|
Bloggin' With the Bears: Kendal Volz and the USA Baseball National Team
July 20, 2008
If the first two innings are any indication, today's game could be a short one. Team USA scored one run in the top of the first inning (and it easily could have been more) and followed that with a five-run second to take a 6-0 lead over Lithuania in today's pool-play action at the FISU World Championships. The U.S. squad's six runs have come on four hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. Two of the four hits were round-trippers - a solo shot from Auburn's Hunter Morris and a three-run blast from Cal State Fullerton's Jared Clark. Meanwhile, Team USA starter Brett Hunter has faced the minimum through 2.0 innings. My guess is that Baylor's Kendal Volz has the day off. We'll see. July 20, 2008
OK, maybe we're still a good way away. But considering Auburn's Hunter Morris just hit Team USA's fourth home run of the third inning and sixth of the game, the USA Baseball National Team record for runs in a game may not be too much of a stretch. It was Morris' second round-tripper of the game; he was hit by a pitch in his other at bat... that's three plate appearances in three innings... and Morris is batting eighth today. Team USA scored 28 runs on 25 hits Aug. 24, 1988, in a game against Spain. The U.S. squad established National Team records for runs, hits and RBI (26) in that game. Oh, wait... Coastal Carolina's Scott Woodward just hit a two-run homer. That's five homers in the third inning and the seventh home run of the day, tying a National Team record. Even the public address announcer, who sits directly next to me, said after Woodward's home run (in broken English), "This is like batting practice." July 20, 2008
Arizona State's Mike Leake blasted a three-run homer to left-center on the first pitch thrown by Lithuanian relief pitcher Vytauta Dabasinskas in the fourth inning. That pushed Team USA's lead to 19-0. It was the eighth homer of the day for Team USA, establishing a National Team record. Previously, the National Team had seven-homer games against Italy and Japan, both in 1996. July 20, 2008
But Team USA was able to pull out the victory in the end, staving off a seventh-inning rally for a 30-1, seven-inning victory over the Lithuania National Team. The U.S. squad established National Team single-game records for runs (30), RBI (29) and home runs (12). Three players hit two home runs each, including Micah Gibbs, who tied a National Team record with five runs scored. Needless to say, Baylor's Kendal Volz was not needed on the mound. Lithuania managed only two hits, one of which was an infield cue shot. A leadoff single, an error and an RBI groundout broke up the shutout in the seventh. Monday is another travel day for Team USA as the team heads to Brno, Czech Republic. The squad returns to action Tuesday against Canada at 10 a.m. Texas time. July 20, 2008
Baylor's Kendal Volz and Missouri's Kyle Gibson will join Baseball America for an online chat Monday at 1 p.m. CDT. Visit www.BaseballAmerica.com for more information. July 22, 2008
Team USA has moved from Ostrava to Brno in the Czech Republic. And, to be frank, the difference between the two cities is like night and day. While Ostrava is the second largest city in the country (just over one million in the metropolitan area), it is a very industrial city with not much personality. Brno, the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic with about three-quarters of a million people in the metropolitan area, is full of charm and personality. Centrum in Brno features more than 30 historic buildings, including music halls, cathedrals and museums. It is located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, about 40 kilometers due north of Austria and about 60 kilometers north-northwest of Slovokia. Still, we are about 300 miles from the Alps. Very disappointing. The summer climate is temperate, similar to that of New England or the Rocky Mountain foothills. We're told that much, much snow falls here in the winter. The baseball facility at Brno is much nicer than the one in Ostrava, as well. City Baseball Stadium has a capacity of about 2,000; it is about half-full for tonight's game between Team USA and the Canada National College Team. The U.S. team is 3-0 thus far in FISU pool play, while Canada is 1-2. We're scoreless through two innings. Neither team has a hit to this point; although, Canada robbed Team USA of a pair of hits thanks to tremendous defensive plays. Many of the Canadian players attend American colleges and play baseball there. We'll keep you updated as the game goes along. Now that we're in Brno, you can follow the games via live stats at http://wubc.baseball.cz/?newlang=english. July 22, 2008
"Hit the ball, and take it to the top! Do your best, and never stop!" We saw this in Ostrava, as well. Apparently cheerleaders are a part of baseball in the Czech Republic. Six high-school-aged girls lead the team in cheers. The first line in this blog post is the only cheer they know in English. Since two English-speaking teams are playing each other in tonight's game, they have used the cheer quite a bit. Matt Titus and Nate Logan from the USA Baseball office are in attendance for tonight's game. They have gotten a lot of amusement from the cheer. Titus is still trying to determine what we're taking it to the top of and what exactly "it" is. I'm joined at the press table by two members of the Czech media staff - Martin and Andrew. Martin speaks pretty good English, something we've not encountered on a regular basis in the Czech Republic. Andrew knows only a small amount of English. Both, though, have been very personable and friendly. Martin knows all about San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg, and he looks forward to seeing Strasburg pitch later in the week. We're still scoreless in the top of the fifth. Both teams have one hit. July 22, 2008
Shoddy defense and some questionable calls have led to a 3-0 deficit for Team USA in the top of the eighth inning of tonight's game against Canada. All three runs were unearned as Canada has just two hits. Meanwhile, Team USA has only five hits; however, Canada has used three inning-ending double plays to avoid damage. On the first inning-ending double play, the first baseman caught the ball two steps away from the first-base bag, but the first-base umpire called the runner out. There was another ... ahem ... peculiar call later in the game at second base on another inning-ending double play. Team USA needs to rally... quickly. July 22, 2008
Team USA scored three runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 3-3. That's where we stand going to the ninth inning. Oklahoma State's Tyler Lyons, who entered the game and got Team USA out of a jam in the eighth, returns to the mound for the ninth. Baylor's Kendal Volz is warming in the bullpen. July 22, 2008
After a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt by the Canada team, Missouri's Kyle Gibson took the mound for Team USA. Gibson threw six pitches, all strikes, and recorded two strikeouts to get Team USA out of the jam. Gibson's second strike, though, got to the back stop and allowed the runner to reach third. Gibson showed his toughness, getting the next pitch over for a strike and then striking out the next batter. However, Team USA could get nothing going in the bottom of the ninth. So, we go to extra innings knotted 3-3. July 22, 2008
Cal State Fullerton's Jared Clark led off the bottom of the 11th with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on a Blake Smith (California) groundout and scored on a wild pitch as Team USA rallied for a 4-3 victory over Canada in pool play Tuesday night. It was not the cleanest game for the U.S. squad; however, coming off a 30-1 laugher against Lithuania, it may have been just the wakeup call Team USA needed. Two games remain in pool play - tomorrow against Japan and Thursday against Chinese-Taipei. Tournament play begins Friday. Tonight's victory clinches a spot in the tournament portion of the event for Team USA. July 23, 2008
If Team USA and Japan were playing a football game today at City Baseball Stadium in Brno, Czech Republic, the weather would be pristine. However, this is a baseball tournament, and not much good can be mentioned about today's forecast. Temperatures in the upper 40s (and that's Fahrenheit) and a steady drizzle greeted the teams on this 23rd day of July. The light rain is supposed to continue throughout the day with periods of heavier rain. Temperatures could reach the upper 50s. Yippee. It will be a chilly one. Nonetheless, the game is underway. Today's game will determine the top seed in this weekend's tournament portion of the FISU World Championships. Team USA and Japan both enter the game 4-0 on the week; the winner of this game can finish no worse than 5-1 and would have the tie-breaker over the other. Korea, which is off today and has only a game against Canada remaining, currently sits in third place at 3-2 with losses to Japan and Team USA. July 23, 2008
Despite chilly temperature and stiff winds blowing straight in from left-center, today's game has been - to this point - a high-scoring affair. Japan scored a run on two hits in the bottom of the first, but Team USA answered with a four-run second and has never trailed again. The U.S. lead was cut to one run after Japan scored single runs in the second and third innings; however, Team USA put three runs on the board in the top of the fifth, extending its lead to 7-3. That is where we stand right now. July 23, 2008
Despite unfavorable weather conditions and a shaky start, southpaw Chris Hernandez (Miami, Fla.) turned in a good start for Team USA today. Hernandez, the 2008 Baseball America National Freshman of the Year, allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over 6.1 innings. He used 111 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. Hernandez has given way to Missouri's Kyle Gibson, who likely could finish the game. Gibson used only six pitches in two-thirds of an inning last night against Canada. Team USA head coach Rob Walton said after last night's game he was happy that Gibson was able to get the U.S. squad out of that ninth-inning jam last night on just six pitches; that allowed Walton to use Gibson again today against Japan. So far, so good for Gibson, who retired the first two batters he faced on just 10 pitches (nine strikes) to end the bottom of the seventh. Team USA holds a 9-3 lead as we go to the eighth. July 23, 2008
Baylor's Kendal Volz takes the mound to start the ninth inning, but this is not a save situation. Team USA leads 9-3 and is on the verge of clinching the top seed in this weekend's tournament portion of the FISU World Championships. Volz, who recorded saves in five of Team USA's seven wins at Haarlem Baseball Week, has not been nearly as busy here in the Czech Republic; this is just his second appearance in five games, and neither was in a save situation. The first batter grounded out to first, and Volz struck out the next batter on five pitches. Volz closed the game with a grounder to shortstop. That makes 11 appearances for Volz; he has 14 strikeouts in 12.0 innings and has allowed only one unearned run. Team USA concludes pool play Thursday, facing Chinese-Taipei at 10:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. in Texas). This is the ninth time Team USA and Chinese-Taipei have played; the U.S. squad swept a six-game series in America last month and won both meetings at Haarlem Baseball Week earlier this month. See you Thursday. July 24, 2008
Today's game has little bearing on Team USA's chances to win the 2008 FISU World Championships. The U.S. squad has already locked up the top seed for this weekend's tournament portion of the event. However, Team USA still has a lot on the line in today's game. A win over Chinese-Taipei today would mean that winning the FISU World Championships would give Team USA a perfect 24-0 record for the tour. The U.S. squad lost two games during the National Team Trials, but results and statistics from the trials do not count in the team's historical marks since it was not yet the National Team. Taipei, however, is playing for much more in today's game. A win over the U.S. coupled with a Canada victory over Korea tonight would make Taipei the third seed in the tournament. If Taipei losses to the U.S., it likely will be the fourth seed; that is, unless Canada defeats Korea by a certain amount of runs. Then it gets into a complicated three-way tie-breaker, and - quite frankly - it's too early in the morning to explain such a thing. Right now, this is a pitchers' duel. Taipei got a leadoff single in the first inning, and Team USA got a two-out walk in the third. Other than that, the slate is clean; we're scoreless headed to the bottom of the fifth. July 24, 2008
Coastal Carolina's Scott Woodward got Team USA's first hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth; it was an RBI single to left-center to break the scoreless tie. The U.S. squad added a run in the sixth when California's Blake Smith doubled and later scored on an error. That's where we stand going to the bottom of the seventh. Each team has just two hits, but Team USA leads 2-0. It could be another save opportunity for Baylor's Kendal Volz. We'll have to wait and see. July 24, 2008
Chinese-Taipei scored two runs on a walk and two hits in the top of the eighth inning. A pair of Team USA pitchers were charged with blown saves in the inning - San Diego's A.J. Griffin, who surrendered both runs, and Oklahoma State's Tyler Lyons, who allowed one inherited runner to score. We're tied 2-2 going to the bottom of the eighth. July 24, 2008
With two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the 10th inning, California's Blake Smith launched a 1-2 pitch to deep right-center. It looked as though it could be a walk-off home run, but Taipei right fielder Min-Szu Chen caught the ball just above the top of the wall. So, we remain tied 2-2 going to the 11th. July 24, 2008
This one did it. Auburn's Hunter Morris blasted a two-out, walk-off home run over the wall in right-center on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 11th inning. That gave Team USA a 3-2 victory. The USA Baseball National Team concludes FISU pool play with a 6-0 record and will be the top seed in the tournament portion of the event, which begins Saturday. Team USA is now 22-0 on its 2008 tour. |
 |
