Three defeats in Policoro complicate Italy’s medal ambitions at the Youth Baseball5 European Championship, according to the Italian Baseball Softball Federation (FIBS).
The Italian youth national team dropped its opening Super Round fixtures on Friday, falling 2-0 in sets to Lithuania before dropping a tight 2-1 decision to Romania at the European tournament venue in Policoro. Those setbacks followed a narrow morning defeat to France, where a late three-out lead slipped away in a 2-1 set loss.
“Abbiamo giocato una seconda frazione a dir poco perfetto,” FIBS reported of the second set against France, which the Azzurri claimed 1-0 before the transalpine side rallied in the decider.
Italy now sits tied for fourth place in the standings alongside Spain and Romania, holding a single victory in the second round. The team’s path to the bronze medal game depends on Saturday morning’s matchup against an undefeated Turkey squad.
To secure a spot in the third-place playoff, Italy must defeat Turkey and hope that Spain and Romania fail to win their respective matches, creating a three-way tie decided by tiebreakers. A loss against Turkey leaves the Azzurri vulnerable to missing the podium entirely.
The tournament schedule concludes on Saturday with the classification finals and medal matches following the morning group fixtures.
Against Lithuania, Italy matched its opponents in total base hits but fell 2-0 in sets. The Baltic side took the opening frame 2-0 and secured a 4-2 victory in the fourth inning of the second set.
The evening session brought a high-scoring battle against Romania. Italy claimed the first set 12-11 behind an eight-run fourth inning, but Romania answered by taking the second frame 5-4.
In the decisive third set, Romania surged ahead 6-3 with a six-run opening frame. Italy mounted a late threat in the final inning when Sanna and Renne hit singles, followed by a two-RBI single from Ferrari with two outs. Quintana was subsequently retired for the third out, sealing a 6-5 final score.
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