The FIBS College Pipeline in association with the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) has offered young players the opportunity to study and compete in the U.S.A. by awarding scholarships. Among the many success stories includes Team Italy Elite pitcher Francesco Bonvini, who will be making his Azzurri debut at Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands from July 12-19, 2024.
The 6’4” right-handed hurler’s dream of playing baseball in America came true through the FIBS College Pipeline. The Parma native received a scholarship to Kingsborough Community College in New York, where he was named 2022 CUNYAC 2022 Pitcher of the Year en route to a conference title and later earned another scholarship to attend College of Staten Island.
Francesco Bonvini said, “College helped me a lot because I got to play a lot more than if I stayed back in Italy. I played in 50 games last year and 50 every year before that. While in Italy, you can play a limited amount of games so you gain less experience. In America, you play much more aggressively. The coaches there also taught me a lot. Because of the various techniques and different ways of training that I have learned the past few years my pitching repertoire has vastly increased.”
He credits his loving family, the FIBS College Pipeline and the Italian American Baseball Foundation for where he is today representing Team Italy at Haarlem Baseball Week. Francesco Bonvini admitted, “Without my mom and dad I wouldn't have succeeded. I wouldn't be here because I wouldn't have been able to go to college. If it had not been for Joe Quagliano and Carmine Gangone and all the others from the IABF that believed and invested in me, my dream would have never come true. And special thanks to the coaches who showed me the way, like Mike Taverna, without them I would have been successful. My positive experience abroad has prepared me to be here today pitching for the Team Italy Elite in Holland at Haarlem Baseball Week.”
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Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
Read also: Team Italy makes Haarlem Baseball Week debut against Kingdom of the Netherlands on July 13, 2024
(Photo of Team Italy pitcher Francesco Bonvini during a practice in Haarlem on July 12, 2024. Credit photo: RL-Mate)
