THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607050262
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 73 lines
The U.S. Olympic baseball team wasn't seeing red, white and blue Thursday evening at Harbor Park, just gold.
Pounding three pitchers from the Cuban national team for 10 hits, it was easy to see why. The Americans prevailed 8-4 over the Cubans, the reigning gold medalists, to close out a five-game series which Cuba won 3-2. With just 15 days before the Olympic Games, the series could be a preview for the gold-medal game in Atlanta.
After sweeping four games from Cuba last summer, when both teams had similar rosters to their current ones, the five games served as a mental tune-up.
``This series did help us in our confidence,'' said Jim Parque of UCLA, who earned his first win of the summer. ``It improved us in all aspects of the game - fielding, hitting and pitching.''
Winning the closer was a great way to cap the series, , but Jacque Jones, who went 3 for 3 with an RBI on Thursday, said the Americans still need to play catchup with the more experienced Cubans.
``We have to get more consistent on the mound, at the plate, not leaving runners on base . . . ,'' he said, beginning a long list of the game's fundamentals. ``But we're peaking at the right time.''
Jason Williams' solo homer into the picnic area behind the leftfield fence gave Team USA an early lead, and the Americans were up 3-1 going into the third. Then Travis Lee drilled a three-run homer to dead center, giving the flag-waving crowd of 10,105 a reason to chant ``U-S-A'' a little louder.
``We know we can beat 'em,'' Lee said. ``We beat them last year and we had beaten them once this year, and that was in the back of our minds.''
Something else that might have been in the back of their mind - the bullpen, which failed to hold a late lead two days earlier in Knoxville, Tenn. But on Thursday, relievers Parque and Braden Looper didn't give up a run over 4 2/3 innings, and the defense did its part, turning four double plays.
``Our pitching needs to step up,'' Parque said. ``We've been pitching vs. some good batters, but nothing like this. If you throw a pitch that they can hit, they're not going to foul it off. They're going to mash it.''
The Americans have gone 20-3 on their exhibition tour, winning 41 of their last 44 games dating back to last summer. The schedule has included a Japanese college all-star team and Olympic teams from Australia and Nicaragua. But the Cubans have dominated international baseball with several major league-caliber players.
``The Cubans flat out swing it,'' Parque said. ``You can't get much better than that.''
After the Cubans scored two runs in the top of the fifth, Team USA answered with Jones' two-run double down the leftfield line. Cuba had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, which put the tying run at the plate and cleanup hitter Omar Linares on deck, but the United States turned a 4-6-3 double play to seal the victory.
Jones said the team, with eight games remaining before the Atlanta Games, is focused but needs to consider one thing after going 2-3 against Cuba.
``In the Olympics, it's just one game,'' he said. ``You play the round-robin and all, but really everything comes down to one game.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MIKE HEFFNER/Virginian-Pilot photos
Jason Williams, right, receives high-fives after hitting a home run
to put the U.S. team ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning
Thursday night at Harbor Park.
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot photos
Team USA's Jacque Jones slides safely under the attempted tag of
Cuban catcher Alberto Hernandez.
R.A. Dickey lets out a yell as he sends a pitch to the plate in the
fifth inning of Team USA's 8-4 win over Cuba at Harbor Park. by CNB