Team Italy advances to Super 6 Baseball Championship with 8-5 victory over Spain
Resilient Team Italy came back from a 2-0 deficit early to defeat Spain 8-5 at at ETO Ballpark in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands on September 22, 2018. 
Azzurri manager Gilberto "Gibo" Gerali started Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Luis Lugo, who surrendered one run in the top of the first inning and another one in the top of the second inning. Team Italy fought back with a powerful punch. In the bottom of the second inning, switch-hittter Robel Garcia drilled an opposite field solo home run to put the Italians on the board. The Azzurri added two more runs to take a 3-2 lead when Leo Zileri singled and scored on a two-run homer by Drew Maggi. Back-to-back singles from Team Italy captain Alessandro Vaglio and slugger Alex Liddi set up a scoring opportunity for cleanup hitter Chris Colabello, who once again came through in the cluch with an RBI single to put the Azzurri in front 4-2.
Team Italy leadoff hitter Drew Maggi blasted his second home run of the game over the left field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 5-2. 
The explosive Azzurri offense was not done scoring. Alex Liddi crushed a ball just short of the fence in deep right center field and settled for a double. In what may have been the most impressive play of the day, the tried-and-tested MLB pro demonstrated his tactful experience on the bases when he advanced from second base to home plate on an RBI infield single from Chris Colabello. Then designated hitter Giuseppe Mazzanti launched a two-run homer well clear of the left field foul pole to give the Azzurri a commanding 8-2 advantage.
In the top of the sixth inning, former Minor League Baseball All-Star and Spain three-hole hitter Engel Beltre hit a solo home run to trim the Team Italy 8-3 lead; however, left-handed starting pitcher Luis Lugo silenced the Spaniards with inning-ending strikeouts throughout the contest. He tallied nine punch outs during his six innings of work. Reliever Andrea Pizziconi entered the game in the top of the seventh inning and held Spain scoreless until the top of the eighth inning when one run crossed the plate. The Spaniards managed to squeak out another run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 8-5.
With the victory over Spain, Team Italy improves to 4-1 in the Super 6 competition and earns the right for a rematch against host Kingdom of the Netherlands for the championship title. The Azzurri would like to make amends after losing 9-8 to the Dutch in an extra-inning battle on September 20, 2018. The Super 6 baseball championship game takes place on September 23 at 1:30 pm (7:30 am EDT). The clash between European rivals will be streamed live on Forza #Italia! #ItaliaBaseball #LetsMakeItHappen
by Roberto Angotti
