By From University Dispatch
MESSINA, ITALY – Louisville Head Coach Lelo Prado will lead the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Americans as they kick off the first-ever FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships, scheduled for August 2-11 in Messina, Italy. The Americans will begin competition Friday evening – Opening Night – when they face host country Italy at 8:30 pm local time (2:30 pm EDT/11:30 am PDT). Cardinal All-American outfielder Mark Jurich is hitting .244 in 11 games with one home run and four RBI for the National team this summer. He will be joined in Italy by Cardinal teammate Ryan McKinnon who has been selected to the Canadian National Team.
McKinnon is the only player on the Canadian team currently attending a division-one college in the U.S. After redshirting two seasons ago, McKinnon was 4 for 19 in limited duty last season at third for the Cards. McKinnon will meet up with his college coach and teammate on August 4th when the USA meets Canada. The Americans will place University of Houston righthander Brad Sullivan (5-0) on the mound Friday night vs. Italy, and will follow that by sending Wake Forest righty Kyle Sleeth (6-0) to the hill Sunday evening vs. Canada. The Americans will also face China and South Korea in pool play, before the medal round begins next Friday, August 9.
Team USA is coming off a gold medal performance at the 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The squad went 4-2 overall, and picked up international victories over Cuba, The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, and South Africa. Team USA currently stands at 18-5 overall on the summer.
Team USA and Cuba were placed in different pools for the FISU Collegiate World Baseball Championships, making it uncertain whether or not they will face each other in this event. But it is still a possibility that the two countries could meet in the medal round.
