Fresh off a statement win over Mexico to take first place in Group B, Team USA has one more World Baseball Classic game on Tuesday night. The opponent, Italy, also enters the matchup undefeated, and tonight’s winner will have the drivers seat to a top seed in the quarterfinals.
On Monday night, the United States broke a historic drought over its rival, breaking a 20-year drought going back to the 2006 tournament. Paul Skenes pitched four innings while allowing only one hit and striking out seven; on the offensive end, Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony hit third inning home runs en route to a 5-3 victory.
Now, the United States faces Italy before moving onto the knockout stages. The Italians are led by Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone, while Phillies ace Aaron Nola headlines a pitching staff that looks to shut down the star-studded U.S. order. With both teams undefeated tonight’s showdown at Daikin Park acts as a de facto championship for the group, determining which powerhouse secures the top seed heading into the quarterfinals.
The Sporting News brings you the live box score as the United States looks to finish the group stage in flawless fashion.
MORE: USA takes on Italy in final Group B game
USA vs. Italy baseball box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F | |
| Italy | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| USA | 0 |
USA stats
Hitting
| Order | Hitter | Position | H-AB | R | HR | RBI | AVG |
| 1 | Bobby Witt Jr. | SS | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 |
| 2 | Gunnar Henderson | 3B | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 |
| 3 | Aaron Judge | RF | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 4 | Kyle Schwarber | DH | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .385 |
| 5 | Wil Smith | C | |||||
| 6 | Roman Anthony | LF | |||||
| 7 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | |||||
| 8 | Ernie Clement | CF | |||||
| 9 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | 2B |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | ER | BB | K | PC-ST | ERA |
| Nolan McLean | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11-9 | 0.00 |
Italy stats
Hitting
| Order | Hitter | Position | H-AB | R | HR | RBI | AVG |
| 1 | Jakob Marsee | CF | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 |
| 2 | Jon Berti | 2B | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .600 |
| 3 | Vinnie Pasquantino | 1B | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 4 | Dominic Canzone | DH | |||||
| 5 | Zach Dezenzo | 3B | |||||
| 6 | Kyle Teel | C | |||||
| 7 | Jac Caglianone | RF | |||||
| 8 | Sam Antonacci | SS | |||||
| 9 | Dante Nori | LF |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | ER | BB | K | PC-ST | ERA |
| Michael Lorenzen | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17-7 | 0.00 |
