Prado and Jurich Set to Open International Tournaments
July 18, 2002 | Baseball
July 18, 2002
HAARLEM, THE NETHERLANDS - The USA Baseball National Team, under the guidance of Louisville Head Coach Lelo Prado, will open their gold medal defense of the Haarlem Baseball Week on Friday, July 19 at 7:00 pm (local time) against Chinese Taipei, in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
Louisville All-American outfielder Mark Jurich is a member of the USA Baseball National Team which is preparing to compete in the first-ever FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships in Messina, Italy, August 2-11.
The game schedule for the Haarlem Baseball Week (July 19-28) and FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships (Aug. 2-11) has been finalized, as the 2002 USA Baseball National Team continues to prepare for both major international competitions.
Team USA will open international play in the Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem, The Netherlands on Friday, July 19 in a 7:00 pm tilt vs. Chinese Taipei, following the tournament's Opening Ceremonies.
In addition, Team USA's only scheduled game against Cuba this summer will be on July 25 at 7:00 pm in Haarlem.
The 2002 USA Baseball National Team will take an overall record of 14-3 with them overseas, as they look to defend their gold medal at the Haarlem Baseball Week. The United States won the last event held by posting an unbeaten 6-0 record in 2000, including a 9-5 defeat of Cuba in the title game behind righthander Mark Prior.
After competing in The Netherlands, Team USA will move down to the coast of Italy. The United States has been slated to play in the Opening night feature game of the first-ever FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships in Messina, Italy on August 2, as they will face the host country Italy at 8:30 pm local time, following that tournament's Opening Ceremonies.
Team USA and Cuba were placed in different pools for the FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships, making it uncertain whether or not they will face each other in that event. But it is still a possibility that the two countries could meet in the medal round. Since this will be the first ever Collegiate World Baseball Championship, Team USA obviously has no history in the event.
The full game schedules for both events are shown below, and game times listed are local times in both The Netherlands and Italy. Both of those countries are several hours ahead of the four American time zones: USA Eastern: 6 Hours USA Central: 7 Hours USA Mountain: 8 Hours USA Pacific: 9 Hours For instance, Team USA's games that begin at 7:00 pm local time in Europe, will begin at 1:00 pm EST, 10:00 am PST in the United States. All of Team USA's games in both competitions will be webcast in real-time, via live play-by-play on the internet at www.usabaseball.com.
For a complete boxscores and live real-time scoring play-by-play web casts of Team USA's games, log on to www.usabaseball.com/natl_schedule.html and click on the red "LIVE SCORING" option listed next to the game on the 2002 USA Baseball Tour schedule.
HAARLEM BASEBALL WEEK - www.haarlembaseball.nl
July 19 Chinese Taipei vs. USA 7:00 pm (1:00 EST/10:00 am PST)July 20 Cuba vs. Japan 2:00 pmThe Netherlands vs. Chinese Taipei 7:00 pmJuly 21 Japan vs. The Netherlands 2:00 pmSouth Africa vs. USA 7:00 pm (1:00 EST/10:00 am PST)July 22 South Africa vs. Cuba 7:00 pmJuly 23 Cuba vs. Chinese Taipei 2:00 pmUSA vs. Japan 7:00 pm (1:00 EST/10:00 am PST)July 24 Japan vs. Chinese Taipei 2:00 pmThe Netherlands vs. South Africa 7:00 pmJuly 25 USA vs. Cuba 7:00 pm (1:00 EST/10:00 am PST)July 26 Chinese Taipei vs. South Africa 2:00 pmCuba vs. The Netherlands 7:00 pmJuly 27 South Africa vs. Japan 2:00 pmThe Netherlands vs. USA 7:00 pm (1:00 EST/10:00 am PST)July 28 Championship Game - #1 vs. #2 12:00 pm
FISU COLLEGIATE WORLD BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS - www.cusmessina.it
POOL A - Messina: Canada, China, South Korea, Italy, United StatesPOOL B - Reggio Calabria: Cuba, France, Japan, Czech Republic, Chinese Taipei
Aug. 2 Opening Ceremonies M 6:00 pmItaly vs. USA M 8:30 pm (2:30 EST/11:30 am PST)Aug. 3 France vs. Japan RC 9:30 amCuba vs. Chinese Taipei RC 3:30 pmChina vs. Canada M 8:30 pmAug. 4 Chinese Taipei vs. Czech Rep. RC 9:30 amCuba vs. France RC 3:30 pmS. Korea vs. Italy M 3:30 pmUSA vs. Canada M 8:30 pm (2:30 EST/11:30 am PST)Aug. 5 Czech Rep. vs. Cuba RC 9:30 amChinese Taipei vs. Japan RC 3:30 pmCanada vs. Italy M 3:30 pmChina vs. S. Korea M 8:30 pmAug. 6 France vs. Chinese Taipei RC 9:30 amJapan vs. Czech Rep. RC 3:30 pmChina vs. USA M 3:30 pm (9:30 am EST/6:30 am PST)Canada vs. S. Korea M 8:30 pmAug. 7 Czech Rep. vs. France RC 9:30 amJapan vs. Cuba RC 3:30 pmS. Korea vs. USA M 3:30 pm (9:30 am EST/6:30 am PST)Aug. 9 Quarterfinal 1: A1 vs. B4 M 8:30 pmQuarterfinal 2: A2 vs. B3 M 3:30 pmQuarterfinal 3: B1 vs. A4 RC 3:30 pmQuarterfinal 4: B2 vs. A3 RC 9:30 amAug. 10 Winner 2 vs. Winner 3 M 3:30 pmWinner 1 vs. Winner 4 M 8:30 pmAug. 11 Bronze Medal Game M 3:30 pmWorld Championship Game M 8:30 pm
Release courtesy of USA Baseball
