July 6, 1999
The USA baseball team opened its series versus Korea with two wins in three games, after limping back from a trip to the Far East that saw Japan sweep five games from Team USA.
Notre Dame sophomore righthander Aaron Heilman (Logansport, Ind.) set down three straight batters to clinch an 11-2 win for the USA over Korea on July 4, in Tucson, Ariz. The USA also won the series opener (7-5) before losing a wild 13-11 game to Korea on July 5.
Heilman also recorded the final two outs (with one hit allowed) in the 7-3 loss to Japan in that series finale. His 1999 summer stats with Team USA include a 2.38 ERA, 1-1 record and one save in six appearances (four of which have come in relief). Heilman has logged 11 and one-third innings, with 12 strikeouts, three walks and eight hits allowed.
The second installment of Heilman’s summer diary series is expected sometime this week (it will be faxed to media outlets and available at und.com).
The USA-Korea series will resume on Wednesday with the fourth of five games, in Albuquerque, N.M. The series concludes Thursday night in Ogden, Utah. A full summer schedule–stretching though several states–still awaits Team USA.
USA 7, KOREA 5 (July 3): The bats came alive for a USA team that totaled just 12 runs in the five-game series with Japan. The USA collected eight extra-base hits, including two-run homers by North Carolina centerfielder Tyrell Godwin and Texas A&M rightfielder Daylan Holt. … Godwins blast capped a five-run second inning that put the USA ahead for good. Holt hit his first of the season in the sixth inning, providing the eventual winning runs. University of San Francisco first baseman Tagg Bozied went 3-for-4 and hiked his team-leading batting average to .425. Stanford DH John Gall also had three hits and drove in three runs before injuring his right ankle running out an RBI bunt single in the seventh inning. … UCLA righthander Jon Brandt overcame a shaky start and held Korea in check until the seventh inning, retiring 11 straight batters at one point. … Brandt departed with two runners on base in the seventh but Arizona righthander Ben Diggins let in two runs, slicing the USA lead to 7-5. Korea had the potential tying runs in scoring position with two outs before Diggins was bailed out by college teammate Keoni DeRenne, who made a backhanded play at shortstop on a hard grounder to get the USA out of the inning. … Diggins then retired six straight batters to close the win. … The USAs big second inning produced a 5-2 lead, sparked by Bozieds leadoff single and a walk by California catcher Mike Tonis. Cal third baseman Xavier Nady added an RBI double to right-center and Gall delivered a two-run double into the left-center gap. Godwin capped the big inning with a booming two-run shot to right-center.
USA 11, KOREA 2 (July 4): Team USA received superb pitching >from Stanfords Justin Wayne, timely hitting at the top of the lineup and mistake-free defense to please 7,499 Independence Day fans at Hi Corbett Field. … Wayne held Korea to three hits over six shutout innings while totaling seven strikeouts, including one to end the second inning after the visitors had loaded the bases. Wayne escaped by striking out Jae-Ho Cho and allowed only one other baserunner to get in scoring position. … The top seven hitters in the USA batting order combined to go 12-for-24 while scoring 10 runs and collecting eight RBI. The USA put the game away in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to go ahead 8-0. … The USAs two-run second inning included a single up the middle and stolen base by DeRenne. Nady then walked, followed by a double steal, and DeRenne scored when Korea shortstop Hyun-Gon Lee misplayed a grounder hit by Miami second baseman Manny Crespo . Holt capped the inning with an RBI single to right. … The Americans tacked on two more runs in the second. Godwin was hit by a two-out pitch, followed by a wild pitch, a walk by DeRenne and Nadys RBI single to left. Bozied followed with a run-scoring double past the third baseman. … Prior to the game, USA Baseball officially retired Mark McGwires uniform number 41. McGwire helped Team USA capture the silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
KOREA 13, USA 11 (July 5): Korea rapped out 21 hits, the most a USA National team ever has surrendered in one game (the previous high was 19 by Cuba on July 30, 1990). … The USA (6-8) scored four unearned runs in the eighth and put the tying runs on base in the top of the ninth before Godwin hit into a game-ending double play. … The first 11 Korean batters hit safely in the third inning, with 10 of them scoring. Oklahoma State lefthander Matt Smith and Houston righthander Kyle Crowell combined on the rocky inning, which included a three-run double by Ki-Heon Nam and a bases-loaded triple by Han-Yi Park. … Team USA scored twice in the second inning and forged ahead in the third when Bozied smacked an RBI single to left field. Nady then singled, followed by a wild pitch and a two-run single to left by UCLA leftfielder Bill Scott.