In their second Euro game to date, the Italians were once again dominant on the mound and allowed just two hits to Austria. Starting pitcher Matteo Marelli threw four scoreless innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Reliever Filippo Baldassarri pitched two innings and struck out one batter.
Team Italy scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning. After Lorenzo Barbona successfully reached first base on a bunt, Austria starting pitcher Mathias Albert had control issues. He issued back-to-back walks to Giacomo Taschin and Mattia Bernardis before hitting Alessandro Garavaglia to push Lorenzo Barbona home for the first run of the contest. Reliever Moritz Aster gave up an RBI single to Federico De Cristan and a walk to Corrado Resca to put Team Italy in front 3-0.
The Azzurri added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Moritz Aster lost control on the mound. After issuing a walk to Corrado Resca, he hit Edoardo Cornelli and Luca Magnani to load the bases. Then Giacomo Taschin delivered a three-run double to deep right field to give Team Italy a commanding 6-0 advantage.
The Italians nailed the coffin shut via mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth inning when registering another four runs off reliever Sebastian Perzi. After Alessandro Garavaglia walked, Federico De Cristan singled and Corrado Resca was hit by a pitch, Riccardo Mazzanti connected with a two-run double to deep left field. Then Edoardo Cornelli came through with an RBI single to make it a 9-0 game. The game ended via mercy rule after Lorenzo Barbona was walked and Luca Magnani was hit by a pitch to score Riccardo Mazzanti from third for the 10th run.
BOX SCORE
Team Italy plays Croatia at the Armin Wolf Baseball Arena in Regensburg on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 10 am (local time).
U18 EUROPEAN BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
(Photo of Team Italy U18 manager Guglielmo Trinci by Rene Thalemann)
