Baseball?s Adam Davis Helps USA To 15-0 Blanking Of Italy
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | Baseball
Rising Gator junior Adam Davis (Fort Myers, Fla.) was 2-for-5 and scored twice, while classmates Matt LaPorta (Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Brian Jeroloman (Wellington, Fla.) added RBI hits as the USA Baseball National Team dominated Italy, 15-0, on Tuesday night at Keyspan Park. Team USA has now won 13 consecutive games against Italy after winning each of the first four meetings in this five-game series.
Batting second in the lineup, Davis also contributed his fifth double of the tour and raised his average to .354. A 1-for-3 effort by LaPorta boosted the All-American's clip to .341 and Jeroloman (1-for-4) joined five other USA players with multiple-run outings.
A six-run first inning set the tone offensively, and David Price (Vanderbilt, Fr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.) carried a no-hitter into the sixth frame. Price (1-0) struck out 11 and walked three in 7.0 innings of work. He did not allow a hit until David Dallospedale's single through the left side with two outs in the sixth. After walking the next batter, Price recovered to retire the next four batters he faced, three by strikeout.
Price is the second Team USA pitcher this season to pitch at least five no-hit innings in a start; Ian Kennedy (Southern California, So., Huntington Beach, Calif.) tossed seven no-hit innings two weeks ago against Chinese Taipei.
Meanwhile, the Team USA bats pounded a season-high 15 hits, reaching double figures in the hits column for the fifth-consecutive game and the sixth time in their last seven games. J.P. Arencibia (Tennessee, Fr., Miami, Fla.) and Shane Robinson (Florida State, So., Tampa, Fla.) collected three hits each to lead the way. Davis and Wes Hodges (Georgia Tech, So., Ooltewah, Tenn.) both had two-hit games.
Team USA, the visitor on the scoreboard, tallied six singles, one hit batter and a walk with one strikeout through the game's first nine batters. Sean Doolittle (Virginia, Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) and Robinson both had two-run singles in the inning.
The American team added three more runs on two hits and an Italy error in the third. Four hits and two Italy errors led to another four runs in the sixth, and Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech, Fr., Goose Creek, S.C.) capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the seventh.
Arencibia finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Robinson was 3-for-4 with a run, a triple and four RBI. Italy starter Anthony Billisi did not escape the first inning, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk with one strikeout in just one-third of an inning.
The USA versus Italy Friendship Series concludes Wednesday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., the AAA home of the Boston Red Sox. Southpaw Joe Savery (Rice, Fr., Bellaire, Texas) is expected to start the series' finale, which is slated for a 7 p.m. EDT first pitch.
TEAM USA 15, ITALY 0
USA (9-4) 603 004 200 - 15 15 0
Italy 000 000 000 - 0 2 4
WP – Price (1-0). LP – Billisi. Sv – None. T – 2:55.
Billisi, Patrone (1), Salsi (6), De Roma (7), Rollandini (9) and Malagoli, Gorrin (7); Price, Gunderson (8), Melancon (9) and Jeroloman.
2B – A. Davis (5), Hodges (3), Jeroloman (1). 3B – Robinson (1). HR – Wieters (3).
-UF-
