Team Italy pitcher Matteo Bocchi enjoying success at University of Texas

Azzurri right-handed pitcher Matteo Bocchi has come a long since throwing a nine-inning shutout for Team Italy against the Czech Republic in the 2013 U18 World Cup. Baseball fans may have first seen the Parma native when he crossed the Atlantic to compete in the 2008 Little League World Series while on the first ever Italian squad (Emilia Little League) to play in the international youth competion. A decade later on March 20, 2018, Matteo Bocchi, the first Italian-born student-athlete to play for the University of Texas Longhorns, picked up his first career win after throwing 1.1 hitless innings in relief (3 strikeouts and 1 walk) against #25-ranked Sam Houston State in Austin. Matteo Bocchi has been equally impressive as a starting pitcher. In his first career start against Northwestern on March 4, he pitched 4.1 innings and only allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts. After being named to the Fall Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, the six-foot-four hurler has fast become the talk of the town in the Lone Star State. Having played two years at Odessa College, where he pitched over 95 innings and put together a 9-5 record, the University of Texas junior human relations major has been a standout among the 51,000 students that attend the school. The road to a college scholarship was faciliated by Italian baseball ambassador Mauro Mazzotti, who invited the ITE Melloni high school graduate to join him for the 2014 International Stars College Showcase, where scouts from the Texas community college saw Matteo Bocchi play. The promising son of Adele Comino and Roberto Bocchi has ever since blossomed into a budding star who has caught the attention of MLB scouts. Let's hope he develops into a prospect that gives Team Italy an edge in the Azzurri's bid to reach the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Forza #Italia! #LetsMakeItHappen 

by Roberto Angotti