Team Italy Juniors lose to Australia 15-1 in U18 Baseball World Cup

Returning from yesterday's victory over Nicaragua, Team Italy manager John Cortese knew his squad would have to play their best in order to defeat a solid Australia (ranked #8) in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U18 Baseball World Cup on September 2, 2017 at Baseball Central in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
The Team Italy offense came out firing in the top of the first inning. After leadoff hitter Tommaso Giarola walked, Gabriele Angioi doubled to put men in scoring position for Riccardo Bertossi. His sacrifice fly to left field brought Tommaso Giarola home for the first and only Team Italy run of the game. Azzurri starting pitcher and FIBS Academy graduate Oscar Tucci surrendered two runs in the bottom of the first inning to give Australia an early 2-1 lead. The lefty hurler struggled in the second inning when three more Australian runners crossed the plate to make it a 5-1 ballgame.
In the top of the third inning, Italy missed out on an opportunity to score after Gabriele Angioi singled and later advanced to second base on a passed ball. However, the red-hot Gabriele Angioi was left stranded in scoring position without crossing the plate. Italy skipper John Cortese went to his bullpen for relief pitcher Marco Pizzolini in the bottom of the third inning to keep the game close with his team trailing by four runs. Right-handed reliever Marco Pizzolino pitched with confidence and had an easy one-two-three out inning.
A sense of urgency loomed over the Team Italy bench in the top of the fourth inning. Riccardo Flisi responded to the alarm for action when he legged out a double. Despite having another runner in scoring position like the Azzurri did in the third inning, the Italians could not cash in a run. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the relentless Australia offense scored two runs to increase their lead to 7-1. In the bottom of the fifth inning, pitcher Samuel Aldegheri was summoned from the Team Italy bullpen. The lefty reliever could not stop the frenzied Aussie blitz as Australia managed to score five more runs before fellow relief pitcher Andrea Bettarini tried his hand to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, the damage was too severe to control with the scoreboard reading Australia 15 and Italy 1 at the end of five complete innings. In the top of the sixth inning, the Team Italy offense showed signs of life with a double to deep center field from Riccardo Bertossi and a single from Riccardo Paolini. But once again, the Italians were stymied and held scoreless. With the loss in today's game for Team Italy (1-1), the Italians now prepare for their next battle against Chinese Taipei (ranked #4) in the 12-country, 50-game international tournament. Watch the live stream of the Team Italy and Chinese Taipei game on September 3 at 9 am here:  Forza #Italia #U18WorldCup #ThunderBay2017

by Roberto Angotti