In what has become, due to the postponement of Day 1 for bad weather, the opening match at the 18U Baseball World Championship in Seoul, Panama defeated Italy 2-0, starring the starting pitcher Rigoberto Santamaria, who kept the Azzurri to only one hit for seven innings.
It was, however, Italy to be dangerous first, with two walks obtained by Boniardi and Trinci in the top of the third, but Santamaria got out the ninth, first and second batters of the Italian lineup in order.
Against Lorenzo Gradali, Panama was more concrete in the bottom of the same inning: with one out, Sosa and Orozco touched two singles and Sanjur delivered the third, to make Sosa score the 1-0.
The Azzurri could not find the key to hit the Panamanian starter, who kept touching 90 mph along the game, allowing the first hit in the seventh. Panama took full advantage from the triple by fast shortstop Sosa, and Orozco could easily make him score the second run out of a sacrifice fly to the centerfield.
Italy tried to come back against reliever Omar Guzman both in the eighth, when a runner-on-third double play gave the Italian offense a stop, and in the ninth, when a key play by second baseman Orozco stole the possible third single in a row from Maestri.
