June 27, 2003
TUCSON, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) - Arizona State baseball players Dustin Pedroia and Jeff Larish were named to the 20-man USA Baseball National Team roster when it was announced today at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Ariz. Pedroia and Larish were among 36 college freshman and sophomores who participated in the National Team trials and were selected to the prestigious team. ASU freshman outfielder Travis Buck also participated in the trials, but did not make the team and will play this summer for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League.
Pedroia (Woodland, Calif.) and Larish (Tempe, Ariz.) become the ninth and 10th selections from Arizona State to represent the Red, White and Blue of USA Baseball. Pedroia also played with the National team last summer before having to leave the team with an eye injury midway through the summer. ASU has now had a representative on the National Team in five of the last six years. Pedroia is the first Sun Devil to repeat as a member of Team USA.
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The duo will then travel east to Durham, N.C. (the new home of USA Baseball) for the 32nd annual USA vs. Japan Series. Three of the games will be played at Durham Athletic Park (home of the Triple-A Durham Bulls) and two will be played at Coastal Federal Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The five-game series against Japan will run July 2-7.
The summer also includes a six-game tour against teams from the New England Collegiate League, a five-game set against Mexico (USA vs. Mexico Friendship Series) and five games against teams from the Great Lakes Collegiate League. The summer concludes with the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic.
Complete game recaps, box scores, LiveStats and summer statistics can be found on the official website of USA Baseball at www.usabaseball.com.
Arizona State's Team USA Members:
Oddibe McDowell, 1984
Jim Austin, 1990
Kaipo Spenser, 1995
Willie Bloomquist, 1998
Jon Switzer, 2000
Casey Myers, 2000
Mike Esposito, 2001
Dustin Pedroia, 2002, 2003
Jeff Larish, 2003
USA Baseball National Team Schedule:
http://www.usabaseball.com/natl_schedule.html
USA Baseball National Team Roster:
http://www.usabaseball.com/natl_players.html