UNCG to host USA Baseball for exhibition
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team will host a special exhibition game on Friday as the Spartans will face off against the USA 18U National Trials Team at 6 p.m. in the UNCG Baseball Stadium. Admission to the game is free for all spectators.
The USA 18U National Team is comprised of 21 of the top 18U players from around the nation. The team is training at the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, N.C. in preparation for the 2011 Junior 'AAA'/18U Pan Am Championships that will be held in Columbia beginning on Nov. 18.
The 18U National Team is managed by former major leaguer Scott Brosius who won three World Series titles with the New York Yankees. Brosius was also named the World Series MVP in 1999.
There are numerous players who have come through the 18U National Team program in the past years Bryce Harper, the 2010 No. 1 overall pick to the Washington Nationals, was on the 2009 team. In 2007, Eric Hosmer, who currently plays for the Kansas City Royals and is a contender for the 2011 American League Rookie of the Year Award, played on the team. Also, Clayton Kershaw, who is the leader for the 2011 National League Cy Young Award, was on the 2005 squad.
UNCG has a large connection with the USA Baseball program as Spartan head coach Mike Gaski is the president of USA Baseball. Gaski was elected as president in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005 and still holds that position.
Earlier this week, the 18U team defeated Pitt Community College, 12-2, and tied NC State, 3-3, on Wednesday. The team will play its final exhibition on Saturday at UNCW.
Last season, the Spartans went 34-20 overall and 22-8 in the Southern Conference. UNCG finished just one game out of first place in the conference standings and earned the No. 2 in the SoCon Tournament.
Some of the star players for Team USA are Nick Williams, Gavin Cecchini and Joey Gallo. All three are projected to be drafted in the top-10 of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft by some publications.
- UNCG -