With the help of two guest pitchers on Canadian soil, the Team Italy U18 baseball squad won a pair of exhibition games against the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo on Thursday, September 1, 2022.
In the first game, University of Toronto pitching coach CJ Machete threw four innings for Team Italy in the 5-4 victory. Reliever Diego Luciani pitched two innings, while Tommaso Adorni closed out the contest.
The Team Italy offense tallied 11 hits against the University of Toronto. Andres Annunziata (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Tommaso Adorni (2-for-4), and Alessandro Volpe (2-for-4) led the Italian offensive attack. Niccolò Funzione proved his weight in gold on defense with a diving catch for the final out of the game with two runners on base to preserve the Team Italy 5-4 win.
In the second game against the University of Waterloo, Team Italy starter and Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Alessandro Ercolani surrendered a two-run home run to UW slugger Stephen Whalen in the first inning.
The Azzurri answered with three runs in the second inning after taking advantage of a pair of walks and errors followed by a productive single by Sebastiano Catellani.
With three innings of pitching help from Baseline host Jeremias Sucre and the support of closer Filippo Venditti, Team Italy managed to secure the win over University of Waterloo with a solo home run by Williams Wong in the seventh inning. Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
TEAM ITALY U18 BASEBALL NEWS
(Photo of Team Italy during the Italian national anthem)
