19/10/2023 3 Minute Read

Team Italy begins U15 Softball World Cup journey in Japan

Prior to the start of the inaugural U15 Softball World Cup in Japan from October 21-29, 2023, Team Italy manager Maristella Perizzolo commented: "This group has been preparing for a year, some players have even put in two years of work. It will be a fantastic opportunity for the girls and for all of us."

After punching their ticket to the first edition of the U15 Softball World Cup in Japan after a second-place finish at last year's European Championship in Enschede, the Netherlands, the young and talented Italians make their debut in the international competition against New Zealand on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 5:30 pm (local time).

Team Italy is made up of sixteen players with only one recent roster change since the last workout in Legnano (Milan). Injured Anita Giraldi was replaced by Elisa Valcossena. They will be led by the manager Maristella Perizzolo, coaches Stefano Filippini, Paolo Verrecchia and Dante Di Lauro, Delegation manager Claudio Marinelli, physiotherapist Federica Frediani and team physician Dr. Margherita Rigillo will also assist.

Team Italy practiced for four days from October 14-17, 2023 on the Peppino Colombo diamond in Legnano, where the U15 softball squad played exhibition games against players participating in the Between The Lines’ Junior College Softball Showcase sponsored by Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball and the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF). Team Italy Elite Softball special advisor and NCAA Softball Hall of Famer Mike Candrea oversaw the College Pipeline program.

Prior to the official start of the U15 Softball World Cup, Team Italy played two exhibition games to ward off the jet-lag and time difference. The first was against powerhouse Japan. Despite demonstrating strong defense at the start of the contest, the Italians gave up five runs in the third inning and eventually suffered a 6-0 shutout in six innings. Then Team Italy fell victim to a strong Tokai Sugao High School by a score of 4-0 in five innings.

Team Italy U15 softball manager Maristella Perizzolo said, “The team comes from two years of work for those who participated in the European Championship which led to qualification. Another group of players were added last year and in November we started working intensely for this event. It might seem strange to play in October, but this favorable autumn gave the girls the opportunity to play. The youth finals were held a few weeks ago so the players arrive in excellent physical condition. Emotion will be an important component to manage. We must always take into account that they are very young."

The Italians return to Japan after playing in the Utsugi Cup in Takasaki City earlier this year and facing USA, China and Tanzania. Maristella Perizzolo recalled the experience and said, “The Utsugi Cup was fantastic, a wonderful opportunity that gave us the opportunity to compete against other nations and see others. We played an excellent game against USA (3-0 loss) and the girls had the chance to understand what level of play we will face. From this experience they took home what we needed to do to improve."

In the U15 Softball World Cup, Team Italy is in Group A with host Japan, Chinese Taipei, Mexico, New Zealand and Peru, while Group B includes USA, Brazil, Czech Republic, Philippines and Puerto Rico. Uganda, scheduled to participate in Group B, withdrew and all the games they were to play resulted in 7-0 wins by default to the opposing team. As a result, Uganda is relegated to 12th place. The top three teams in each group will advance to the second round, while the other nations will compete for the 7th to 11th positions.

Italian U15 softball skipper Maristella Perizzolo concluded, “If I had the choice, I would have preferred Group B. This happened and this is what we will face. We will try to the best we can. This is a fantastic opportunity for the girls and for all of us. I believe it is important to have a World Cup for this category: the under 15s marks the transition between a youth category and the seniors because in the under 18s the girls now have an open horizon to the senior national team.”

The U15 Softball World Cup schedule for Team Italy is as follows:

Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 5:30 pm (local time) Italy-New Zealand in Komazawa

Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 6 pm (local time) Mexico-Italy in Komazawa

Monday, October 23 at 12:30 pm (local time) Italy-Japan in Setagaya

Tuesday, October 24 at 10 am (local time) Italy-Peru in Setagaya

Tuesday, October 24 at 12:30 pm (local time) Chinese Taipei-Italy in Setagaya

All U15 Softball World Cup games will be broadcast live and on-demand on the WBSC portal Gametime.sport.The cost of the all-tournament package is $9.99, while the single-day subscription costs $5.99.

The following players will represent Team Italy in the U15 Softball World Cup

	Last Name	First Name	POS	B/T	Year of Birth	Club Affiliation
1	Berto	Blue	P, IF	R/R	2009	Softball Club Forlì ASD
2	Cagni	Giada	P, 3B	R/R	2009	Bollate Softball 1969
3	Calzolari	Giulia	C, 2B, OF	L/R	2009	Pianoro Softball ASD
4	Campioni	Alida	UTL	R/R	2009	Roma Brewers ASD/Bollate 1969
5	Colino	Giorgia	UTL	L/R	2010	New Bollate ASD
6	Colino	Giulia	P,2B	L/R	2008	Bollate Softball 1969
7	De Agostini	Martina	C, 3B, OF	L/R	2008	Bollate Softball 1969
8	Fantinati	Martina	C, OF	R/R	2009	Forlì Softball - CRAL Enrico Mattei
9	Forlani	Federica	P,1B	L/L	2008	US Giovanile Collecchio Softball ASD
10	Giunchi	Letizia	SS, OF	R/R	2008	Softball Club Forlì ASD
11	Lenassini	Margot	3B, C	L/R	2008	Bollate Softball 1969 ASD
12	Mariotti	Sveva	1B, OF	L/L	2008	A.B. Caronno Softball ASD
13	Squalizza	Giulia	P, 2B	R/R	2008	Bollate Softball 1969 ASD
14	Soldi	Rebecca	P, 2B	L/R	2010	Bollate Softball 1969 ASD
15	Turci	Caterina	1B, 3B	R/R	2009	Softball Club Forlì ASD
16	Valcossena	Elisa	OF	R/R	2008	Bollate Softball 1969 ASD