MIAMI — Seven million people stayed up past 1 a.m. on a Tuesday in Italy to watch baseball. Not soccer. Not rugby. Baseball.
That fact alone tells you everything about what this WBC squad meant to a country where the sport has long lived in the shadow of calcio. Italy’s 2026 World Baseball Classic journey came to an end Monday night at loanDepot Park. Venezuela rallied for a 4-2 victory in the WBC semifinal. But the scoreboard hardly captured the full story of what the Azzurri accomplished.
Italy entered the WBC as an afterthought. Most projections had them finishing behind the United States and Mexico in Pool B. Instead, they stormed through Houston with a perfect 4-0 record. They walloped Brazil 8-0 in the opener, beat Great Britain 7-4, stunned the favored U.S. squad 8-6 and routed Mexico 9-1 behind Vinnie Pasquantino’s historic three-homer game.
Pasquantino and the Azzurri silence the doubters
That WBC pool play upset of the Americans was the moment the baseball world took notice. Italy jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the U.S. bats woke up. The dominance earned Italy the No. 1 seed out of Pool B. The quarterfinals brought Puerto Rico and another challenge. Italy responded with an 8-6 win featuring small ball, five stolen bases, eight walks drawn and a 5-for-13 mark with runners in scoring position.
“The level of confidence, it’s growing and growing and growing,” manager Francisco Cervelli said after the Puerto Rico victory. “We’ve got to stay humble, concentrate and do what we know, that’s it. Play our game.”
That confidence carried Italy into Monday’s WBC semifinal against a Venezuela team riding its own wave after knocking off defending WBC champion Japan in the quarters. A sold-out crowd of 35,382 packed loanDepot Park, with Venezuelan flags, drums and chants filling the stadium.
A bold pitching gamble backfires in the seventh
Cervelli, the former Yankees catcher who was born in Venezuela and carries Italian roots, made a gutsy call before the WBC semifinal. He scratched originally scheduled starter Michael Lorenzen and gave the ball to Aaron Nola. The plan was to piggyback the two arms and save Lorenzen for a potential WBC championship game against Team USA.
The strategy worked early. Italy grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Venezuela starter Keider Montero walked three straight batters after a one-out single by Zach Dezenzo. A bases-loaded walk to J.J. D’Orazio brought home the first run. Dante Nori’s groundout plated the second. Montero lasted just 1 1/3 innings before getting pulled.
Nola was sharp. The Phillies right-hander allowed one run across four innings. The lone blemish was a solo homer by Eugenio Suarez in the fourth that cut the deficit to 2-1. Nola struck out three and scattered four hits before handing off to Lorenzen in the fifth.
Lorenzen held steady through two innings. Italy had a chance to add insurance in the sixth when Nori loaded the bases with an infield single. Venezuela reliever Angel Zerpa struck out Sam Antonacci on four pitches to escape.
Then the seventh inning flipped the WBC semifinal on its head. Gleyber Torres drew a leadoff walk. Lorenzen struck out the next two hitters and appeared ready to escape. But Jackson Chourio singled on a first-pitch fastball. Ronald Acuna Jr. grounded one toward shortstop, and Antonacci had to range deep into the hole. His throw bounced before reaching first. Acuna beat it, and Andres Gimenez scored the tying run.
Maikel Garcia followed with a sharp single to left that scored Chourio. Luis Arraez added another run-scoring hit. Four consecutive two-out singles produced three runs. Venezuela led 4-2, and Italy’s magical WBC ride was suddenly over.
Venezuela’s bullpen slams the door
Venezuela’s relief corps was the difference in the WBC semifinal. After Montero’s early exit, six relievers combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings. They allowed just three hits and recorded eight strikeouts. Daniel Palencia closed it out by striking out the final two hitters on 98- and 99-mph fastballs. Italy went hitless over the last three innings.
Cervelli’s message resonates beyond the diamond
“I just told the guys that they are the champions of this tournament,” Cervelli said. “No one expected what they did. They are champions. They are incredible. They revolutionized Italy. They put another sport on the map, which is good. Seven million people watching this game against a team full of superstars. They fought.”
Pasquantino echoed the sentiment. “We were told that 7 million people watched this game tonight in Italy,” he said. “That’s incredible. That’s why we’re doing this tournament, in my opinion.”
Cervelli also made it clear that the WBC Cinderella tag has an expiration date. “We are no longer the Cinderella,” he said. “In three years they are going to take us seriously. We have a group of young players that are going to participate in the next Classic. What they experienced today, they are going to take it away for the rest of their lives.”
Italy finished the 2026 WBC with a 5-1 record. The Azzurri beat the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Cervelli, who opened a baseball academy in Grosseto and drove more than 15,000 kilometers across Italy scouting talent, sees this WBC run as just the start.
Venezuela advances to face Team USA in the WBC championship game Tuesday night at loanDepot Park. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET. It marks Venezuela’s first WBC final in tournament history.
Italy’s WBC run is done. But the story the Azzurri wrote this March will echo far longer than any final score.
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