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
Team USA Plays China, Netherlands and Russia
7/25/2007 12:00 AM | Baseball
July 25, 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: What was the experience like playing the gold-medal game at the Pan American Games last week?
A:I think there were a lot of events that led up to that game for us. There were a lot of delays throughout the tournament, the field condition and the big win over Mexico in the placement game. Our win over Mexico was a hard-fought game and we had to play it after beating Brazil earlier in the afternoon. I think that was a big accomplishment for our team.
But, with all the confusion that surrounded the tournament, I think our kids handled it very well. We weren't even sure we'd get to play the gold medal game and we were glad that we got it in. Cuba is a good ball club. They did a lot of things to prevent us from scoring and scored just enough to get the win.
Our players did a tremendous job of getting us to that game.
Q:This week against China begins a two-week home stand before you take off to the World Port Tournament in the Netherlands. What will the team be working on to get ready for that?
A: Right now, we're trying to get as many different combinations out on the field as possible, and we're trying to get some guys who haven't had as much playing time some at-bats.
We're going to make some adjustments for the World Port Tournament in a couple weeks. We're experimenting with different lineups and trying to keep our pitching healthy. We are in the middle of a nine-games-in-nine-days stretch so our pitchers will be taxed.
On top of everything else, we're going to be traveling every day so it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. But, the other teams are in the same position as we are. Hopefully our kids can hang in there and keep up the winning.
Q: You've played teams from the Far East, Caribbean, South America and will play Russia this week. In watching all these teams, how far has baseball progressed on the international scene?
A: China is furthest behind all of the international teams we've played yet. Jim Lefebvre and Bruce Hurst have been brought in to improve the team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and they've got a big job ahead of them. Baseball isn't a big sport in China, obviously (it was banned by Chairman Mao until recently, called "imperialist poison" by the communist leader).
They're still developing, but they are not as great as the other Far East teams.
The Netherlands is another good team on the international stage. Depending on who they bring to the World Port Tournament, they'll be as good as the Cuba team that we just played.
The Russian team is still pretty far behind too, perhaps further behind than the Chinese team. But, these next couple of weeks are a good chance to get our guys some experience and get them ready for the World Port Tournament in August.
Q: With former big-leaguers Bruce Hurst and Jim Lefebvre at the helm of the Chinese team, what style of baseball does it play?
A: Bruce and Jim are trying to implement an American style of baseball, but obviously they are influenced by the Japanese team. They are patterning their style after the Japanese game, and they're a great fielding team, but the coaches are trying to implement the American program and its style of conditioning.
I've talked with them a couple times and they're having a hard time right now. They don't play every day. They don't just go out and play catch or practice pitching like our kids do.
Note: The USA National team (17-6 overall) is fresh off its silver-medal showing at the Pan American Games in Brazil. It made the gold medal game against Cuba and got edged 3-1 in the championship bout. This week, Team USA faces China (July 22-27) and then battles the Netherlands (July 28-29) and Russia (July 30). The summer tour comes to an end at the World Port Games in the Netherlands (Aug. 2-12).
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