Azzurri maintain perfect record and advance to WBC quarter finals after thriller against Mexico.
Italy has secured a historic place in the World Baseball Classic knockout stages of the tournament after the Azzurri defeated Mexico 9-1 in Houston on Wednesday night.
The win, which follows their shock upset of Team USA earlier in the week – a triumph acknowledged by Italian premier Giorgia Meloni in parliament – confirms Italy’s position at the top of Pool B and guarantees their advancement to the WBC quarter-finals.
The Azzurri entered the game knowing that a victory would remove all doubt regarding tiebreakers, and they played with a clinical intensity from the opening pitch. Italy took an early lead in the third inning when Sal Frelick doubled to deep right field, driving in Dominic Fletcher.
The lead was extended in the fifth following a two-run home run by Vinnie Pasquantino, which cleared the centre-field wall and silenced the contingent of Mexican supporters at Daikin Park.
Defensively, the Italians were anchored by a stellar start from Matt Harvey. The veteran right-hander threw four scoreless innings, surrendering only three hits and expertly navigating out of a bases-loaded jam in the second.
Italian bullpen, led by Andre Pallante and closer Greg Weissert, maintained the pressure, limiting a potent Mexican lineup featuring Randy Arozarena to just two runs over the final frames.
For Mexico, the defeat leaves their tournament hopes hanging in the balance, as they must now rely on a complex set of run-quotient tiebreakers to edge out Team USA for the second qualifying spot.
The Azzurri will now face Puerto Rico, who came second in Pool A, in the last eight on Saturday, while the USA will play Canada, the top seed from Pool A, on Friday night.
Both games will take place at Daikin Park in Houston, with the winners of the two games advancing to the semifinals in Miami.
Photo Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball
