|
Home
|
Roster
|
Blowfish Scoring Funds for City
|
News Archive
|
Contact Blowie
|
Sponsors
|
Game Stories
|
Team USA
|
Player Photos
|
Home Plate Catering
|
Blowfish Raise Funds For Great Causes
|
View TV Commercials
|
Speakers Bureau
|
Group Picnics
|
Fundraisers
|
2013 Internship Opportunities
|
Logos
|
David Williams Tribute
|
CPL Website Link
|
Interviews
|
Blowfish Newsletter - latest
|
Team Picture 2009
|
Host Family Information
|
Team Picture 2010
|
Souvenir Program 2010
|
Celebrating Hootie & the Blowfish
|
Reading Program
|
Souvenir Program 2008
|
Donation Requests
|
columbiasc-events.com
|
2012 Blowfish Reading Program
|
Birthdays at The Cap
|
2012 Special Promotions
|
2013 Reading Rewards Program
|
FAQ
|
Group Picnics
|
_____________________________________________________________________
Team USA 'makes em count' in 9-0 win over Blowfish
Photo By Juan Blas
BOX SCORE
Team USA may not have hit the Blowfish pitching staff too hard but they did manage to hit it far, as the USA National squad recorded just five hits, all for extra bases, in a 9-0 win before 3,127 fans Tuesday at Capital City Stadium.
"We didn't have many hits but we made them count," said Team USA head coach Tim Corbin. "The big thing tonight was that they walked us nine times, and we were able to take advantage of that."
Vanderbilt's Pedro Alvarez led the way for USA, going 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs. He hit a two-run home run off Blowfish starter Timmy Martin to give USA an early 2-0 lead and had a two-run triple in the sixth inning.
Tennessee' s J.P. Arencibia also enjoyed a big night, finishing a 1-for-3 with a towering three-run homer and an RBI sacrifice fly.
The Blowfish used 10 pitchers in the contest, striking out nine batters and holding USA scoreless over the final three frames.
Despite the loss, Blowfish head coach Tim Medlin remained upbeat.
"It was great night," said Medlin. "We probably saw 14 or 15 future big leaguers on that team right now."
For Medlin, the night also entailed a renewed rivalry between he and Corbin. The veteran head coaches had previously coached against one another in college.
"Tonight was very special for me," said Corbin, who coached against Medlin's Newberry teams when he served as head coach at Presbyterian College. "This is the first time that me and Tim have been together since 1989."
Medlin also warned Fayetteville, Team USA's opponent for tomorrow night, of what was in store.
"The Swamp Dogs have their work cut out for them," he said.
Bigger fish splash into Capital City
Team USA on deck for Blowfish
By RON MORRIS
Columnist
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFF BLAKE/JBLAKE@THESTATE.COM
Team USA coach Tim Corbin, right, reviews signs with his pitchers and infielders during practice at Capital City Stadium on Monday in preparation for today's game against the Columbia Blowfish.
THE LAST USA National Team to make an appearance at Capital City Stadium featured Kris Benson, J.D. Drew, Troy Glaus, Mark Kotsay, Travis Lee, Braden Looper, Jeff Weaver and Randy Wolf. Even the Cuban team it faced 10 years ago had a pitcher named Jose Contreras.
The USA National Team that plays tonight against the Columbia Blowfish might not be as talented as that 1996 club, but its coach, Tim Corbin, says several of his players will be in the major leagues within a few years.
It probably will be worth the price of admission just to see 6-foot-5 left-hander David Price, who is scheduled to throw three innings tonight. Corbin coaches Price at Vanderbilt; Jeremy Sowers, another left-hander who was a member of Corbin's starting staff at Vandy, now throws for the Cleveland Indians just two years after college.
Before his team's workout Monday in Columbia, Corbin boldly stated Price will be a better pitcher than Sowers. Price has the numbers to back his coach's claim. In four starts for the USA National Team this summer Price has a 2-1 record with a 0.33 earned-run average. He has allowed 11 hits in 27 innings, walked five and struck out 44.
The belief is that national teams no longer have the overall depth of previous USA Olympic teams but that there are a handful of players who are two or three years from the major leagues.
On the surface, there seems little reason to field a national team since 2006 is not an Olympic year.
"You're playing for your country," says Corbin, who coached the 2000 national team that featured 15 future big leaguers, including Mark Prior and Ryan Howard. "Any time you can participate for a team that is called the United States, it's something you will remember for a lifetime."
South Carolina right-hander Wynn Pelzer was among the original invitees to the national team tryouts. But under the recommendation of Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner, Pelzer is not pitching this summer.
Left-hander Daniel Moskos will be a junior at Clemson next season and again is expected to be the Tigers' closer. In the interim, Moskos had a choice of returning for a second season in the Cape Cod League, the premier summer collegiate wood-bat league, or trying out for the national team.
Moskos, who led Clemson with 10 saves to go with a 5-5 record and 2.52 ERA last season, said there really was no choice.
"I couldn't turn down the chance to play for my country," Moskos said. "You don't get the opportunity to do something like this too many times in your lifetime."
Moskos recognized he probably will face stiffer competition against international opponents than he would against college players in the Cape Cod League. Many international players are much older and more experienced than the national team, which includes only two rising seniors.
Team USA has an 18-2-1 record that includes a 7-0 mark against Chinese Taipei. It is 3-1-1 against Japan, 2-1 against Korea and 2-0 against Germany.
The culmination of the summer schedule, which has taken the national team to Nevada and Missouri, is the World Baseball Championships beginning Aug. 6 in Cuba. Team USA, Cuba and Japan are considered the tournament favorites.
Beyond that, there is not much ahead for this U.S. team. Another team will be formed in 2007, and an Olympic team will attempt to qualify for what will be the last appearance for baseball in the 2008 Games.
Using professional players for the first time, the United States won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics with USC's Tanner serving as an assistant under head coach Tommy Lasorda. But the United States did not qualify for the 2004 Olympics, even with professional players.
Corbin says misses the days when only amateurs were used in the Olympics. He says his best Olympic memories are when the United States' hockey and basketball teams won gold medals using only amateur athletes.
Those days are long gone, though, in all sports. Soon there will be no Olympic baseball, either.
The USA National Team will continue to play in one international tournament every summer. The team also will serve as a good way for major league scouts to evaluate the best college players in the country.
And baseball fans will get a glimpse at a few future major leaguers.
Team USA visits Palmetto Health Childrens
Hospital the morning of the game. A big thanks to all the great staff at Palmetto Health for their support and a huge thank you to Regina Brown.
|
 |
USA Baseball to visit Columbia
Blowfish and Team USA to play special exhibition game Aug. 1 at Capital City Stadium
COLUMBIA, SC - USA Baseball and the Columbia Blowfish announced today that the 2006 USA National Baseball team will visit Capital City Stadium for an exhibition against the Blowfish on Aug. 1, 2006 at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for the game are on sale now through the Columbia Blowfish ticket office or online at www.blowfishbaseball.com or by calling 254-FISH. The game will part of USA Baseball's Road To the World Championship Summer Baseball Tour, which includes stops throughout the Carolinas.
Unlike the team's usual stops at minor league parks, however, this game will be different. Rather than a usual exhibition against an international all-star team, Team USA will take on the Blowfish, a collegiate summer baseball team that plays in the Coastal Plain League. The 15-team wooden-bat summer league consists of top college players throughout the country and boasts 15 team throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. The exhibition in Columbia will be played with wood bats.
"We're very excited to welcome Team USA back to Columbia," said Blowfish president Bill Shanahan. "Through our association with the Coastal Plain League, the return of Team USA to Capital City Stadium has been made reality."
Coastal Plain League president Pete Bock echoed those sentiments.
"We're very proud to be associated with USA Baseball on this project," he said. "We're certainly happy to be hosting this exhibition with our newest team taking on Team USA in a Coastal Plain League ballpark."
The USA Baseball National Team consists of the top collegiate baseball players in the country. Each summer the team plays in a schedule of exhibition games across America and overseas. Team USA last visited Columbia ten years ago for an exhibition against the Cuban National Team.
" Team USA is excited to return to Capital City Stadium. It's been over ten years since our last visit." said Team USA National Team general manager Eric Campbell. "The opportunity to play a Coastal Plain League Franchise in Columbia will help us as we prepare to defend our gold medal at the upcoming World Collegiate Championship in Havana, Cuba. "
The USA Baseball National Team will wrap-up their 2006 season at the FISU World University Baseball Championships in Havana, Cuba, where they will look to defend the Gold Medal they captured at the 2004 event.
Players who have worn the Red, White, and Blue for USA Baseball and have gone on to Major League Baseball success include such notables as Todd Helton, Nomar Garciaparra, Mark Prior, Jason Varitek and rising stars Bobby Crosby, Ryan Howard and Huston Street.
For more information about Team USA, log on to www.usabaseball.com .
|
