Venezuela defeated Italy 4-2 on Monday night at loanDepot park in Miami, securing the nation’s first-ever appearance in the World Baseball Classic championship game. The dramatic semifinal victory sets up a Tuesday night title clash against host nation Team USA.
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh inning, the Venezuelan lineup engineered a two-out, three-run comeback against Italian reliever Michael Lorenzen. Jackson Chourio initiated the surge with a single before Ronald Acuña Jr. beat out an infield single to tie the contest. Maikel Garcia followed with a go-ahead RBI single to left field, and Luis Arraez capped the scoring sequence with an RBI single to establish the final 4-2 margin.
Ángel Zerpa earned the win in relief after escaping a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning. Daniel Palencia secured the save by striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning. Italy had initially built a 2-0 advantage in the second inning, capitalizing on a bases-loaded walk by J.J. D’Orazio and an RBI forceout from Dante Nori.
VENEZUELA ADVANCES 🇻🇪🔥
For the first time in history, Venezuela will play for the WBC title! Ronald Acuña Jr. high-stepped his way into a 7th-inning rally to stun Italy 4-2 in Miami. After qualifying for the Olympics, they now face Team USA in the final⚾️🏆 #WBC2026 pic.twitter.com/2WHu1DzOYm
— sportycast (@sportycast) March 17, 2026
The elimination ends a historic tournament run for Italy under manager Francisco Cervelli. The Italian squad entered the night undefeated at 5-0 and leaves as the first European nation to reach a WBC semifinal. For Venezuela, the victory eclipses their previous tournament best from 2009, when they exited in the semifinals against South Korea.
Venezuela advances to face the United States in the championship game on Tuesday night. The matchup arrives after Venezuela eliminated defending champion Japan in the quarterfinals, adding another major international sports milestone to their current undefeated tournament run.