Havana, March 14 (RHC) – With Daikin Park packed to capacity, Italy defeated Puerto Rico 8-6 today in a heartbreaking game that gave them a ticket to the semifinals in the VI World Baseball Classic, shattering the Puerto Ricans’ dream.
Simply put, the Italians continue to prove they are the revelation of this tournament. It’s the first time they’ve advanced this far in the Classic, and all signs point to them being a force to be reckoned with, as they demonstrated early in the game.
Puerto Rico, with a more favorable history in this competition, came out against the Europeans with those credentials, and just eight minutes into the game, Willi Castro hit a home run that put the Island of Enchantment ahead in the very first inning.
The shouts of the fans, mostly Puerto Rican, nearly reached the roof of the Astros’ home stadium here in Houston.
The Italians then drove in a run thanks to Vinnie Pasquantino, who lined a single to center fielder Matthew Lugo that deflected off the shortstop, allowing Sam Antonacci to tie the game.
But Italy was already fully in the fight and put together a four-run rally that put them ahead 4-1. Then, in the second inning, Puerto Rico added another run. There was an immediate pitching change: Jovani Morán replaced Seth Lugo.
The Azzurri’s captain, Vinnie Pasquantino, and his team of Italian-Americans added another four runs in the fourth inning, but it seemed like there wasn’t much left to play for.
Puerto Rico made Italy sweat in the eighth inning.
The Island of Enchantment loaded the bases with no outs against Matt Festa, and before the end of that inning, they had already scored four runs. Reliever Joe La Sora hit a batter, followed by a wild pitch that made the score 8-6, which was how the game ended.
This game continued the knockout stage, and this particular matchup was expected to be one of the most exciting of the quarterfinals. And so it was.
Puerto Rico reached this point in the competition having practically fulfilled all expectations of advancing from Group A. The Italians (in Group B) came in undefeated with a 4-0 record and finished atop their group. The Puerto Rican team had a 3-1 record and reached the quarterfinals for the sixth time in as many appearances.
Now Italy flies to the semifinals at Miami Depot Park, where they will face the winner of tonight’s game in which Venezuela will challenge three-time champion Japan.
Yesterday, the United States, after defeating Canada, advanced to the next phase in the semifinals, where they will compete against the Dominican Republic tomorrow.
The grand final will be on Tuesday the 17th. We’ll see if the predictions for the champion among the United States, Japan, or the Dominican Republic hold true.
