Mexico is beaten and eliminated by Italy in the World Classic
With 3 home runs from Vinnie Pasquantino, Italy humiliates Mexico, sends them home and gives a ticket to the USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic
HOUSTON — Vinnie Pasquantino achieved the first game of three home runs in the history of the World Baseball Classicand Italy beat Wednesday night 9-1 to Mexico for win Group B and give the United States a ticket to the quarterfinals as second in the group.
Italy’s victory ended a day of uncertainty for the Americans, who needed help to reach the knockout stage after falling 8-6 to the Italians themselves on Tuesday night.
Pasquantino, who opened the tournament hitting 0-for-12, hit home runs leading off the second, sixth and eighth innings to catapult Italy to the quarterfinals for the third time and for the second consecutive edition of the tournament. Jon Berti also homered for Italy to build a big early lead.
The Italians will face Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals in Houston on Saturday, a day after the United States plays Canadawhich made it past the first round for the first time.
Mexico’s defeat eliminated it from qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a disappointment for a team that finished third in the World Classic in 2023, losing to eventual champion Japan in the semifinals.
Italy finished 4-0 in the group stage after no other European team had won more than two games in a row.
Pasquantino celebrated with a shot of espresso from the dugout machine after each home run, Italy’s appropriate celebration after home runs.
He tried to bunt the ball on the first pitch, then homered into the first row of seats in right field off Javier Assad in the second inning. Berti’s hit to left field doubled the lead in the fourth.
Dante Nori’s RBI sacrifice bunt extended the lead in a three-run fifth inning capped by Jakob Marsee’s two-run single for a 5-0 lead.
Pasquantino homered leading off the sixth off Daniel Duarte and again off Robert García in the eighth.
Winner Aaron Nola allowed four hits and struck out five in five scoreless innings. Assad took the loss, allowing four runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Mexico loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh but managed just one run on a groundout by Alek Thomas.
