UNITED STATES – USA Baseball has announced that its Collegiate National Team will face off in a five-game series against Korea in July of 2010. Four of the five games are scheduled to be played in the Triangle-area of North Carolina.

The series will open at the USA Baseball National Training Complex (NTC) in Cary, N.C. on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, and Game 2 will be played at the NTC the following night, Thursday, July 15, as well. From there, Triangle-area fans can catch the U.S. and Korea compete in weekend action at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) on Saturday and Sunday, July 17-18, in Durham, N.C. The time and location for Game 3 on Friday, July 16, is to be announced.

“Korean baseball is at an all-time high internationally,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. “We saw it first-hand last year at the Olympic Games in Beijing when Korea won the gold medal, as well as in its second place finish at the World Baseball Classic in March.”

Buoyed by its Olympic Games and World Baseball Classic performances, Korea is currently ranked No. 3 in the International Baseball Federation’s (IBAF) Men’s World Rankings, and it was ranked No. 2 as recently as August. Since then, Team USA logged IBAF Championships at the 16U Worlds and the Baseball World Cup, pushing it from No. 4 to No. 2 and passing Korea and Japan (now No. 3 and No. 4, respectively) in the process. The IBAF debuted the World Rankings – which encompasses international tournaments played across all age groups from the past four years – in January. Cuba is currently ranked No. 1 in the world.

Should it stay at No. 3, Korea will be the United States’ highest-ranked international opponent to visit the Triangle-area since USA Baseball’s move to the region in 2003.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to host such a respected opponent, and we are excited for the baseball fans in the Triangle who will get to see such a high level of competition,” Seiler said.

Korea’s Collegiate National Team last visited North Carolina in 2006, playing the U.S. in a three-game series at the DBAP. Team USA took the series two games to one.

2010 USA-KOREA COLLEGIATE SERIES:

Game 1: Wednesday, July 14, USA Baseball National Training Complex, Cary, N.C., 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, July 15, USA Baseball National Training Complex, Cary, N.C., 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, July 16, location and time to be announced
Game 4: Saturday, July 17, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C., 7:05 p.m.
Game 5: Sunday, July 18, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C., 5:05 p.m.

Source: USA Baseball

Tags: USA Baseball