After suffering a 2-0 shutout to Panama the day prior at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, the Italians returned for a win-or-go home game under the lights against Kingdom of the Netherlands on Sunday, March 12, 2023 and punched their ticket to the second round of the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo after defeating the Dutch 7-1.

Before the first pitch, the odds were against Team Italy to advance to the second round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Tokyo, Japan. Not only did the Italians need to win the game against Kingdom of the Netherlands by three runs, but they would have to diffuse an explosive Dutch offense by not allowing more than four runs during the contest.