Photos: USA Olympic Baseball Team Tallies 3 Wins Before Tokyo
Cary, NC — The Olympic USA Baseball team finished up exhibition play against the National Collegiate Team yesterday afternoon with a 5-2 win at the National Training Complex in Cary.
Next stop for these talented ball players is Tokyo as they vie for a Gold Medal in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Their upcoming battle for the gold represents the first time the USA Baseball team has been able to compete in a summer Olympic games since 2008. I imagine the team is extraordinarily hungry for the world title, given the last time Team USA brought home gold was the 2000 Olympic Baseball Tournament in Sydney, Australia.
The men in all white are the USA Olympic Team and the men in navy jerseys are the National Collegiate Team.
Exhibition Game 3 Recap
History repeated itself as the Olympic Team once again bested the Collegiate National Team, taking all 3 exhibition games with scores of 8-3, 1-0, and 5-2. Though, I will say, the boys in blue did not make it easy on them yesterday.
Starting off the game was Brooks Lee of the CNT who knocked a home run out beyond right field. Of course, the Olympics-bound players had to answer back and sealed a 2-1 lead by the end of the first inning. As the exhibition game continued in the course of its abridged 8 innings, the game was tilted in favor of the Olympic Team by a narrow margin of 3-2 at the end of 4 innings.
This score remained locked until the 8th inning when the Olympic team brought 2 runs to home plate, giving them the comfy 5-2 exhibition win before heading for Tokyo.
A decent crowd for a 1 PM game on a Tuesday gathered at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary.
Triston Casas, wearing number 26 and playing 1st base for Team USA, sports the stars and stripes on his sleeve. His current team in the MLB is the Boston Red Sox.
Simeon Woods Richardson, a right-handed pitcher from the Toronto Blue Jays, was one of several pitchers to take the mound for Team USA yesterday.
Off of a whacky bounce, second baseman Eddy Alvarez scooped up and tossed the ball using only his glove in one fluid motion to make the out. Overshooting the glove of first baseman Triston Casas, the Olympic Team allowed #59 of the CNT, Ethan Long the safe call.
Second baseman for Team USA, Eddy Alvarez, awaits the next pitch wearing the prized letters “USA” on his chest. Alvarez made history as the first Winter Olympian to go on to play major league baseball when he joined the Marlins. He earned a silver medal for speed skating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Now, he leads the team going into his first summer Olympic Games as the team’s chosen flag bearer.
Local residents and traveling fans got an up-close look at the group representing the nation yesterday in Cary.
Triston Casas was a frequent flier to the bases yesterday. Here, he drills a pop-up to right field, earning him a double.
Casas gets settled at second base and enjoys a bit of what appeared to be friendly smack talk amongst the infielders.
Shane Baz, #35 of the Tampa Bay Rays winds up to delivers a rocket to the strike zone.
Starting catcher for Team USA, Mark Kolozsvary of the Cincinnati Reds, hit to left-center field, giving him a single.
The 22-year-old shortstop, Nick Allen of the Oakland Athletics, rounds first after hitting inside the left-field line for a double.
At the end of the game, the Olympic Team registered 12 hits and 5 RBIs.
Cary, NC is the only place in the world whose hometown team is the National Olympic Baseball Team. Now they transition from their training in Cary to the global stage in Tokyo where they will be up against the 5 other qualifying countries of Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the Dominican Republic.
In the first round, the team will take on Israel at 6 AM EST on Friday, July 30, 2021.
Story and photos by Ashley Kairis.
All the Cary news for the informed Cary citizen. Subscribe by email.
