Croatia’s
starting pitcher Luis Diaz stifled Italy’s offense for the first seven innings,
conceding only a sac fly by Giulio Monello in the fifth. Meanwhile Croatia put
four runs on the board for a 4-1 lead. Antonio Horvatic drove in the first two
runs with a RBI double in the fourth and a sac fly in the fifth. In the seventh
Justin Olic added a two-run single.
But this
time Italy wasn’t done. In the bottom of the eighth inning they came back with
a impressive comeback rally. Robel Garcia and Federica Celli cut the deficit to
a run with RBI singles. Vito Friscia followed with a two-run single to give Italy
a 5-4 lead and chasing Luis Diaz from the game in the process. Mattia Mercuri
drove in Albert Mineo with a RBI groundout to add a much needed insurance run.
Croatia didn’t go down without a fight. In the top of the ninth Slobodan Gales scored on a RBI groundout by Antonio Horvatic – his third RBI in the game – to make it 5-6. But after a walk to Justin Olic, Italy brought in Marco Artitzu who struck out Ronald Krsolovic to end the game.
All games can be followed by live streaming on www.baseballeurope.tv and live play by play through www.wbsceurope.org.
Photo by Petra Voet
