July 22, 2002

HAARLEM, The Netherlands - University of Maryland baseball head coach Terry Rupp and the USA Baseball National Team have captured two victories against Chinese Taipei and South Africa while playing in the Honkbal Baseball Classic in Haarlem, The Netherlands.

Rupp is spending the summer as an assistant coach for the team of collegiate all-star freshmen and sophomores. This is the first career USA Baseball coaching experience for Rupp, who is entering his third year with the Terrapins after leading them to the first 30-win season in program history in 2002.

The USA Baseball National Team beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in the first game of the Classic behind a complete-game, two-hit shutout from Kyle Sleeth (So., Wake Forest). The team then dominated South Africa in an 8-0 victory. They were led by Aaron Hill (So., LSU), who delivered a three-run double in the second inning and Georgia Tech pitcher Kyle Bakker, who hurled five scoreless innings.

The team now boasts a 16-3 record for the summer and will face Japan, Cuba and The Netherlands before the Honkbal Classic Championship game on July 28.

Team USA played in various states in the U.S. in June and early July on the USA Red, White and Blue Tour, before traveling to The Netherlands.

Rupp and the team are gearing up for the first-ever FISU World Baseball Championships (27 and under) in Sicily and Messina, Italy, August 1-11.