Japan tears Italy apart

Japan-Italy 9-0

Italy stayed in the game against Japan, the leaders of the 30th Haarlem Baseball Week, until an excellent Claudio Scotti was on the mound, fighting head-to-head with Japanese starter Kota Yazawa, the absolute protagonist of the contest with his pitches constantly between 91 and 93 mph that proved virtually untouchable for the Azzurri bats. The Japanese selection sent in ten hits, zero errors and nine runs, confirming itself as the perfectly assembled baseball machine seen so far in the tournament.

“Today was a tough game against a very good team with discipline and order,” said coach Mike Piazza after the 0-9 loss to the Nipponese. “We were in the game as much as we could, we made a few too many errors and failed to produce on offense against a pitcher who impressed me with his mechanics and consistency. It was a tough game, but for us it has to serve to continue to work hard and to be able to give our best on the field. We have a few injuries that reduce our options a bit but we are not giving up.”