Showing posts tagged “Terry Tiffee”

USA Baseball rips Cubans again, repeats World Cup championship

Mike Potter · 27 Sep 2009, 3:39 PM · Comment


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.

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USA Baseball tops Cubans, will face them again in Sunday’s finale

Mike Potter · 25 Sep 2009, 12:11 AM · Comment


usatiffeTeam USA won the warmup game, and now the Americans just have to wait until Sunday to see if they can repeat it and win the IBAF World Cup championship game again.

A two-run homer from Terry Tiffee (pictured) provided the biggest blow on Thursday in Nettuno, Italy, giving the Red, White and Blue a 5-3 victory over Cuba in pool play.

Team USA, which has won 12 straight games since dropping its tournament opener to Venezuela in an extra-inning tiebreaker, will attempt to defend its title on Sunday. The USA is 1-6 against the Cubans in World Cup finals.

Jason Castro had an RBI single for the Americans. Lucas Harrell was the winning pitcher in relief of Trevor Reckling, while Ehren Wasserman collected the save.

Team USA will take on The Netherlands while Cuba plays Canada in their final pool play games today.

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Revenge win clinches medal-round spot for USA Baseball

Mike Potter · 22 Sep 2009, 9:24 PM · Comment


usaalvare1Team USA took advantage of a balanced offense, avenging its only loss of the IBAF World Cup with a 6-3 win over Venezuela in Florence, Italy.

The result clinched for the Red, White and Blue a spot in the tournament’s medal round this weekend.

Pedro Alvarez (pictured) ripped his fourth homer of the tournament for the Americans, while Tug Hulett was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs and veteran Terry Tiffee added two RBI.

Trevor Plouffe extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the win.

Brad Lincoln (2-0) pitched 6 2/3 innings in the victory while Team USA’s fourth pitcher of the night, Geno Espinelli, picked up his first save.

Team USA is 4-0 in Round 3 because of a 3-0 record against Pool G qualifying opponents, and held a 2 1/2-game lead over Australia, Canada and Chinese Taipei following the win.

The next game is against Puerto Rico on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (EDT) in Florence.

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Two homers, Tiffee spark USA past Mexicans and into Finals

Mike Potter · 19 Sep 2009, 9:49 PM · Comment


usatiffe1Solo homers from Daniel Descalso and Buck Coats led the way as Team USA topped Mexico 7-3 in Vicenza, Italy, earning the defending champions a spot in the final round of the IBAF World Cup.

Terry Tiffee (pictured) led the winners with a 4-for-5 day.

The USA got a run in the third on Lucas May’s double, and then made it 2-0 in the fourth when former Durham Bull Jon Weber reached on a fielder’s choice.

Descalso’s homer came in the fifth inning and Coats’ in the sixth.

Trevor Reckling (2-0) was the winning pitcher.

The USA will face Italy on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Turin. Kasey Kiker is the scheduled starter for the Red, White and Blue.

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Alvarez, Weber lead USA’s home-run barrage against Taipei

Mike Potter · 18 Sep 2009, 9:39 AM · Comment


Pedro Alvarez’ team-record three home runs led the barrage as Team USA drubbed Chinese Taipei 14-3usaalvare in IBAF World Cup play Thursday in Turin, Italy.

The Red, White and Blue scored seven runs in the first inning of the contest, which was stopped after seven innings because of a 10-run mercy rule.

Former Durham Bull Jon Weber, Terry Tiffee and Lucas May each added home runs for the winners.

Todd Redmond (2-0) was the winning pitcher, striking out six while allowing three runs in six innings.

Alvarez (pictured) finished the game with six RBI. Weber went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored.

The USA’s next game is against Australia today at 2 p.m. (EDT) in Piacenza, Italy, with Trevor Reckling (1-0) the scheduled starter.

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Smoak, Tiffee homers lead USA Baseball past Japanese

Mike Potter · 15 Sep 2009, 10:45 PM · Comment


usasmoak1

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.

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Luebke, Weber help lead Team USA to blanking of Canucks

Mike Potter · 13 Sep 2009, 9:34 PM · Comment


bullwebe1Cory Luebke pitched a gem for Team USA, which ripped Canada 8-0 in its first game of Round 2 in baseball’s World Cup in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Luebke allowed just one hit in 7 2/3 innings to lead his team to a fifth straight win over the Canadians.

Former Durham Bull Jon Weber (pictured) had two RBI doubles and an RBI single, while Terry Tiffee also had three hits and two RBI.

Pedro Alvarez added a home run for the Americans.

Chris Robinson had the only hit for Canada.

Team USA’s next game is on Monday at 2 p.m. (EDT) against the Netherlands Antilles in Verona, Italy.

Kasey Kiker is the probable starter for the Red, White and Blue.

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USA Baseball blanks Chinese, faces Canada on Sunday

Mike Potter · 12 Sep 2009, 9:01 PM · Comment


usabowerTrevor Reckling struck out 11 batters - the most ever by a single American in the tournament - as Team USA demolished China 8-0 in its final Pool E game of baseball’s World Cup in Regensburg, Germany.

Terry Tiffee and Josh Kroeger each homered for the USA (2-1), which advanced to its first second-round game against Canada in Italy today at 1 p.m. (EDT). Team USA beat Canada in all four games of their exhibition series last week in Cary.

The Chinese went 0-3 in the tournament.

Tiffee had a two-run homer in the first inning while Kroeger added a three-run shot in the eighth.

Reckling combined with Ehren Wasserman, former Durham Bull Cedrick Bowers (pictured) and B.J. Rosenberg for a USA team-record 16-strikeout performance.

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USA Baseball completes sweep of Canucks, readies for European vacation

Mike Potter · 6 Sep 2009, 8:51 PM · Comment


usatiffeCOLEMAN 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 »

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USA, Childers hold on for third straight win over Canucks

Mike Potter · 6 Sep 2009, 3:16 AM · Comment


bullchil1Todd 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.

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