Fans Celebrate USA Advancing to World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals After Italy Beats Mexico

Italy put the United States on the brink of elimination from the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Tuesday.

Italy and Vinnie Pasquantino saved the United States on Wednesday.

The Americans no longer controlled their own destiny in Pool B following Tuesday's 8-6 loss to Italy, which created a situation where some head-turning tiebreaker scenarios that factored in the amount of runs scored could come into play to determine the two teams that advanced to the quarterfinals:

But Italy delivered the result the United States needed with a 9-1 victory over Mexico on Wednesday thanks in large part to three home runs from Pasquantino, which led to quite the reaction on social media:

The Red, White and Blue are surely breathing a sigh of relief because anything less than a WBC title for the star-studded squad would have been seen as a disappointment. After all, a team with Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Bregman, Cal Raleigh, Paul Skenes and Mason Miller, among many others, should not be facing elimination in pool play.

But it was after Tuesday's loss which featured poor pitching and a lack of clutch hitting in the final two innings.

While Pete Crow-Armstrong brought the Americans back within striking distance with a three-run homer in the seventh and a solo homer in the ninth, some of the big names couldn't deliver the big hit.

Harper flew out in the eighth as the tying run, while Judge and Gunnar Henderson each struck out in the ninth in the same scenario.

Making the situation all the more notable was manager Mark DeRosa saying before the game the United States had "already punched" its "ticket to the quarterfinals" during an appearance on MLB Network before the game (h/t Matt Snyder of CBS Sports).

DeRosa later told reporters he "misspoke" and "completely misread the calculations."

Fortunately for DeRosa and the rest of the United States, the calculations ultimately worked in their favor thanks to Italy's effort.