Completed Event: Baseball versus No. 11 seed Kansas State on May 19, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 9
Final Score
Baseball
5
vs No. 11 seed Kansas State
9
The University of Utah Athletics
USA Baseball Making Waves at Pan Am Games
7/17/2007 12:00 AM | Baseball
July 17, 2007
University of Utah baseball head coach Bill Kinneberg is traveling with the USA National Baseball team, serving on its coaching staff as the assistant coach. UtahUtes.com continues its summer-long Q&A with coach Kinneberg, documenting his experiences with and against the elite ball players of the world.
Q: Now that the games are in full swing, how has the atmosphere been at the baseball stadium?
A:The field was still being built when we first got here and, there have been some problems with it. For instance, the lights were not good enough (for our tournament opener) so our schedule had to be rearranged. Baseball is not a big sport in Rio de Janeiro, but it is in Sao Paulo. The Brazil games have some good atmosphere, but the rest of the games have very few fans. The play on the field is very intense though.
Q: Team USA beat one of the Caribbean powerhouses in the Dominican Republic to open the tournament. What did a win over a team like that (with several standout professional players) do for the team's morale?
A: We were much faster and we were in better shape than the older Dominican players. It was a great win for our team and it proved to our guys we could win and that we do belong in the games.
Q: Your pitching staff held the Dominican Republic to four hits and struck out nine batters. Where did that performance rank, in your mind, among all the outings thus far this summer?
A: Tyson Ross and Jordy Mercer did great jobs of throwing strikes and staying ahead of guys. Ross only allowed a home run to Wilson Delgado, a former big-league guy, but handled all of the other batters very well. It was a good start to the tournament and it's good for us that we got to keep the bullpen rested.
Q: This is probably the first time that many of the players and coaches have been to Brazil. In between games and practices, has the team had the opportunity to go out and enjoy the culture?
A: We haven't been able to do much, yet. In between eating, sleeping, games and practice, there is not a lot of time for us. Also, it is very hard to get out of the Olympic village because of security reasons. We hope to get out and see some of the sites after the Brazil game (today).
Q: Looking at the teams in your pool and in the other pool (with Cuba), talk a little bit about the baseball talent you have seen in Brazil.
A: Cuba is a very good team, along with Panama. Those two teams will be in the medal rounds unless something really funny happens this afternoon. It looks like the U.S. and Dominican Republic will be the two teams from our pool to go to the medal round. Cuba is very big, strong and experienced with an abundance of talent. They will be very difficult to beat, but our guys are up to the challenge.
We did beat Nicaragua yesterday, 8-4. It was a good game for us with solid offensive productions from our guys. Our pitching was solid yet again. Lance Lynn gave us seven quality innings (7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO). We should be in good shape for the medal round.
Note: The USA National team plays its final pool game today at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pool play has The Red, White and Blue playing Brazil this morning. The placement games are on July 18 and the semifinals and finals are July 19-20. The top three teams will medal, winning a gold, silver or bronze for their effort.
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