Preparations for the upcoming Premier12 are ongoing with the last exhibitions to be played on Friday and Saturday. Italy squared off against Venezuela at Dou-Liou Stadium south of Taichung on Friday, prevailing 4-3. Italy faces Mexico on Saturday in the final tune-up for the tournament, which starts on Sunday.
Italy took a quick 1-0 lead in the second and led 4-0 in the seventh. Venezuela then made things interesting in the ninth, scoring three runs and cutting the deficit to a single run. But in the end the Squadra Azzurri had the upper hand. Mario Chiarini and Erik Epifano had two hits apiece. Luca Panerati, Alessandro Maestri and Trey Nielssen combined to throw seven scoreless innings. Freddy Garcia pitched an inning for Venezuela, preparing for his start on Tuesday.