Italy’s star-studded host team may be in danger of being eliminated after an 8-6 defeat by the United States in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday.
The Italian team, composed mainly of American players of Italian descent, took an 8-0 lead after homers from catcher Kyle Till, shortstop Sam Antonacci and outfielder Jacques Caglianone.
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The Americans rallied in the final innings to set up a tense final game, but the Italians held on for a famous victory in Houston.
The result means the U.S. is one of the favorites for the tournament, which boasts Major League Baseball stars and is now nervous about the outcome of Italy’s final Group B match against Mexico on Wednesday.
If the undefeated Italian team wins this game, they will advance to the quarterfinals along with the United States.
If Mexico defeats Italy, the three teams will advance from the group with a 3-1 record, meaning a complex tiebreaker system will determine who advances based on the points scored by each defenseman on the tied team.
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Italian starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen set the stage for success, going scoreless in four innings and suffocating the U.S.’s formidable hitting lineup.
At the plate, the Italian sluggers quickly began attacking the American pitchers, and Till opened the scoring with a solo home run off Nolan McLean in the second inning.
Antonacci then hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0, and then Italy fought back again in the fourth quarter with Caglianone’s two-run hit making it 5-0.
In the sixth inning, the Italian team scored three more points to lead 8-0.
The U.S. team gradually started to fire up in the sixth inning. Baltimore Orioles batter Gunnar Henderson’s single brought the score to 8-1, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong’s three-pointer extended the lead to 8-4.
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The U.S. team scored one more run in the eighth inning when Crowe-Armstrong hit another home run in the bottom half of the ninth inning to bring the score to 8-6. Then the U.S. team’s game stalled and captain Aaron Judge struck out Greg Weisert to end the game.
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