Completed Event: Baseball at San José State on May 3, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 6
Baseball
at San José State
L 1-6
Grand Canyon University Athletics
GCU Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz
USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Completes Cuban Series, Travels to The Netherlands
7/12/2012 8:52:00 AM | Baseball
Will compete in Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week starting Saturday
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team recently wrapped up their five-game series in Cuba and briefly returned to the United States before heading out yesterday to The Netherlands for the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week from July 14-22.
The trip to Cuba, where the team squared off against the Cuban National Team at Latin American Stadium, was the first for GCU head baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz. The squad won the first contest, 4-3, on July 5 before falling to the Cuban team in the next three games. The Collegiate National Team closed out the series with a 5-4 win on July 9.
The video of Latin American Stadium was taken by Stankiewicz before one of their contests.
“It was somewhat like a time warp honestly,” said Stankiewicz. “A lot of vehicles we saw over there were built in the 1950s and 60s and it had a bit of a different feel to it. The people there are great; they love baseball and are very passionate about the game. They certainly know good baseball when they see it. It seemed like they all had smiles on their faces. We showed up with USA baseball on our shirts and hats and they got excited. It was neat to see how excited they were.”
The squad hosted a brief practice at the Miami Marlins new stadium on Tuesday and used yesterday to travel overseas to Haarlem. The team will now hold a number of practices in preparation for their first game of the tournament against Japan on Saturday.
“As we prepare for this tournament, we want to tighten up our defense, work on pickoffs, bunt defense and offensive and catching signs,” explained Stankiewicz. “Those are all things that when you have a lot of time in the preseason, you can get cleaned up easily. But when you have been traveling and have not had a chance to get on the field early, you are basically trying to work on those fundamentals during games. The next couple of days we will review signs and other fundamentals like first and third defense. The guys are always working on their swings and pitching mechanics. Hopefully we will get a chance to work on all of these things before the tournament starts.”
Having not seen many of the teams in their pool, which includes Japan, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipai and The Netherlands, the coaches are hoping to watch the other games and better gauge their game plan for the tournament.
“Fortunately heading in into the tournament, we have already played Cuba, so we have a good idea of what they are about,” Stankiewicz said. “We expect that Puerto Rico will be similar. Those teams are really aggressive early and they like fastballs, so we have to be careful how we pitch. And then we expect that Japan will be more of small ball team. Overall, we are not really sure what to expect. Hopefully we will have a chance to watch those guys play before us and get a scouting report on them. We will do the best we can to jump out in front and do some advance scouting.”
Between traveling, practice and games, the coaches and players have had little time to soak in the sights on their various stops. Stankiewicz hopes that they might have the opportunity for some sightseeing while in Europe, although they have five games in six days once pool play begins this weekend.
“Depending on the schedule, we certainly want the guys to enjoy Europe if possible,” said Stankiewicz. “At the same time, we know why we are going there, to represent the United States and win the gold medal. I’m sure our coordinator will have things planned. I know some of the players have been over there in the past. I expect that we will get a chance for sightseeing tours. But we do not have as much time as you think, with the schedule full of practice, early work and so on. But hopefully we can get some free moments.”
“We do our travel by bus and plane, so it has been kind of neat to see the relationships being built,” added Stankiewicz. “Guys are getting more comfortable and are pulling for each other in the dugout. It is a neat bond being built.”
Stankiewicz hopes that the exposure this tournament brings to the sport of baseball might prove its worth for once again being an Olympic sport.
“I think everybody would love to see baseball be reinstated into the Olympics,” Stankiewicz said. “It always drew well in Olympics, so it was not a matter of people not watching. Some other countries didn’t want to partake and I think it lost a little luster. It would be great to get it back there, and I think there are enough countries that now play baseball and play it well.”
“From a United States standpoint, we are frustrated that it ever left,” said Stankiewicz. “Anytime you get to play in these types of tournaments, you get a chance to see how competitive everyone is worldwide. It provides a great argument for baseball to be an Olympic sport again.”
If you missed Stankiewicz’s previous blogs, click here for Week 1, click here for Week 2 and click here for Week 3.
For more information about the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, click here.
The trip to Cuba, where the team squared off against the Cuban National Team at Latin American Stadium, was the first for GCU head baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz. The squad won the first contest, 4-3, on July 5 before falling to the Cuban team in the next three games. The Collegiate National Team closed out the series with a 5-4 win on July 9.
The video of Latin American Stadium was taken by Stankiewicz before one of their contests.
“It was somewhat like a time warp honestly,” said Stankiewicz. “A lot of vehicles we saw over there were built in the 1950s and 60s and it had a bit of a different feel to it. The people there are great; they love baseball and are very passionate about the game. They certainly know good baseball when they see it. It seemed like they all had smiles on their faces. We showed up with USA baseball on our shirts and hats and they got excited. It was neat to see how excited they were.”
The squad hosted a brief practice at the Miami Marlins new stadium on Tuesday and used yesterday to travel overseas to Haarlem. The team will now hold a number of practices in preparation for their first game of the tournament against Japan on Saturday.
“As we prepare for this tournament, we want to tighten up our defense, work on pickoffs, bunt defense and offensive and catching signs,” explained Stankiewicz. “Those are all things that when you have a lot of time in the preseason, you can get cleaned up easily. But when you have been traveling and have not had a chance to get on the field early, you are basically trying to work on those fundamentals during games. The next couple of days we will review signs and other fundamentals like first and third defense. The guys are always working on their swings and pitching mechanics. Hopefully we will get a chance to work on all of these things before the tournament starts.”
Having not seen many of the teams in their pool, which includes Japan, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chinese Taipai and The Netherlands, the coaches are hoping to watch the other games and better gauge their game plan for the tournament.
“Fortunately heading in into the tournament, we have already played Cuba, so we have a good idea of what they are about,” Stankiewicz said. “We expect that Puerto Rico will be similar. Those teams are really aggressive early and they like fastballs, so we have to be careful how we pitch. And then we expect that Japan will be more of small ball team. Overall, we are not really sure what to expect. Hopefully we will have a chance to watch those guys play before us and get a scouting report on them. We will do the best we can to jump out in front and do some advance scouting.”
Between traveling, practice and games, the coaches and players have had little time to soak in the sights on their various stops. Stankiewicz hopes that they might have the opportunity for some sightseeing while in Europe, although they have five games in six days once pool play begins this weekend.
“Depending on the schedule, we certainly want the guys to enjoy Europe if possible,” said Stankiewicz. “At the same time, we know why we are going there, to represent the United States and win the gold medal. I’m sure our coordinator will have things planned. I know some of the players have been over there in the past. I expect that we will get a chance for sightseeing tours. But we do not have as much time as you think, with the schedule full of practice, early work and so on. But hopefully we can get some free moments.”
“We do our travel by bus and plane, so it has been kind of neat to see the relationships being built,” added Stankiewicz. “Guys are getting more comfortable and are pulling for each other in the dugout. It is a neat bond being built.”
Stankiewicz hopes that the exposure this tournament brings to the sport of baseball might prove its worth for once again being an Olympic sport.
“I think everybody would love to see baseball be reinstated into the Olympics,” Stankiewicz said. “It always drew well in Olympics, so it was not a matter of people not watching. Some other countries didn’t want to partake and I think it lost a little luster. It would be great to get it back there, and I think there are enough countries that now play baseball and play it well.”
“From a United States standpoint, we are frustrated that it ever left,” said Stankiewicz. “Anytime you get to play in these types of tournaments, you get a chance to see how competitive everyone is worldwide. It provides a great argument for baseball to be an Olympic sport again.”
If you missed Stankiewicz’s previous blogs, click here for Week 1, click here for Week 2 and click here for Week 3.
For more information about the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, click here.
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