Tien-Mou/Taipei City. Brazil scored three runs in the first two frames and two in the fifth en route to a 5-2 win over Italy. The Squadra Azzurri tried to come back in the sixth, but their two-out rally was too late and too little to change the outcome. Brazil improved to 3-2 in the II 12U Baseball World Cup, while Italy dropped to 2-3.
Brazil didn’t waited long to get the game under control. Victor Mascai walked to lead off the bottom of the first and came around to score on a pair of throwing errors on Thales Iwamura’s sac bunt. Victor Guenji followed with a RBI double to make it 2-0. Lucaas Makita plated a third run with a bunt single one frame later. After a pair of scoreless innings, Guenji drove in two more with a single to build the advantage to 5-0.
After going down in order in the first three innings, Italy’s offense woke up in the fourth. They couldn’t convert scoring opportunities into runs in the fourth and fifth. In the sixth they started off with a pair of quick outs. Andrea Pasotto doubled and scored on a double steal to end Brazil’s shutout bid. Following another walk Tara Melassi pinch hit and singled to right field to cut the deficit to 2-5. However on the same play Alberto Gonzalez got thrown out to end the game, trying to go from first to third.
Guenji not only paced Brazil on offense, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, but also struck out five in four scoreless two-hit, one-walk innings. Marco Del Gaudio took the loss, issuing six hits, five runs (4 ER) and two walks in four innings. Samuel Aldegheri closed it out.
On Thursday Brazil takes on the Philippines in the morning game at Shing-Sheng Stadium. Italy will be in the last first-round game, facing Chinese Taipei in the evening at Tien-Mou Stadium.
