and 6 runs in 4 2/3 IP while Prague's Marek Červenka gave up 7 hits and 6 runs (2 earned) in 3 2/3 IP. The difference was the bullpens - Carlos Quevedo (W) and Fraylin Florian combined to fan 8 and allow one hit and one walk in 4 1/3 IP for San Marino while Michal Kral (2 R in 2 IP) took the loss for Prague. 3B Joe Mazzuca and RF Nicholas Morreale each had 3 hits for the victors, SS Willie Vasquez drove in three and 2B Luca Pulzetti scored three. In a losing effort, SS Mitch Nilsson hit a 3-run homer and CF Matěj Šůcha also homered.

• 3rd/4th place game: Fortitudo Bologna 7, Neptunus Rotterdam 6. Bologna won 3rd place in a close game with Rotterdam. In the bottom of the first, they started hot off Orlando Yntema. 3B Juan Carlos Infante walked and 2B Martin Mondino hit into an error by his counterpart (Dwayne Kemp). RF Claudio Liverziani hit into a run-scoring error by SS Stijn van der Meer, after which Neptunus would make no more errors today. C Tyler LaTorre had a one-out RBI double, then with two away CF Paolino Ambrosino smacked a two-run single for a 4-0 edge.

After Matteo Bocchi blanked Rotterdam for 4 1/3 IP on one hit, he was replaced by Andrea Pizziconi, who was not as sharp (6 H, 3 R in 2 2/3 IP). In the 6th, Neptunus got to Pizziconi. Kemp and van der Meer both singled, then 3B Raily Legito hit a two-run double and 1B Gianison Boekhoudt a run-scoring single for a 4-3 game. In the bottom of the 8th, Bologna got insurance. Steven van Groningen walked LaTorre with one out and Ambrosino with two outs, then LF Alessandro Grimaudo doubled them both in for a 6-3 cushion.

Grimaudo's hit proved to be necessary as Neptunus rallied in the top of the 9th. Nick Pugliese hit DH Rien Vernooij to lead off the frame. Brent Buffa relieved Pugliese. RF Steven Wharwood hit into a 5-4 force. C Shadrach Meulens grounded into a Mondino error. LF Urving Kemp hit into an error by SS Alessandro Vaglio. CF Shaldimar Daantji grounded to second and the throw went to short for one but SS Vaglio's throw back to first turned into a run-scoring error that made it 6-4. Like Rotterdam in the first, Bologna had grouped all their errors today into a bad series of plays in one inning. Dwayne Kemp singled to right to score Daantji. Van der Meer singled to left, bringing in Urving Kemp to tie it, but Legito grounded out.

In the bottom of the 9th, Infante drew his third walk of the day. Mondino bunted him over then RF Claudio Liverziani was intentionally walked. 1B Alex Sambucci singled, as did LaTorre, scoring Infante with the winner. Van Groningen had allowed 4 hits, 5 walks and 3 runs in 2 1/3 IP.

• 7th/8th place game: Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg 7, Kotlarka Prague 2. 3B Daniel Vavruša singled in 1B Martin Mužík with a first-inning run off Mike Bolsenbroek to put the Czechs ahead. The German squad tied it in the bottom of the 2nd when RF Marcel Jimenez singled off Marek Minařík to score SS Nino Sacasa. In the top of the 5th, CF Matěj Šůcha singled, advanced on a Sacasa error and scored on a single by 2B Jan Blažek. In the bottom of the inning, though, Regensburg came back for 6 runs off Minařík and Josef Cihlář. C Christopher Howard's two-run single put Regensburg ahead for good; it was one of three hits today for Howard. The Czech Extraliga lost its spot in the European Cup for 2017, to be taken by France (the winner of the 2016 CEB Cup).

• Championship Game: Pirates Amsterdam 5, ASD Rimini 4. Amsterdam, which had never won a European Cup (or even finished second), faced off with Rimini, which had won in the past but had five second-place finished since their last title (1989). The Piratas de Rimini and Pirates Amsterdam got into a close battle. Kevin Heijstek retired the first 10 Rimini batters but ran into trouble in the 4th. LF Ennio Retrosi and SS Jose Flores singled, then 1B Daniel Mayora doubled in a run. DH Jairo Ramos Gizzi was intentionally walked to load the bags for RF Mirco Caradonna, who grounded into a force at home. Heijstek then whiffed C Luis Ricardo Serafin De Camargo to end the jam, having allowed only one run.

In the meantime, Alexis Candelario had stranded two runners in both the 3rd and 4th. In the 5th, 3B Jesse Aussems led off with a hit off Candelario, then 2B Nick Urbanus doubled. With one out, LF Gilmer Lampe grounded in Aussems. Candelario hit CF Remco Draijer and walked RF Danny Rombley and was at 95 pitches and 9 baserunners allowed in 4 2/3 IP. José Escalona relieved but DH Linoy Croes hit a two-run single to put the Dutch team ahead.

Amsterdam had a chance for insurance in the 8th when they loaded the bases against Roberto Corradini but veteran SS Mike Duursma grounded out to end that chance. It proved critical as in the bottom of the 8th, Rimini rallied against Daan Hendrix. 2B Freddy Noguera singled and 3B Lorenzo Di Fabio bunted him over. CF Stefano De Simoni drew a walk. Tom de Blok relieved Hendrix but tossed a wild pitch. Retrosi singled in Noguera to make it 3-2 and a sacrifice fly by Flores tied the contest.

In the top of the 10th, Amsterdam opted to start with Draijer and Rombley aboard and Croes up. He laid down a bunt and a Corradini error on the play scored Draijer. Rombley tried to score as well, but was thrown out at home. Carlos Teran relieved Corradini. 1B Kenny Berkenbosch doubled in Croes but Teran recovered to whiff C Rashid Gerard and Aussems, giving Rimini 16 strikeouts.

The home crowd now had to hope for another two-run comeback. Rimini began with PR Lino Zappone and backup 2B Riccardo Babini aboard and Di Fabio up. Rimini tried a double steal and a throwing error by Gerard made it a one-run game and put Babini on second as the potential tying run. De Blok fanned Di Fabio. De Simoni grounded to Duursma, who threw to retire Babini (trying for third) for out #2, De Simoni safe at first on the play. De Blok then struck out Retrosi (9-for-20 to that point in the Cup, 3 for 4 today) to win the game for Amsterdam. As Neptunus had won in 2015, it marked a repeat title for the Netherlands, the first for that nation since 2003-2004.

Championship Game

L&D Amsterdam Pirates 5 ASD Rimini 4 (10)

Final Standings

• 1. L&D Amsterdam Pirates
• 2. ASD Rimini
• 3. UnipolSai Bologna
• 4. Curacao Neptunus
• 5. T&A San Marino
• 6. Heidenheim Heideköpfe
• 7. Regensburg Legionäre
• 8. Kotlarka Prague

Leaders and Awards

• MVP: Kenny Berkenbosch, Amsterdam 1B

(Official statistical leaders do not count the placement games of June 4)

• Average: Nick Urbanus, Amsterdam .571
• ERA: Fraylin Florian, San Marino 0.00 (9 IP)
• Hits: Urbanus 8
• Runs: Urbanus 10
• RBI: Gianison Boekhoudt, Rotterdam 8
• Doubles: Urbanus, 5
• Triples: Three tied with 1
• Home Runs: Boekhoudt 2
• Total Bases: Urbanus & Boekhoudt 13
• Steals: Gilmer Lampe, Amsterdam & Mirco Caradonna, Rimini 3
• Strikeouts: Yoimer Camacho, San Marino 12
• Wins: Sixteen tied with 1
• Saves: Tom de Blok, Amsterdam & Carlos Teran, Rimini 2