Opening day of the 2020 edition of the Italian League of Baseball for the Blind (LIBCI, Lega Italiana Baseball Ciechi ed Ipovedenti) is set for Sunday, 6 September.
The organizers (AIBxC, Associazione Italiana Baseball per Ciechi) said in a statement that the number of participants is now down to six.
LIBCI was originally a 10-team league, then down to seven per a previous announcement made on 9 August.
Turpos, one of the two teams from Cagliari in the Sardinia Region, decided to pull out.
"We cannot blame those who elected not to play this year," says the note by AIBxC. "We want, once again, to thank all those who decided to make this 2020 season possible."
The six teams will be divided into two groups. Patrini Malnate, Roma All Blinds and Tigers Cagliari will play in the West Group. The East Group includes Fortitudo Bologna White Sox, Leonessa Brescia and Umbria Redskins.
Two games are scheduled on opening day: Tigers Cagliari-Patrini Malnate at the LiPunti field in Sassari, Sardinia, and Fortitudo White Sox-Umbria Redskins at the Leoni field in Bologna, Emilia Romagna.
Group play will develop through a single round-robin format. Each game will consist of seven innings and if teams are tied at the end, a draw will be ruled. Make-up games, if necessary, will be scheduled on the last weekend of September, the 26th and 27th.
The top two finishers of each league will advance to the semifinals on 3-4 October in Bologna and Sasso Marconi, Emilia-Romagna Region. In case of a tie, teams will play extra innings according to the tie-break rule in which every at-bat will begin with runners at second and third.
The winners will play for the league title in the final on Saturday, 10 October, in Bologna. The final will be a seven-inning game. If the teams are tied at the end, they will play as many extra-innings as needed.
Cover photo is by Lauro Bassani/AIBxC
