Showing posts tagged “Guatemala”
Mike Potter ·
5 Jul 2009, 7:10 PM ·
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Finally, a competitive game.
USA Baseball’s National Team took on an outside domestic opponent for the first time this season, beating the All-Stars of the New England Collegiate Baseball League 4-1 on Sunday in Manchester, N.H.
t was the first time Team USA, which opened with a five-game series against Canada’s 18U team followed by a four-game set against a weak Guatemala club, had beaten an opponent by fewer than six runs this season.
The contest was part of a doubleheader, the second half being an Eastern League squabble between the host New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Portland Sea Dogs.
Team USA, which has won 34 straight games going back to last season, led 3-0 before the NECBL picked up its only run in the fifth.
Coastal Carolina’s Cody Wheeler (pictured), who gave up the NECBL’s only two hits, improved to 2-0 with seven strikeouts in five innings while Texas Tech’s Chad Bettis cashed in on his team’s first save opportunity of the season.
Michael Choice of Texas-Arlington led the USA’s 13-hit attack with three hits including a double that was the game’s only extra-base hit, while Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz added three singles.
Team USA will visit the Holyoke (Mass.) Blue Sox of the NECBL tonight.
Baseball, USA Baseball Bryce Brentz, Canada, Chad Bettis, Coastal Carolina, Cody Wheeler, Eastern League, Guatemala, Holyoke Blue Sox, Manchester, Michael Choice, Middle Tennessee, NECBL, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland Sea Dogs, Texas Tech, Texas-Arlington
Mike Potter ·
5 Jul 2009, 12:58 AM ·
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At least it’s over.
USA Baseball’s National Team finished a four-game sweep of Guatemala on Saturday night with an 18-1 victory that wasn’t a bit out of context.
Arkansas’ Andy Wilkins (pictured) hit a 435-foot grand slam while Sonny Gray of Vanderbilt was the winning pitcher as the home team rocked the Quetzals for a fourth straight night in front of a full house at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on the city’s traditional July 4 fireworks night. Team USA players all wore No. 4 jerseys saluting Lou Gehrig on a night Major League Baseball used to promote awareness of ALS.
While Wilkins’ slam in the fifth inning was certainly a big hit and an exciting hit, it certainly wasn’t a key hit.
In the National Team’s four wins over Guatemala in Kannapolis, Cary and Durham, the USA scored a total of 61 runs to the visitors’ two. That score would make for a very, very miserable football game. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Al Yevoli, ALS, Andy Wilkins, Arkansas Razorbacks, Cary, Chinese Taipei, Coastal Carolina, Cody Wheeler, Cuba, Eastern League, embargo, Guatemala, High Point Panthers, Japan, Kannapolis, Lou Gehrig, Major League Baseball, Manchester, Manuel Hernandez, Marlon Claveria, NECBL, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland Sea Dogs, Republic of China, Rick Jones, Sonny Gray, South Korea, Taiwan, Tulane, Vanderbilt, World Baseball Classic
Mike Potter ·
2 Jul 2009, 11:14 PM ·
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COLEMAN FIELD/CARY It’s Game 2 of the USA National Team series against Guatemala, and the main suspense is to see whether or not the visitors can get closer than Wednesday night’s 15-1 loss in Kannapolis.
It’s partly cloudy and warm - temperatures in the high ’80s - and the crowd for this one is pretty sparse.
There are no food freebies for the media tonight. Bummer. At least I’ve called ahead to find out and had a good meal at home with the family.
Already today I’ve been at Durham Bulls Athletic Park to do an interview with a player for a “Top 50 prospects” project for a baseball website.
The Bulls weren’t home on Wednesday either and neither were the Carolina Mudcats, making it one of those rare days since March on which there wasn’t at least one high quality baseball game in the Triangle.
That off-day gave me some time for some serious exploration of Facebook, which I had never bothered to join until last weekend. I’m going to start posting my Indy posts to my page every day, as well as putting them all on Twitter, where I am “mikepotterrdu.”
Guatemala has about the widest age range I have ever seen on a baseball team that plays together regularly. Infilelder Jorge Gutierrez, who got the only two hits on Wednesday, is 42, while center fielder Manuel Hernandez is 16.
And apparently on what turns out to be an historic night, I am the only journalist covering the game for local media (Baseball America is also in the house) as the USA wins 10-0 on the first regular-season no-hitter in team history. UCLA’s Gerrit Cole (pictured), The Citadel’s Asher Wojciechowski, Tulane’s Nick Pepitone and Texas Tech’s Chad Bettis team up for the feat. (The 9-0 win against Canada in 2004 at DBAP was during the team’s “trials” phase.) Continue reading »
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Andy Wilkins, Arkansas Razorbacks, Asher Wojciechowski, Baseball America, Blake Forsythe, Bryce Brentz, Cal State-Fullerton, Canada, Casey McGrew, Chad Bettis, Christian Colon, Facebook, Follow us on Twitter!, Gerrit Cole, Guatemala, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Jorge Gutierrez, Manuel Hernandez, Middle Tennessee, Nick Pepitone, Rick Jones, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Tech, The Citadel, Trevor Bauer, Tulane, UCLA, Wright State
Mike Potter ·
2 Jul 2009, 12:08 AM ·
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Guatemala provided no more competition for the USA National Team than the high schoolers from Canada had - at least in Wednesday night’s series opener.
Ole Miss’ Drew Pomeranz (pictured) broke the National Team strikeout record with 17 in just six innings, leading the Red, White and Blue to a 15-1 victory at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis. The old record was 14.
Pomeranz allowed a run on two hits without a walk in team’s 30th straight win including the six in international friendlies this season.
Louisville’s Tony Zych and T.J. Walz of Kansas came on in relief, tying a USA team-record 24 strikeouts in the contest.
Cal State-Fullerton’s Christian Colon led the winners with three hits and four RBI, while Rice’s Rick Hague added three hits and one RBI.
Jorge Gutierrez doubled and scored for the visitors in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 8-1.
The teams will square off in the second of their scheduled four games tonight at 7 at Cary’s Coleman Field, with UCLA’s Gerrit Cole on the hill for the USA.
Baseball, USA Baseball Cal State-Fullerton, Cary, Christian Colon, Coleman Field, Drew Pomeranz, Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, Gerrit Cole, Guatemala, Jorge Gutierrez, Kannapolis Intimidators, Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals, Ole Miss, Rice Owls, Rick Hague, T.J. Walz, Tony Zych, UCLA
Mike Potter ·
29 Jun 2009, 10:55 PM ·
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COLEMAN FIELD/CARY It’s the finale of the big five-game series between the USA National (Collegiate) Team and the high school boys from Canada.
Before the game there’s a huge networking event among a couple of dozen Chamber of Commerce organizations, etc. The Carolina Hurricanes and the Durham Bulls and the Carolina Railhawks all have booths, as do numerous well-known local restaurants. At least what serves as the press meal is healthy tonight - until they bring in the leftover chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon bagels.
Bill Coleman, long-time former Cary town manager, throws the ceremonial pitch on a night the stadium is dedicated in his name. It’s a lot friendlier moniker than the “National Training Complex,” huh?
Early in the game Cary Mayor Pro-Tem Julie Aberg Robison comes into the press box and sits for a bit. I can’t resist picking her brain for a little politics. One thing she points out is the need to raise awareness of what a classy complex the town has put together, and she’s absolutely right.
And since apparently I’m the only local keyboard media type covering this game - which the USA wins 9-3 - the problem is pretty apparent.
Anyway, the game gets going in front of a very polite crowd that seems as if it got lost going to a tennis or golf event. Not like DBAP or even Five County. Those wanting beer had to get it at the networking event.
So it gets going and nobody scores in the first. In the second, the USA run machine fires up. The hosts score two in the second on a hit and an error, then two more in the third with the first RBI hit by Michael Choice (pictured) of Texas-Arlington. Continue reading »
Baseball, Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina RailHawks, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Asher Wojciechowski, Bill Coleman, British Columbia, Darren Kolk, Drew Pomeranz, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Five County Stadium, Guatemala, Julie Aberg Robison, Kannapolis, Kellin Deglan, Langley, Michael Choice, Rick Jones, Texas-Arlington, The Citadel, Tulane, World Baseball Classic
