On day three of Haarlem Baseball Week, the Azzurri Elite under the guidance and direction of Italian development director Gianguido Poma sought out its first win of the week-long international tournament in the Netherlands against the USA.
The Team Italy lineup card looked like this: Ricardo Paolini, 2B; Tommaso Battioni, LF; Nathanael Batista, RF; Jesus Carrera, 1B; Filippo Agretti, 3B; Lorenzo Morresi, DH; Federico Celli, CF; Giulio Monello, C; and Gabriele Angioi, SS.
Italian starting pitcher Mattia Sireus looked good striking out leadoff hitter Brayden Smith and shortstop Gabriele Angioi flashed his defensive prowess in the bottom of the first inning.
Team Italy came close to scoring its first Haarlem Baseball Week run In the top of the second inning. Jesus Carrera hit a single up the middle off USA starter Ryan Borberg, stole second base and advanced to third on a groundout by Filippo Agretti. However, he would be left stranded 90 feet away from home plate.
Pitcher Mattia Sireus dug deep after issuing a walk to Robby Bolen with one out and got back-to-back strikeouts to end the bottom of the second inning.
Mattia Sireus got in a jam when USA scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning. After surrendering a single up the middle to Braydon Plain, he hit Kainen Jorge and threw a wild pitch to advance both runners into scoring position. Michael Young followed with a sacrifice fly to center field and Robby Bolen delivered an RBI single to give the Americans a 2-0 lead. Mattia Sireus escaped further damage after issuing a walk to Gehrig Goldbeck by striking out Adam Singer to end the inning.
Starter Ryan Borberg (4 IP, H, BB, 6 K) was replaced by lefty Jordan Huskey in the top of the fifth inning when the Italians answered with one run. The reliever gave up consecutive singles to Lorenzo Morresi and Federico Celli before walking Giulio Monello and Ricardo Paolini for the first Team Italy run of the tournament.
USA added two runs In the bottom of the fifth inning after triples from Brayden Smith and Braydon Plain were followed by an RBI single by Kainen Jorge. The day was done for pitcher Mattia Sireus (4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K). He was replaced by left-handed reliever Maurizio Andretta, who walked Robby Bolin before striking out Cole Bullen to stop the bleeding.
Down 4-1 in the top of the sixth inning, Team Italy was unable to get any traction off reliever Jordan Huskey. The Italians had an opportunity in the top of the seventh inning after a leadoff single by Lorenzo Morresi. He advanced into scoring position on a passed ball, but the Americans held him at second base without any further damage.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Team Italy went to the bullpen and summoned relief pitcher Simone Carnevale. After Robby Bolin singled and Cole Bullen reached first on an infield error, Gehrig Goldbeck hit an RBI single to put the USA on top 5-1.
In the top of the eighth inning, Ricardo Paolini legged out an infield single. Nathanael Batista followed with a single just out of the reach of shortstop Adam Singer, but once again the Italians came up empty.
Reliever Francesco Bonvini came into the contest in the bottom of the eighth inning. He walked Brayden Smith and Jake Monroe before Kainen Jorge hit an RBI single to give the USA a comfortable 6-1 advantage.
Team Italy rallied for three runs when right-handed relief pitcher Eli Hoyt entered the game in the top of the ninth inning. He walked Lorenzo Morresi, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch and third base on a balk. After Federico Celli walked, Giulio Monello hit a bloop RBI single to left field. Then Samuele Gamberini and Nathanael Batista hit back-to-back RBI singles. However, it was too little and too late for the Italians to make a valiant comeback as the USA prevailed in the 6-4 victory.
ITALY-USA BOX SCORE
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Team Italy returns for a battle against Spain on Monday, July 15, 2024 at 3:30 pm.
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Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
Read also:Team Italy loses Haarlem Baseball Week debut to Kingdom of the Netherlands 4-0
(Photo of Team Italy's Jesus Carrera stealing second base against USA on July 14, 2024 by RL-Mate)
