Women's Softball World Cup Finals: "We can compete against everybody" - Italy head coach Federico Pizzolini
World No. 6 Italy will host the XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2024 from July 15 to 20 in Castions di Strada, near Udine where they will welcome world No. 1 USA, No. 2 Puerto Rico, No. 3 Japan, No. 5 Canada, No. 8 Netherlands, No. 10 Australia and No. 17 China.
The Azzurre advanced to the Finals with a third-place finish at the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup 2023 Group C. They posted a 4-2 record, tying with Canada. After a brilliant start, including a 6-1 win against Canada, Italy lost back-to-back games with Japan and No. 15 Philippines.
They came back to defeat the Philippines in the playoffs, despite allowing five runs on 10 hits.
Italy's pitchers in Group B (Ilaria Cacciamani, Alexia Lacatena, Alice Nicolini and Christina Toniolo) had a 2.37 earned run average (ERA), better than Canada's (2.56) but well above Japan's (1.65).
"We need pitchers to perform at their best," head coach Federico Pizzolini told the WBSC.
The Italian Softball League statistics show they are not living a career season. Cacciamani is 8-5 with a 2.16 ERA, Nicolini is 10-1 with a 2.46 ERA. Lacatena has appeared in two games and has no decision. Her ERA is up to 6. Toniolo has started one game and allowed six runs over six innings.
The Italian Softball League (or Serie A1) is a nine-team league active on weekends. Teams play each other four times in two double-headers. At the end of the regular season, the top four finishers will compete in the playoffs.
"Players don't face top competition as they will during the World Cup Finals," added Pizzolini. "They are aware of what the World Cup level requires. They have worked hard to improve their condition and are ready to go. We count on a strong defence, and we have good bats. We can compete against everybody."
Born in 1964, Pizzolini has been Italy's head coach since 2020. He served as the bench coach for the late Enrico Obletter since 2016. Before that, Pizzolini coached Italy's U-16 and U-19 programmes.
There's a lot of expectation with Pizzolini's Italy team. "We have not set a goal for this World Cup," he commented. "We want to play at our best and see where this leads us."
"The US and Japan are hard to beat, but playing the US will tell us a lot about our chances against Canada," commented Pizzolini. "First, we need to start well against China."
Italy will open camp on June 24 in Udine and play a series of warm-up games against the University of Arizona starting July 2.
"We will train for one week and then play a series of games against an excellent team. I am confident this will help us adjust to the World Cup level."
The most significant addition to the 2023 roster will be outfielder Isabella Dayton, who played left field and led off for the University of Texas in the NCAA World Series.
Dayton majored in Physical Culture and Sports and completed her collegiate career with the 2024 World Series.
Pizzolini will announce his final roster on July 9.
Italy will play on home turf and with a lot of fan support. Will it be an advantage?
"Definitely so," said Pizzolini on a final note. "Last year, we felt fans were very close. We can't wait to play. My players want to make this World Cup the highlight of their career."
