USA Baseball National Team Resumes Action Against Canada At FISU World Championships

CZECH REPUBLIC - The USA Baseball National Team will meet Canada while Japan will test Lithuania when the only unbeaten teams at the 2008 FISU World Championships resume action on Tuesday. Team USA and Japan will battle Wednesday morning in a marquee matchup.

Team USA (3-0) crushed Lithuania 30-1 this past Sunday in a contest in which the Americans swatted 12 home runs. Micah Gibbs, Scott Woodward and Hunter Morris each connected for a pair of long balls to help the collegiate all-stars improve their 2008 Tour record to 19-0.

Pitching has also been a strength of Team USA which has surrendered only seven hits in 25 innings. Olympian Stephen Strasburg tossed seven no-hit innings with 13 strikeouts in a 5-2 win over Korea while Brett Hunter threw five innings of one-hit ball and fanned nine against Lithuania.

Canada (1-2) opened the tourney with a 6-4 loss to Chinese Taipei before falling 7-6 to Japan in a 11-inning marathon that lasted nearly four hours. The Canadiens routed Lithuania 25-0 on Monday to post their first victory.

Japan (3-0) disposed of Korea 8-4 on Monday with seven unanswered runs after trailing 4-1. Hiroko Uemoto went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base and scored two runs while closer Hisashi Takeuchi walked one and fanned three in a dominant ninth-inning appearance.

Lithuania (0-4) has been blanked three times while being outscored 71-1 thus far with Japan and Chinese Taipei still on the slate. Third baseman Tadas Maciulevicius registered the only hit in a 30-1 loss to Team USA.

Chinese Taipei (2-1) will square off against Korea on Tuesday after edging the Czech Republic 3-2 on Monday. The Taiwanese squad has been involved in two one-run games and one two-run contest, and have allowed only eight runs in 27 innings.

Korea (2-2) lost to Japan 8-4 on Monday butlooked good against the Americans in a 5-2 setback that was knotted at 1-1 heading into the ninth. Yu Kang Heo pitched seven strong innings against Team USA allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in a no-decision effort.

The Czech Republic (1-3) will have the day off on Monday after dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to Chinese Taipei on Monday. The team has played much better than their record indicates with 6-3 loss to Korea to open the tournament and a respectable 8-2 loss to Team USA wrapped around a 5-0 win over Lithuania.

Photo/Petr Pros

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