Italy’s improbable World Baseball Classic run ends, but Azzurri leave lasting impact at home

The Azzurri stunned with a 5-0 start to reach their first WBC semifinal, putting a spotlight on a soccer-crazed country where baseball is less popular than in many other participating WBC nations. Players spoke of providing an exciting foundation for future growth and success.

“To play in front of all these crowds and just how loud they were in these games," said center fielder Jakob Marsee, "no one thought we could win, and being able to do it with all the guys was a lot of fun.”

Italy blew a 2-1 seventh-inning lead Monday when Michael Lorenzen allowed consecutive run-scoring singles with two outs to Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez.

Italy players remained draped over the dugout railing after the final out, watching Acuña and the other Venezuelan stars celebrate on the field in front of them while the pro-Venezuela sellout crowd at loanDepot park roared. They stayed there for about 10 minutes, exchanging hugs and saluting some fans behind their dugout.

“We just wanted to make sure we waved and thanked, one, the Venezuelan fans who were here tonight," captain Vinnie Pasquantino said, "and the Italian fans that were here, because that atmosphere was incredible.”

Cervelli addressed the team after that.

“I just told the guys that they are the champions of this tournament,” he said. “No one expected what they did. They are champions. ... They revolutionized Italy. They put another sport on the map, which is good.”

The expectation is certainly that this young roster made up of only a handful of major leaguers and many players from the minors will be back and more experienced in future WBCs.

By then they're hoping baseball in Italy will have skyrocketed in popularity.

“We were told that ... 7 million people watched this game tonight in Italy,” Pasquantino said of a broadcast that started just after 1 a.m. Tuesday in Italy. “That’s incredible. That’s why we’re doing this tournament, in my opinion. To have that sort of impact once every few years is incredible. And the goal of this team — we’ve talked about it a lot — is to impact Italy, and we have.

"So for us, we weren’t successful on the field tonight, but we were successful in Italy. And that’s what this is all about.”

The Azzurri became the surprise of the tournament, handing the United States a surprising 8-6 loss in pool play and following that with a 9-1 defeat of Mexico when Pasquantino had the WBC's first three-homer game. The Italians then beat Puerto Rico 8-6 to reach Monday night's semifinal.

“Really happy to be here with these guys and represent my family,” said Marsee, who is entering his second season with the Miami Marlins and played in front of a crowd Monday that he's unaccustomed to seeing. "Going forward this season, all I want to do is bring this back to Miami and be able to do this in October.”

The Italians' celebrations throughout the tournament were endearing to many and garnered widespread attention. They followed each of their 12 home runs with celebratory shots of espresso and brought in bottles of wine — each batch grew more pricey — after every win.

They didn't pay much attention to the outside critiques they received. Some criticized the roster mostly comprised of Italian-Americans, many of whom have never been to Italy.

Pasquantino said he hopes that will change.

“And for the kids in Italy, just know that we’re doing this for you guys,” he said. “We want in 20 years for the World Baseball Classic Italian team to be full of Italians, like Italian speakers from Italy. That’s the goal of this. To be an ambassador of that is extremely humbling for me, and I hope that we get to see this through one day.”

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