July 30, 1997
Milano Leads the USA Baseball Team to Barcelona
The 1997 USA Baseball National Team, led by California head coach Bob
Milano, is currently 17-8 this summer. Team USA's competition schedule will
culminate at the International Baseball Association's XIII International
Cup scheduled for August 1-10 in Barcelona, Spain. The tournament will
feature the top four finishers from the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic
Games: Cuba (gold medal), Japan (silver), United States (bronze) and
Nicaragua (fourth place). Australia, France, Italy and Spain will round out
the eight-team field.
"After competing together all summer, the team has developed to the
point where we can expect positive results in Barcelona," said Milano. "The
competition will be tough, but bringing home a medal is certainly an
attainable goal."
The 22-man USA squad will begin competition Friday, Aug. 1, when it
faces Japan at 4 p.m. local (Spain) time. The Americans will then play
Italy, Aug. 2 at 4:30 p.m.; Nicaragua, Aug. 3 at 11 a.m.; Cuba, Aug. 4 at 9
p.m.; Australia, Aug. 5 at 4:30 p.m.; Spain, Aug. 6 at 11 a.m. and France,
Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. Team USA will have a day off Aug. 8 before entering the
medal rounds Aug. 9-10.
Two current Cal baseball players, sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver and
sophomore catcher Jason Hill, are both on the USA National Team's 22-man
travel roster and are playing well for USA Baseball this summer.
Oliver, a first team All-Pac-10 selection this spring, is third on the
USA National Team with a .386 batting average (27-for-70). He has started
18 of the team's 25 contests at second base, and has five doubles, a home
run and eight RBI. Earlier this summer during the 26th annual USA-Japan
Collegiate Championship series (June 21-28), Oliver was named Hitter of the
Tournament, batting .500 (10-for-20).
Hill has had some big games for the Americans this summer. On July 24,
he delivered a run-scoring groundout in the top of the 10th inning to lead
the United States to the 6-5 extra-inning win over Australia. It was the
second day in a row Hill had heroics, as he had a phenomenal game in a July
23 victory over Australia, hitting two home runs in an eight-run fifth
inning and leading the Americans to the 11-6 come-from-behind win. With
Team USA trailing 5-2 in the fifth, the Cal catcher led off the inning with
an opposite field homer to cut the Australian lead to two runs. Later in
the inning, Hill delivered his second home run, a three-run blast to
right-centerfield to give the United States a 10-5 lead.
Hill had Team USA's first hit of the July 23 ballgame, a sharp single
to left field in the third inning, and scored the Americans' first run. He
finished the contest 4-for-4 with five RBI and three runs scored.
Hill has started 12 games for Team USA behind the plate and is batting
.341 (15-for-44) with three doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI.
