Prior to the first pitch against France at the U23 European Baseball Championship in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Team Italy manager Alberto D’Auria was candid about his squad. He said, "Although we don't have players with power, we will take advantage of our speed and our desire to win. We have a mix of some veterans and young guys, but I'm happy with the guys on our roster."
The Team Italy U23 roster includes:
Pitchers: Marco Artitzu, Francesco Maria Bonvini, Ion Doba, Juan Carlos Infante Jr., Matteo Marelli, Francesco Pomponi, Mattia Sireus, Federico Virgadaula and Edoardo Zingarelli
Catchers: Andres Annunziata and Lorenzo Morresi
Infielders: Gabriele Angioi, Tommaso Battioni, Vince Cimini, Samuele Gamberini, Tommaso Giarola and Daniel Monti
Outfielders: Samuele Bruno, Niccolò Cinelli and Matteo Oldano
Azzurri skipper Alberto D’Auria called on starting pitcher Mattia Sireus in the 2023 U23 European Baseball Championship debut game against France. When the teams met at the 2021 European Baseball Championship in Verona, the Italians beat the French 8-4.
This time around at the home of the Diving Ducks in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Team Italy starter Mattia Sireus kept France off the board and allowed just two hits with one strikeout in four innings of work. Reliever Federico Virgadaula pitched two scoreless innings, giving up one hit with two strikeouts. Closer Francesco Pompani secured the Azzurri 7-0 shutout over France with an easy one-two-three out seventh inning.
The Italian offense went straight to work in the bottom of the first inning when scoring three runs. After walks to Tommaso Giarola and Lorenzo Morresi, third baseman Vince Cimini hit a three-run home run.
Team Italy added one run in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead after Tommaso Giarola doubled, advanced to third base on a groundout by Lorenzo Morresi and crossed the plate on a balk.
The Azzurri came back for three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Niccolò Cinelli doubled, moved on to third base after a single from Samuele Bruno and scored on a fielder’s choice by Tommaso Battioni. Then Gabriele Angioi was hit by a pitch and Tommaso Giarola was issued a walk to load the bases for Lorenzo Morresi, who connected with a two-run single to put Team Italy ahead 7-0 and not look back.
ITALY-FRANCE BOX SCORE
VIDEO REPLAY
Team Italy now travels to nearby Schwechat for a round-robin game against Belgium on Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 4 pm (local time).
U23 EUROPEAN BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
U23 EUROPEAN BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
LIVESTREAM
Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
Read also: Austria hosts U23 European Baseball Championship from August 8-12, 2023
(Photo of Team Italy infielder Gabriele Angioi by Izzy Lilburn)
