"Willi Castro connected for a leadoff homer off Sam Aldegheri on the fourth pitch of the game. That lead didn't last long, however, as Seth Lugo struggled on the mound from the get-go. He walked two of the first three Italian batters, and then a couple of soft singles through the infield turned things around into a 2-1 game."
"Italy reeled off an unholy rally against Luis Quinones, with a walk, a ground-rule-double-because-a-fan-reached-over-the-railing-to-catch-it, and then a more traditional ground rule double blooped far down the right-field line. Italy led 8-2 after all those walks and doubles."
"Puerto Rico got into it the next frame against Matt Festa, with single-walk-walk to start the frame. That chased Festa and brought in Joe La Sorsa, but an RBI groundout, a hit batter, and a wild pitch made it 8-4, and then Christian Vazquez hit it hard through the infield to pull it back within two runs."
Italy and Puerto Rico competed in a WBC semifinal featuring multiple lead changes and dramatic moments. Puerto Rico struck first with Willi Castro's leadoff homer, but Italy quickly responded as Seth Lugo struggled with control, allowing walks and soft singles to build a lead. Italy extended their advantage to 8-2 through the fourth inning via walks, doubles, and a ground-rule double off a fan interference. Puerto Rico mounted a comeback in the eighth inning against Matt Festa, scoring four runs on an RBI groundout, hit batter, wild pitch, and Christian Vazquez's hard single to pull within two runs. Italy's closer Greg Weissert entered to secure the victory.
Read at Battery Power
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]