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Monday, June 26, 2000
USA’s boys in
the wood rally
Georgia Tech's Mark Teixeira
By Al Chase
doesn't need an aluminum bat
to lead Americans
against Japan
Star-BulletinMark Teixeira is comfortable hitting with a wood bat.
He has used wood the past two summers and was excited that USA Baseball decided to use them in all games this summer.
He also demonstrated how to use the spacious confines of Rainbow Stadium last night.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound third baseman from Georgia Tech was the first of Akichika Yamada's 15 strikeout victims, but tied the game with a home run and doubled in his final two at-bats.
The USA National Team rallied to defeat the Japan College All Stars, 5-2, last night in the first of five games between the teams.
Japan took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Teixeira evened the score in the bottom of the inning, blasting a ball over the right-field wall. The only question was whether or not it would hit the ROTC building.
"It's a little tough at first making the transition from aluminum to wood," Teixeira said. "The wood bat is a little bit heavier. You have to get your hands through quicker. You can't have a lazy swing."
In the fifth inning, he lined a double to the right-center field wall and scored USA's final run when Clemson's Patrick Boyd singled to center.
In the seventh, Teixeira drove a pitch over the left fielder's head for another double."I think I take pride in hitting to all fields and think of myself as a pretty decent opposite field hitter," Baseball America's Player of the Year said. "I hit the ball where ever it is pitched."
Following Teixeira's home run, the Americans scored two more runs in the inning.
Bobby Crosby (Long Beach St.) singled, took second on a wild pitch, third on a groundout and scored on a balk.
Yamada then issued two of his three walks. Chris Burke (Tennessee) singled on the first pitch to score Casey Myers (Arizona St.) from second base.
The USA (5-0) players have been together a week. Those that were not on NCAA tournament teams are just getting into game shape.
"It's clear some are a little behind," USA head coach Mike Gillespie said.
"Their guy Yamada, who was like Cy Young, made guys look like they weren't in game shape."
Yamada, pitching with a deliberate motion, including the pause or hesitation at the top of his arm swing, brought a fastball in the high 80s. He changed speeds and mixed in a slider and biting curve.
He struck out the side in the sixth and eighth and fanned two in the seventh inning.
Yamada threw 148 pitches and still had his velocity in the eighth.
The teams play again tomorrow night at 7 at Rainbow Stadium.
Mark Prior, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Southern California, will start for USA.
USA 5, JAPAN 2
JAPAN AB R H BI USA AB R H BI Yuki rf 5 0 0 0 Lewis lf 3 1 0 0 Tanaka 2b 4 0 0 0 Merritt rf 4 0 1 0 M. Abe 3b 3 0 0 0 Teixeira 3b 4 2 3 1 S. Abe c 4 0 0 0 Crosby ss 4 1 2 1 Hirose lf 4 1 3 0 Boyd cf 4 0 1 1 Fujitani 1b 3 1 1 0 Myers dh 3 1 0 0 Osuga ss 3 0 0 0 Gautreau 1b 3 0 0 0 Kimoto ph 0 0 0 0 Budde c 3 0 0 0 Sasaki cf 2 0 0 0 Hida ph 3 1 1 2 Fujita dh 2 0 0 0 Totals 33 2 6 0 Totals 31 5 8 4
Japan 000 200 000 - 2 6 0 USA 100 310 00x - 5 8 3 E-Crosby, Budde, DiNardo.
DP-USA 2 (Teixeira-Burke-Gautreau, Saarloos-Budde-Gautreau). LOB-Japan 9, USA 5.
2B-Hirose, Teixeira 2. HR-Teixeira (2). SB-Osuga, Hida, Lewis. CS-Merritt.
Japan
IP H R ER BB SO Yamada (L, 0-1) 8 8 5 5 3 15
USA
IP H R ER BB SO DiNardo 3 4 2 0 2 5 Bengochea (W, 2-0) 3 0 0 0 2 2 Switzer 2 1 0 0 0 1 Saarloos (S, 1) 1 1 0 0 1 1 DiNardo pitched to two batters in the fourth inning.
WP-Yamada 3, DiNardo. Balk-Yamada. PB-S. Abe, Budde. Umpires-Tomaszewski (plate), Ogawa (first), Torres (third). T-2:45. A-523.
