THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507230218
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
The Hampton Roads area will get a chance to see the baseball team that could represent the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Team USA will be in town for one night to take on Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) at Harbor Park tonight at 7:15 p.m.
The team is composed of 26 college players consisting of freshmen, sophomores and two juniors.
The process of selecting this team began in November of 1994 when major league baseball scouts and the coaching staff got together to pick the top 72 freshmen and sophomore college players in the country.
They were all invited to try out in Homestead, Fla. where the team was eventually cut to 26. The team will be down to 22 by Aug. 1.
The final 20-man team will be selected on July 5, 1996 and will represent the United States in the Summer Games.
The summer tour began in Millington, Tenn. on June 16 against Nicaragua. So far the team has played Japan, Nicaragua, Canada, Panama, and Korea.
The team is coached by Skip Bertman, the head coach at Louisiana State. Bertman was an assistant coach for the 1988 gold medal team.
``These guys are a good bunch of kids,'' said Bertman. ``This has been a goal of mine (head coach of the team) and it is a real challenge for me.''
The tour, according to Bertman, is a developmental one. ``We want the guys to learn and to get better,'' said Bertman. ``You can't pick a team, you have to build one.''
Heading into Friday's action, Team USA is 17-6. Before coming to Norfolk the team will finish up its series with Nicaragua on Saturday.
Right now the team's most consistent player is second baseman Warren Morris. Morris, a rising junior at Louisiana State, is batting .367 through Wednesday's game.
Centerfielder Jacque Jones, a rising junior at USC, leads the team with three home runs and is hitting .358.
Mark Kotsay, the College World Series Most Outstanding Player for NCAA champion Cal-State Fullerton, is hitting .314 and has 12 runs batted in.
``It feels really good to be a part of the team,'' said Kotsay. ``We have quality guys and I am real excited.'' by CNB