Team USA captures gold at 2007 World Cup

With a 6-3 victory over Cuba on Sunday, Team USA earned the gold medal at the 2007 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) World Cup in Chinese Taipei. It was the first gold medal for the United States since 1974.

In pool play, USA defeated Mexico 3-0, blanked Panama 7-0, fell to Italy 6-2 and then rebounded to top Japan 5-1, Spain 12-1, South Africa 4-2 and Chinese Taipei 10-7. The Red, White & Blue beat Korea 3-1 in the quarterfinals and shutout the Netherlands 5-0 in the semifinals before defeating Cuba in the finals.

Many former Division I college players made up the 24-man roster, including Brian Bixler (Eastern Michigan), Jerry Blevins (Dayton), Tyler Colvin (Clemson), Brian Duensing (Nebraska), Lee Gronkiewicz (South Carolina), Michael Hollimon (Oral Roberts), Jason Jaramillo (Oklahoma State), Jeff Karstens (Texas Tech), Evan Longoria (Long Beach State), Steven Pearce (South Carolina), Chris Perez (Miami, Fla.), Justin Ruggiano (Texas A&M) and Jeff Stevens (Loyola Marymount).

Former major league skipper Davey Johnson was the manager of Team USA. Davidson head coach Dick Cooke was an auxiliary coach for the United States.

For more information on Team USA’s two weeks in Chinese Taipei, visit www.usabaseball.com.