Showing posts tagged “Justin Smoak”
Mike Potter ·
27 Sep 2009, 3:39 PM ·
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Maybe the Cuban baseball dynasty is beginning to crumble a little bit.
Lucas May blasted a three-run, second-inning homer and Team USA poured on six more runs in the seventh, topping the Cubans 10-5 to win the IBAF World Cup in Nettuno, Italy.
It was the 14th straight win for the Red, White and Blue, which had also beaten the Cubans on Thursday and lost just one of its 19 games after the group of top-level minor leaguers was assembled for the first time earlier this month.
The USA was the defending champion of the tournament, also defeating the Cubans in 2007. Team USA has won the World Cup four times, including its other back-to-back titles in 1973-74.
Tournament MVP Justin Smoak, former Durham Bull Jon Weber (pictured), Terry Tiffee and May all had RBI singles in the seventh-inning spree. Weber and Tiffee joined Smoak on the all-tournament team.
Brad Lincoln was the winning pitcher in relief of Cory Luebke.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Brad Lincoln, Cory Luebke, Cuba, Italy, Jon Weber, Justin Smoak, Lucas May, Terry Tiffee
Mike Potter ·
21 Sep 2009, 8:01 PM ·
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Trevor Plouffe’s walk-off homer made the difference as Team USA beat Australia 4-3 in the IBAF World Cup in Bologna, Italy, clinching the top seed in Group G for the Final Round.
After the Aussies took a 1-0 lead, Justin Smoak extended his team record with his ninth homer of the tournament to tie the game in the sixth. Former Durham Bull Jon Weber gave the Red, White and Blue the lead with an RBI grounder later in the inning.
Australia scored twice in the seventh, but Plouffe (pictured) tied the score again with an RBI grounder in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-3.
His two out homer to left in the ninth then ended the game.
Cory Luebke had a six-inning quality start in the no-decision. Former Durham Bull Jason Childers then added two innings of scoreless relief, striking out three, before Ehren Wasserman got the win in his first decision of the tournament.
The USA will take on Venezuela today at 2 p.m. (EDT) in Firenze, Italy. Venezuela defeated Team USA in its first game of the tournament, 13-9 in an extra-inning tiebreaker.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Australia, Cory Luebke, Ehren Wasserman, Italy, Jason Childers, Jon Weber, Justin Smoak, Trevor Plouffe, Venezuela
Mike Potter ·
20 Sep 2009, 10:59 PM ·
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Justin Smoak’s two homers set a Team USA tournament record while every player in the lineup hit safely in a 12-3 rout over host Italy in the IBAF World Cup in Turin.
Smoak (pictured) had a three-run homer in the first inning and a solo shot in the fifth for the defending champion Red, White and Blue, who have already qualified for the eight-team Final.
Buck Coats and Trevor Plouffe also homered for the Americans.
Lucas Harrell (2-0) got he victory in relief of Kasey Kiker, while former Durham Bull Cedrick Bowers and B.J. Rosenberg were also in hitless relief.
Plouffe went 3-for-6, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
Team USA will close out second-round play against Australia on Monday at 11 a.m. (EDT) in Bologna. Cory Luebke (1-0) is the scheduled starter.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Australia, B.J. Rosenberg, Buck Coats, Cedrick Bowers, Cory Luebke, Justin Smoak, Kasey Kiker, Lucas Harrell, Trevor Plouffe
Mike Potter ·
15 Sep 2009, 10:45 PM ·
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Justin Smoak (pictured) and Terry Tiffee blasted back-to-back homers in the third inning, leading defending champion Team USA to a 4-2 win over Japan at the IBAF World Cup in Macerata, Italy.
Brad Lincoln pitched 7 1/3 innings in the victory before a sellout crowd at Stadio Comunale, while Nate Field collected the save.
The USA is 3-0 in the second round, while Japan is 1-1.
Trevor Plouffe’s seventh-inning double added an insurance run for the Red, White and Blue in the seventh.
Smoak’s homer was his sixth of the competition, tying the USA Baseball record for a single World Cup. Tino Martinez hit half a dozen in 1988.
Team USA’s next game is against Chinese Taipei on Thursday at 2 p.m. (EDT) in Turin. Todd Redmond (1-0) is the scheduled starter.
Baseball, USA Baseball Brad Lincoln, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Japan, Justin Smoak, Nate Field, Terry Tiffee, Tino Martinez, Todd Redmond, Trevor Plouffe
Mike Potter ·
14 Sep 2009, 9:11 PM ·
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Justin Smoak smacked a pair of homers, and Team USA had its best game so far in the IBAF World Cup in an 11-1 rout of the Netherlands Antilles in Verona, Italy.
Lucas May homered in the third inning while former Durham Bull Jon Weber (pictured) and Smoak each homered in the fourth to give the defending champion USA a 5-0 lead.
Smoak added a three-run homer in the seventh, sparking the Red, White and Blue to the 11-1 lead.
The game was stopped at the end of the seventh inning because of the IBAF’s 10-run rule.
Starter Kasey Kiker struck out seven batters in four innings for Team USA, while Lucas Harrell came on to strike out two batters over the last three innings for the win.
Weber and May each went 3-for-4 in the win.
The USA’s next game is against Japan today at 2 p.m. (EDT) in Macerata, Italy. Brad Lincoln is the Americans’ scheduled starter.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Brad Lincoln, Italy, Japan, Jon Weber, Justin Smoak, Kasey Kiker, Lucas Harrell, Lucas May, Netherlands Antilles
Mike Potter ·
12 Sep 2009, 12:16 AM ·
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Team USA definitely showed how to bounce back on Friday in baseball’s World Cup.
Todd Redmond (pictured) started off with six perfect innings and got homers from four teammates as the Red, White and Blue walloped host Germany 9-1 in Regensburg. The win came a day after Venezuela had pulled off a 13-9 upset of the USA in 11 innings.
Ike Davis’ homer in the second jump-started the USA offense, which poured three more runs onto Tim Henkenjohann - who had defeated the college-level National Team at the World Baseball Challenge - in the third.
Buck Coats added a two-run homer in the sixth, Justin Smoak another in the seventh and Trevor Plouffe yet another in the eighth.
Redmond got through eight innings, giving up two hits and striking out seven. Former Durham Bull Jason Childers gave up the only German run in the ninth.
Team USA will face China (0-2) today in its final game of pool play. The next round begins Sunday in Italy and The Netherlands.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Buck Coats, China, Germany, Ike Davis, Italy, Jason Childers, Justin Smoak, The Netherlands, Tim Henkenjohann, Todd Redmond, Trevor Plouffe
Mike Potter ·
10 Sep 2009, 11:01 PM ·
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Maybe it’s not exactly the way the tiebreaker was supposed to work, but Venezuelan slugger Dirmo Chavez certainly made the best of his situation.
The Venezuelans’ leadoff hitter stroked a grand slam off Nate Field in the top of the 11th, giving his team a 13-9 win over the defending champion Team USA in their first game in pool play at the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Regensburg, Germany.
Justin Smoak (pictured) led Team USA with a huge night at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a pair of homers, two doubles and five RBI.
One of Smoak’s doubles tied the game in the 10th to force another extra inning.
Tug Hulett also homered for the USA, while Buck Coats tripled and doubled.
Starter Brad Lincoln gave up just one run in five innings, but it was a rough night for former Durham Bulls reliever Jason Childers who gave up five runs.
The Americans’ next game is on Friday at 1 p.m. against the host Germans (1-0) in a contest which has long been sold out. Todd Redmond is scheduled to start for the Red, White and Blue.
Baseball, USA Baseball Brad Lincoln, Buck Coats, Dirmo Chavez, Germany, Jason Childers, Justin Smoak, Nate Field, Todd Redmond, Tug Hulett, World Cup
Mike Potter ·
6 Sep 2009, 8:51 PM ·
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COLEMAN FIELD/CARY It’s the finale of the four-game Canada at USA exhibition series preparing for baseball’s World Cup, and today the U.S. team will go for the sweep.
Team USA is batting in the top of the inning each time. And the ninth inning is going to be different no matter what as it’s going to be played under international tiebreaker rules.
There’s an active crowd on hand, as the National Training Complex is also the site this weekend of the Labor Day Cup involving 16 high level youth teams.
Canada is wearing some very odd jerseys. The national red is the primary color, but the letters and numbers are also in the identical color and lightly outlined in black. So it’s anyone’s guess as to who is who.
The USA gets off to a big start in the first off big right-hander Matt Kniginyzky, but doesn’t get as much out of the rally as it should. It all turns out well in the end, though, as the USA wins 11-2.
Buck Coats and Trevor Plouffe lead off with back-to-back doubles, followed by a walk to Justin Smoak and a Terry Tiffee (pictured) single to center that sends Plouffe to third. But Josh Kroeger’s one-out grounder to second provides the only other RBI for a 2-0 lead. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Brett Lawrie, Buck Coats, Canada, Chris Robinson, Cory Luebke, Daniel Descalso, Eddie Rodriguez, Ernie Whitt, Jason Castro, Jon Weber, Josh Kroeger, Justin Smoak, Lucas May, Matt Kniginyzky, Shawn Bowman, Terry Tiffee, Trevor Plouffe
Mike Potter ·
6 Sep 2009, 3:16 AM ·
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Todd Redmond pitched five perfect innings and his teammates held on as Team USA took a 6-5 exhibition victory over Canada on Saturday at Cary’s Coleman Field.
The teams are preparing for the World Cup, to be held in The Netherlands, Italy and Germany later this month.
Terry Tiffee went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the U.S. offense.
The Red, White and Blue took a 3-0 lead off Chris Begg in the first on RBI from Justin Smoak, Tiffee and Pedro Alvarez.
Lucas May added a homer in the second for a 4-0 lead, which went to 6-0 on RBI singles from Tiffee and Josh Kroeger in the third.
Canada rallied for five runs before former Durham Bull Jason Childers (pictured) came on for a shutout ninth and his first save of the series.
The USA will go for a four-game sweep of the series today at 5 p.m. with Cory Luebke on the hill.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Chris Begg, Cory Luebke, Jason Childers, Josh Kroeger, Justin Smoak, Pedro Alvarez, Terry Tiffee, Todd Redmond
Mike Potter ·
4 Sep 2009, 9:48 PM ·
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COLEMAN FIELD/CARY It’s Game 2 of USA Baseball’s friendly series against Canada, as both teams prepare to play in the World Cup in The Netherlands, Italy in Germany later this month.
The clubs are made up entirely of minor-league pros, with the USA team completely of Triple-A and Double-A players while the Canadians are from every level including a couple of former pro pitchers who are currently without contracts.
The series should be competitive, as Team USA won the opener 6-4 on Thursday night after the visitors had taken an early 3-0 lead.
Two of the USA players were with the Durham Bulls just a few days ago. Jon Weber is playing left field and hitting third, while Jason Childers came out of the bullpen for a scoreless inning on Thursday.
It’s a mild night with no threat of rain out in one of the greenest parts of the Triangle. And it’s a happy alcohol-free crowd that will get a chance to watch “The Bad News Bears” after the early game.
Panera Bread has brought sustenance to the press box. Let’s play ball.
Team USA jumps on right-hander and former Giants organization farmhand Brooks McNiven for a three-spot in the first inning of a game the Americans eventually hold on to win 7-4.
Buck Coats (pictured) starts the rally with a one-out double to right. Weber then walks before Pedro Alvarez reaches on a fielder’s-choice ball to third to force Weber. Ike Davis walks before Justin Smoak hits a two-run single to center. Tug Hulett’s single to center makes it 3-0. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball B.J. Rosenberg, Brad Lincoln, Brett Lawrie, Brooks McNiven, Buck Coats, Canada, Chris Begg, Cole Armstrong, Daniel Descalso, Ike Davis, Jason Castro, Jason Childers, Jon Weber, Justin Smoak, Nate Field, Pedro Alvarez, Rene Tosoni, Shawn Bowman, Tim Smith, Todd Redmond, Trevor Plouffe, Tug Hulett
