Ronald Acuña Jr. had a few at-bats he'd likely want back, but when it mattered most, he delivered a clutch infield single that tied the game and sparked a rally, pushing Venezuela past Italy into the finals.
The final score read Venezuela 4, Italy 2. Italian center fielder Jakob Marsee was a defensive standout early on, making a stellar catch off Acuña's hard-hit ball and then doubling off Maikel Garcia after snagging Luis Arraez’s soft liner. He also grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Venezuela's Keider Montero navigated the first inning without much trouble but ran into issues in the second, giving up three consecutive walks after a solid single, allowing Italy to score first. Ricardo Sanchez, once part of the Braves' system, stepped in and induced two groundouts, though one brought in Italy's second run.
On the other side, Aaron Nola was keeping Venezuela at bay. William Contreras managed a leadoff walk in the third, but Nola quickly regained control, striking out Acuña with a deceptive curveball and getting out of the inning unscathed.
Venezuela finally broke through in the fourth when Eugenio Suarez pulled an outside curveball into left-center, cutting the deficit to one. Despite scattered baserunners, both teams struggled to capitalize until Venezuela's pivotal rally.
Italy had a chance in the sixth, loading the bases with a single, walk, and infield hit, but Angel Zerpa shut the door by striking out Sam Antonacci. This set the stage for Venezuela's comeback against Michael Lorenzen.
Gleyber Torres started the rally with a walk, but Lorenzen responded with two strikeouts. Jackson Chourio’s single advanced Torres to third, setting up Acuña's moment.
Acuña drilled a grounder to the left, and despite a diving stop by Antonacci, his throw was off-target, allowing Acuña to reach safely and tie the game. Garcia then broke his pattern of hard grounders with a soft fly to left, giving Venezuela the lead.
Arraez added insurance with a single up the middle, scoring Acuña and knocking Lorenzen out of the game.
Venezuela's bullpen was lights out, with Eduardo Bazardo, Andres Machado, and Daniel Palencia each pitching a perfect inning, racking up five strikeouts collectively. The bullpen's performance, highlighted by an impressive 8/2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 7 2/3 innings, was key to Venezuela's victory. In contrast, Lorenzen's 2/2 ratio and some defensive lapses were Italy's undoing.
Looking ahead, Venezuela is set to face Team USA in the finals on Tuesday night. With Eduardo Rodriguez and Nolan McLean slated to start, expect both teams to utilize every available arm in this all-important matchup.