Italy – Germany 3-0
GER 000 000 000 0 6 0 ITA 000 001 02X 3 9 1
Similar to the 2010 European Championship in Stuttgart, the duel between Italy and Germany didn’t disappoint the high expectations. But this time pitching set the tone, as the Squadra Azzurri celebrated a 3-0 shutout to remain undefeated in the 2012 European Championship.
At Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem Tiago Da Silva dominated with 10 strikeouts in eight scoreless six-hit innings to lead the way for the team of head coach Marco Mazzieri. His teammates finally gave him some run support in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a RBI single by Tony Granato. Insurance runs after a RBI double by Tyler Latorre and a RBI single by Lorenzo Avagnina made the difference.
Germany played a very good game defensively, as southpaw Luke Sommer matched Da Silva for the first six innings. He finished the day with 7 2/3 innings, seven hits and two runs. At the plate the Mainz connection of Max Boldt and Kevin Kotowski was responsible for five of the six German hits in the game.
Germany dropped to 1-2 in the second round, while Italy remains at the top of the standings with a 3-0 record.