Italy’s WBC run ends as Venezuela rallies for 4-2 semifinal win

The USA team faces its opponent in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final on Tuesday night.

Venezuela ended Italy’s magical WBC run on Monday night, coming from behind to earn a point by beating them 4-2 at CreditDepot Park. against the United States in the final.

The surprise team of the tournament was Italy; After beating the USA in billiards, they defeated Mexico in Pool B with a score of 4-0.

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But this win over Mexico also kept Team USA alive in the tournament, allowing them to advance to the quarterfinals; There they defeated Canada and then earned their place in the finals with a thrilling 2-1 semi-final win over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night.

While it seemed only right that the USA and Italy would meet once again before the start of the 2026 MLB season to determine who would win, Venezuela had other things on its mind in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Trailing 2-1 in the contest, Venezuela faced the threat of a potential double rally after Milwaukee Brewers rising star Jackson Chourio was isolated in center field, allowing Andres Gimenez to advance to third base.

That’s when the face of Venezuelan baseball, Ronald Acuña Jr., reached first on an infield single that allowed Gimenez to score, tying the game at two apiece. But the rally is not over yet.

The Venezuelans came on fire after Acuña’s single, as Maikel Garcia singled to left field to score Chourio and Luis Arraez brought Acuña home. With two outs, Venezuela seized all the momentum with its seventh three-run shot to make it 4-2.

Italy had held the lead since the bottom of the second inning, when it made the most of a bases-loaded situation. JJ D’Orazio raced home while Dante Nori scored another on a fielder’s choice to give Italy a 2-0 lead.

Slugger Eugenio Suarez put Venezuela on the board in the fourth inning with a solo home run to left-center field, cutting the lead to one. But they couldn’t put together additional offense until the seventh inning.

Italy was never able to mount a rally, as Daniel Palencia closed the door in the ninth inning, striking out the final two Italian batters.

Italy kept its head down while Venezuela celebrated, but their stories this month were incredible. The dugout espresso machine that helped turn Kansas City Royals captain Vinnie Pasquantino into a home run celebration has gone viral as it continues to achieve success. The roster featured established MLB stars, top prospects and players of Italian heritage and has received praise from the major leagues over the past two weeks.

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But Venezuela is ripe with MLB’s top talent, ready to take on Team USA and starter Nolan McLean. Italy went into action Tuesday night in pool play to determine who has the right to call themselves the best baseball team in the world for at least the next three years.

USA and Venezuela team will face each other at 20.00 on FOX.

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