As if the stakes could not have been much higher for March, Aaron Nola had the fate of more than just 29 Team Italy teammates largely in his hands on Wednesday night.
He had three more teammates — Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Brad Keller — depending on him, as did the rest of Team USA. Italy and Mexico’s pool play finale could have sent any two of those three teams to the knockout stage, but the easiest route for Italy and the United States was for Italy to win, no matter the score.
Nola and Italy delivered.