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 and USA Baseball Begin FISU Worlds on Friday
7/28/2010 12:00 AM | Baseball
July 28, 2010
Yahoo! Sports Interview with Coach Kinneberg
Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg and USA Baseball started their overseas trip with a pair of losses to Chinese Taipei before bouncing back to win the final two games of the series. The team now heads to Japan, where the FISU World University Baseball Championships begin on Friday in Tokyo. The USA opens with Sri Lanka in pool play, followed by Chinese Taipei and Canada before the quarterfinals begin on Aug. 3.
Kinneberg talked to UtahUtes.com about the upcoming tournament. For more information, visit www.USABaseball.com.
You dropped your first two games against Chinese Taipei, and then bounced back to win the final two games of the series. You mentioned last time that the players would have to adjust to a number of factors, and do you think that contributed some to the early losses?
I think that was true. I believe Jet lag was a huge factor in the first game. Taiwan has a good club. They have very good, sound pitching, very similar to the Japanese and Korean teams. They don't make any mistakes. On Sunday night, our first game, we had a big rain delay and sat around. It was a perfect storm for them, and it was hard to stay awake during the game. The second game, we didn't play very well. I think we were more rested and ready, but their pitchers did a great job. We lost 1-0 and had chances to score all during the game. The third and fourth games were much better.
I think last night's result (9-0 win) was a result of the guys being anxious to get to Tokyo. They are anxious to get going to the tournament that we have been working towards for the last 3-4 weeks. It's here and starts tomorrow. I think our focus will get even better at this point now.
The FISU Worlds start on Friday. Which team would you say is the favorite?
I think the two favorites are Japan and the U.S. In our pool, Taiwan has shown that they are capable of beating us and we'll have to see the Canadian team when we get there. From everyone's information, the Japanese have really geared their team toward this tournament. They are under a lot of pressure to win, so they will put their best foot forward.
It'll be an interesting tournament. It brings a mix of different countries together. You have the Latin America influence with Cuba, and three teams from the Far East, so there will be a little different type of play.
The USA is the three-time defending champion of the tournament (2004, '06, '08). Do you feel some pressure as the head coach to continue the tradition?
Sure. When I was hired, we were told we needed to win this, and that's what we're going to try to do. It's important for us and USA Baseball to continue its winning tradition.
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