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
Kinneberg Prepares for First Games With USA Baseball
7/12/2010 12:00 AM | Baseball
July 12, 2010
With the team narrowed down to 22 players, Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg continues with USA Baseball as they play their first games against outside competition this week. The USA was scheduled to play the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League on Monday evening as their first game against outside competition before a rainstorm moved through shortly before the first pitch. The team will face the Fayetteville Swampdogs on Tuesday before beginning a five-game stretch against Korea Republic on Wednesday.
Kinneberg talked to UtahUtes.com following the rainout. For more information, visit www.USABaseball.com.
How difficult was it to narrow down the team?
It was extremely difficult because we had 36 guys in camp and basically could have chosen any combination of 22 and really been good. We sent some really good players back to the Cape [Cod League] or home, so it was a difficult process. It was a fun night in the fact that we got to tell 22 guys that they were on the team, and the thrill of seeing their faces, but there was also the part where we sent 14 guys home, and that was hard to do.
I'm just so disappointed that C.J.'s (Cron) not here to experience this, and be able to go through trials and see how he would stack up. A part of me says he would have added a whole lot to the club if he was healthy. I'm sad that he's not here.
What do you like about this team?
This team is really athletic - we have tremendous team speed, we have big, strong guys that run extremely well and we have good pitching. Our top pitchers are throwing 98-92. I am anxious to see how this team is going to develop into a team and how the pieces work together. I'm anxious to see this team play real games. When we watch them take batting practice and infield, it's pretty impressive.
What do you want to see out of the players?
I want to see them develop as a team and find out what they can do skill-wise - how they handle at-bats and pressure situations on defense and pitching. I am anxious to get some real-game situations against someone else and run through the whole gamut of things that come up in a ball game. Tonight kind of hurt that progress.
What have you seen in the Korea Republic? Are there differences to how the game is played?
The Koreans are a little more physical than the Japanese but play the same style. They are very fundamental and very enthusiastic about the game. The pitchers are the same - sinker, slider, split-finger type pitchers. It's a big-league style that we will see out of this team. It'll be an interesting challenge for us. It's not a college against another college, it's a country against another country.
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