July 22, 1997
Cal Coach Leads USA Baseball
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The 1997 USA Baseball National Team, led by California head coach Bob Milano, is currently 15-7 this summer, most recently defeating Australia, 11-7, Monday at Victory Field (home of the Indianapolis Indians) in Indanapolis, IN.
The United States and Australia will continue their four-game series Wednesday night in Wichita, KS at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, home of the Wichita Wranglers.
Two current Cal baseball players, sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver and sophomore catcher Jason Hill, are both on the USA National Team's 23-man travel roster and both are playing well for USA Baseball this summer.
Oliver, a first team All-Pac-10 selection this spring, was 3-for-5 in Monday's game and he currently leads the USA National Team with a .414 batting average (24-for-58). He has started 15 of the team's 22 contests at second base, and has four 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, who did not play in Monday's game, has started 10 games for Team USA behind the plate and is batting .286 (10-for-35) with two doubles and 10 RBI.
The 1997 USA Baseball National Team 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.
