Team Italy secured a 7-4 victory over Great Britain in their second game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston. Back-to-back home runs from prospects Andrew Fischer and J.J. D'Orazio sparked the win, continuing Italy's strong start with a 2-0 record. The team celebrated with their signature espresso tradition led by captain Vinnie Pasquantino.
In Sunday's Pool B matchup of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Italy defeated Great Britain 7-4 at Daikin Park. The game featured back-to-back home runs in the third inning by Milwaukee Brewers prospect Andrew Fischer, in his first WBC at-bat, and Los Angeles Angels catching prospect J.J. D'Orazio, who hit a 403-foot opposite-field shot to right-center.
Fischer, a 21-year-old first-round draft pick by the Brewers in 2025, cleared the right-field fence with a wall-scraper to put Italy on the board. One at-bat later, D'Orazio went back-to-back, prompting captain Vinnie Pasquantino to serve espresso shots in the dugout—a tradition revived from the 2023 WBC, now enhanced with an Italian blue sport coat for home run hitters. Through two games, Italy has hit five home runs, the most in their pool, following three from Dominic Canzone and Dante Nori against Brazil the previous day.
Fischer added an RBI infield single in the fourth inning to give Italy the lead for good. Miles Mastrobuoni and Nori followed with two-out RBI hits to extend the lead to 5-2. In the fifth, Sam Antonacci hustled a triple into a Little League home run after an errant throw by Great Britain.
Great Britain threatened in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs for prospect Harry Ford, MLB's No. 71 overall pick. Italy closer Greg Weissert induced a line out to left field to secure the win.
Italy's 2-0 start sets up games against the United States on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on FS1 and Mexico on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Tubi. "All these teams are good in this tournament... We're going to give them everything we've got, for sure," said Mastrobuoni, part of Italy's 2023 quarterfinal run.
Manager Francisco Cervelli emphasized focus: "The only way we can beat them is: playing baseball... We don't have to do things beautiful—we just have to score runs and win."
Fischer reflected on the moment: "The buildup to playing in this has been pretty emotional. You're representing your family, friends, the country." Post-game, the team celebrated with fine wine, honoring their heritage. "Winning is hard... the heritage, the traditions, they run deep with all of us," Mastrobuoni said.
