Text and photos by Gabriel Fidler.
HOUSTON, U.S. – Italy established itself as a 2026 World Baseball Classic title contender with a dominant performance against the fourth-ranked team in the world, Mexico, in a Pool B finale that had plenty on the line. A win of more than five runs for Mexico would have sent Italy home, but instead, it is the USA who will join Gli Azzurri in advancing to the next step. Vinnie Pasquantino became the first-ever player to hit three home runs in a WBC game, driving Italy to its first group title in Classic history, extending its European-leading consecutive win total to four.
Through the first four innings, Italy maintained a 2-0 advantage over Mexico, with Javier Assad permitting solo shots to Pasquantino and Jon Berti. The crowd of 39,864—most of whom were in the park—were almost uniformly supporting Mexico, though the Italians had a noisy and supportive contingent behind their third base dugout.
Still, the game felt like it could turn any moment until the fifth, when Italy strung three runs together for its biggest inning, despite only two singles. An outfield assist at first from an impressive Jarren Duran ended the frame, and the momentum seemingly shifted in Mexico’s favor.
Instead, Aaron Nola finished off his day with a three-up, three-down inning, leaving the score 5-0. The Phillies’ right-hander continued a run of superb starting pitching by Italy, tossing five shutout frames and scattering four hits and walk while striking out a handful. Manager Francisco Cervelli’s starters have a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings, with 20 strikeouts and only nine hits and five walks surrendered.
Italy then scored in the next four innings, with the final two runs occurring in the eighth, when Pasquantino launched his third round-tripper and Andrew Fischer later added an RBI-double. The former fist-pumped his way around the bases, while the young Brewers’ prospect celebrated at the hot corner with a big kick that had “K-O” written all over it.
No European country has ever won more than two consecutive games in the World Baseball Classic. Only Israel has ever won a pool (2017), and Italy has already equalled the high-water mark for wins in a tournament by a country from Europe. It returns to the quarterfinals for the third time, following 2013 and 2023, and will aim to follow the Netherlands (2013, 2017) as the only team from the continent to win a game in the quarters.
