Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Texas Tech on April 17, 2026 at 6 p.m.
6 p.m.
Baseball
vs Texas Tech
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Kinneberg Wraps Up Experience With USA Baseball
8/10/2010 12:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 10, 2010
Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg returned to the United States on Monday following the conclusion of the FISU World Baseball Championship, after leading the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team to a silver medal. The USA defeated Canada, Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei in pool play before beating Japan and China in the bracket rounds to move into the gold medal game against Cuba. The USA fell to Cuba in extra innings in the championship game, 4-3.
Kinneberg talked to UtahUtes.com to share his final thoughts on the experience.
Tell us about the final round of play.
We beat China in the first game to get us to the game we pointed to all year against Japan. It turned out to be a great baseball game. Their pitcher, Yuki Saito, is their hero in the country, and we hit a grand slam off him in the first inning. It was a great battle. We pitched really well between Sonny Gray and Noe Ramirez to win 4-2 to get us to the gold medal game with Cuba.
The game against Cuba was maybe one of the best games I have ever been involved in. The intensity, the passion, and the great play made it a tremendous baseball game. It was too bad that someone had to lose that game. Unfortunately, we weren't the home team. In extra innings, the way they run the tournament, you can still win, but knowing what you have to do as the home team is a huge advantage. Alfredo Despaigne, who hit the game-winning home run for them, also hit a home run off Stephen Strasburg in the Olympics. He is one of their main guys on their World tournament teams, and he would be in the big leagues in this country, along with several other players. Their pitcher, Miguel Gonzalez, is as good as I've ever seen and should be another guy in the big leagues.
What was the best part about the experience?
The way that the team really came together. We had 22 guys who really focused in and had a goal of winning that championship. It was fun to watch them grow as a team and grow as players. To see them play against Japan and Cuba, it was a highlight to watch the intensity and the passion for baseball that the guys showed. It was really fun to compete like that on that stage.
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Baseball's Colter McAnelly
Thursday, April 09
Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark | construction update - 1.2.26
Wednesday, January 07
Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark | construction update - 11.4.25
Tuesday, November 11
Utah Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 | Baseball's C.J. Cron
Monday, October 13