Mexico 101 230 200 9 13 1 Italy 100 310 005 10 12 1
Teams from European Baseball remain undefeated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic against non-European teams. Italy celebrated a mammoth comeback to stun Mexico 10-9 on Thursday evening in the first game in Guadalajara. Playing as the home team against the first-round host the Squadra Azzurri scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.
Entering the bottom of the ninth with Italy trailing 5-9 Alex Liddi initiated the rally with a two-run double. Brandon Nimmo cut the deficit to a run with a RBI single. John Andreoli then stepped to the plate and came through with a two-run walk-off single to shock the crowd at Estadio Charros de Jalisco.
After Estaban Quiroz and John Andreoli had exchanged solo home runs in the first, Quiroz broke the tie with a RBI double in the third to give Mexico the lead. A solo shot by Japhet Amador and a RBI single by Sebastian Elizalde in the fourth made it 4-1. Italy answered with home runs by Rob Segedin and Chris Collabello to tie the game in the bottom of the same frame.
But Mexico got right back into scoring mode with a bases loaded walk and a two-run double by Luis Alfonso Cruz. A two-run single by Elizalde in the seventh – Drew Butera had hit a solo home run for Italy in the fifth – seemingly decided the outcome as Mexico raised the lead to 9-5. But Roberto Osuna and Oliver Perez couldn’t keep Italy’s bats in check in the ninth.