Italy’s Gabriele Angioi celebrates after Italy beat Colombia 4-3 in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, at Perez de Rozas Field in Barcelona.·WBSC
BARCELONA, Spain — Italy scored three in the eighth to beat Colombia 4-3 in the opening game of the Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier on Friday.
Trailing 3-1, Italy got singles from Alberto Mineo and Ricardo Paolini to start the eighth. Noel González dropped a bunt, and Colombia reliever Kevin Escorcia fielded it but threw it away from first. Mineo and pinch-runner Williams Wong scored, and González reached third.
With two outs, shortstop Gabriele Angioi doubled home the go-ahead run off Ezequiel Zabaleta.
Claudio Scotti pitched the ninth for the save, walking the leadoff man before getting pinch-hitter Jaider Morelos to ground into a double play and retiring Dayan Frías on a fly to left.
Dayan Frías led off the game with a ground-rule double down the left field line on the tenth pitch of the at-bat and stole third with nobody out. Matteo Bocchi struck out Diego Contreras, Carlos Arroyo and Guillermo Quintana to escape.
Italy scored first in the third. Bocchi hit Paolini to lead off, Paolini stole second and took third on a passed ball, and Giaconino Lasaracina singled him home for Italy’s first hit of the day.
Colombia answered in the fourth. Bocchi hit Carlos Arroyo, Guillermo Quintana singled, Daniel Vellojin walked, and Bocchi hit Carlos Martínez to force in the tying run. Darío Borrero followed with a two-run single off the wall in right.
Bocchi left with two outs. Luis Patiño left in the bottom of the fourth after walking Nathanael Batista.
Harrinson Ruiz struck out the side for Colombia in the sixth. Through six innings, Colombia’s staff had allowed two hits.
What they said
Francisco Cervelli, Italy’s manager, on the win: “This game is about feeling, and to get the first one is very important. Now we have to prepare for tomorrow.”
On the eighth inning: “Sometimes you don’t have to win by hitting homers. A win is a win. Beautiful, ugly, doesn’t matter.”
On the bullpen: “Everybody’s available. They know it’s only three games.”
Gabriele Angioi, whose two-out double won it: “It was a difficult at-bat. The first three at-bats were a little bit bad, but the game was here, and then I had my at-bat.”
He swung at the first pitch: “I’m searching my first ball, and that’s it.”
On Cervelli: “For me he is like a hero.”
Alberto Mineo, Italy’s captain, who singled to start the eighth: “That’s just the way we play. We play till the end. Francisco always tells us we never give up.”
On Giaconino Lasaracina: “It’s been amazing seeing him develop even just from last year. He’s a great player and a great guy.”
Claudio Scotti, who pitched the ninth: “It was tough. They were a pretty good team. We came out on top at the end. That’s the strength of our team — we always find a way.”
On the staff: “This is a three-game tournament, so the bullpen has to be long. I think it’s our strength. We showed them today we’re pretty good at keeping the game close.”
On where the team was early: “We were a little bit low mentally at the beginning of the game, but then we came out on top right where we needed it.”
Quotes gathered by WBN’s Matt Tallarini in Barcelona.
Lineups
Colombia: Dayan Frías SS, Diego Contreras 2B, Carlos Arroyo 3B, Guillermo Quintana 1B, Daniel Vellojin DH, Carlos Martínez C, Darío Borrero LF, Jesús Marriaga RF, Andrés Villafañe CF.
Italy: Gabriele Angioi SS, Jhorjan Guevara CF, Giaconino Lasaracina DH, Robel García 3B, Alberto Mineo C, Renzo Martini 1B, Noel González RF, Nathanael Batista LF, Ricardo Paolini 2B.
Vellojin, a catcher, was the designated hitter with Martínez behind the plate. Marriaga, the captain, batted eighth.
Lasaracina went 1-for-1 with three walks.
The starters
Luis Patiño started for Colombia, allowing one run over 3 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. He pitched 45 major league games for San Diego, Tampa Bay and the White Sox, and came to the Rays in the trade that sent Blake Snell to San Diego.
Matteo Bocchi started for Italy, allowing three runs over 3 2/3 innings with six strikeouts on 74 pitches. He pitched for Parma Clima this season and at Texas before that, and played for Italy at the Little League World Series in 2008.
Ettore Giulianelli got the win with a scoreless eighth. Scotti got the save. Kevin Escorcia took the loss.
The game drew 272 on a sunny 17-degree afternoon and lasted two hours, 57 minutes.
Colombia's pitcher Luis Patino pitches in the first inning against Cuba during a World Baseball Classic game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sunday, March 8, 2026. — (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Matteo Bocchi starts for Italy. He pitched for Parma Clima this season and at Texas before that. He played for Italy at the Little League World Series in 2008.
: Italy starter Matteo Bocchi pitches during the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, at Perez de Rozas Field in Barcelona — . (WBSC)
Colombia
World No. 13 and the only team in the field that reached the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where it went 1-3.
Giovanny Urshela manages. Jesús Marriaga is the captain, an outfielder who went 6-for-12 with seven RBIs at the 2025 qualifiers in Tucson.
Dayan Frías is a Guardians prospect from Cartagena who trained with Orlando Cabrera growing up.
Outfielder Jaider Morelos arrived from a championship, hitting .473 with four home runs in 27 games for Nada Split to win the Croatian league. He pinch-hit in the ninth and grounded into the double play that ended it.
José Quintana and Michael Arroyo are not on the roster. Carlos Arroyo, Michael’s older brother, is, and so is first baseman Guillermo Quintana.
Italy
World No. 14, and the only team here with Premier12 experience. Italy went 0-5 in the 2015 edition.
Francisco Cervelli manages. The Azzurri reached the World Baseball Classic semifinals in March.
Alberto Mineo is the captain. Giaconino Lasaracina and Giacomo Taschin are believed to be the first Italian battery in minor league history, both in Toronto’s system. Lasaracina hit 14 home runs in his first minor league season. Robel García, the former Cub, is on the roster.
Ettore Giulianelli throws a screwball, a pitch Brent Honeywell Jr. is about the only man still throwing in the major leagues. Giulianelli got the win Friday with a scoreless eighth.
Italy trained at the Mets facility in Boca Chica, playing three games against Dominican winter league clubs — a 1-1 tie, a scoreless tie and a loss. Robinson Canó and Aníbal Sánchez took part in the workouts.
What’s at stake
The top two of four teams advance to the 2027 Premier12, which awards two places in the 2028 Olympic tournament at Dodger Stadium — one to the highest-placed Asian team, one to the highest-placed team from Europe or Oceania.
The four team captains before the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Barcelona. From left: Alberto Mineo of Italy, Eric Brenk of Germany, Omar Hernández of Spain and Jesús Marriaga of Colombia. — (WBSC)
Three of the six Olympic spots are filled: the United States as host, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic through the World Baseball Classic.
Germany vs. Spain — Friday, 1 p.m. ET Germany vs. Colombia — Saturday, 6 a.m. ET Spain vs. Italy — Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Italy vs. Germany — Sunday, 6 a.m. ET Spain vs. Colombia — Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
The winner of Germany-Spain joins Italy at 1-0.
All six games stream free on the WBSC YouTube channel outside Spain and Italy, with DAZN, RAI Sport, Viva Nicaragua and GameTime carrying additional coverage. Tyler Maun and Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline have the English-language call.
World Baseball Network is in Barcelona all weekend.
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