Ronchi Dei Legionari, ITALY – With a 10-0 win over Germany in four innings, softball assistant coach Emily Carosone and Team Italy swept the Group E pool to advance to the top six at the 2021 Women's Softball European Championship.
Italy, the Czech Republic, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain and France advanced to the final round robin stage of competition with spots in Saturday's championship game on the line.
Turning in her best performance of the tournament to date, Carosone went 2-for-2 at the plate with a double, two RBI and a run scored against Germany. Her RBI double to left field in the first inning opened the flood gates for Italy's offense.
The final stage of round-robin play also began Thursday afternoon with Italy and the Netherlands, the only remaining undefeated teams at the European Championship, squaring off.
With the Netherlands leading 1-0, Carosone drove in the game-tying run on a fielder's choice. Italy would go on to win the game, 2-1. Carosone added a single to center in the bottom of the third and reached via a hit by pitch.
With the final day of round robin play on deck, Italy has outscored opponents 97-1 and has earned six run-rule victories in its eight games. Italy now stands alone as the only undefeated team at the European Championship.
Through eight games, Carosone is batting .400 with two doubles, eight runs scored and four RBI. The former three-time All-American holds a .550 on-base percentage and has reached safely in 11 of her 20 plate appearances.
Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic all won their first games of the final stage to stand on top the group leaderboard. Israel, France and the Netherlands went 0-1.
Italy will conclude round robin play on Friday with a pair of games. Israel and Italy will match up at 5:30 a.m. CT. Italy will take on France at 10:30 a.m. CT.
Saturday's championship game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT with the bronze medal game slated for 10:30 a.m. CT. Saturday's lineup will also feature five additional placement games.
Fans catch stream every most every game of the tournament on the WBSC Europe website.
The 2021 Women's European Championship serves as a qualifier for the World Games 2022, which will be held in Birmingham, Ala. in July 2022. The United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, China and Australia have already qualified for World Games 2022.
Italy clinched a spot for the Tokyo Olympics after winning the 2019 Europe/Africa Olympic qualifier and will open the games against the United States on Tuesday, July 20 at 10 p.m. CT. An official roster for the Italian Olympic team has not been announced at this time.
TOP SIX: Italy, Carosone advance to final round robin stage at European Championship
