Completed Event: Baseball at San José State on May 3, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 6
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at San José State
L 1-6
Grand Canyon University Athletics
USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Claims Bronze at Honkbal Week
7/24/2012 3:14:00 PM | Baseball
GCU Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz served as an assistant for the team.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team completed their summer schedule with a third-place finish at the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem, The Netherlands. GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz served as an assistant for the team and recently returned back to Arizona after embarking on this journey over four weeks ago in Cary, North Carolina at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
The Collegiate National Team was defeated by Cuba, 5-3, in the first of the medal games at Honkbal Week after Cuba scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning. But just a day later, the team rebounded to win the third-place contest over The Netherlands, who tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull within one run before the Collegiate National Team claimed the 4-3 victory.
“You always set out to win first place in these tournaments and it was frustrating that we lost the opener to Cuba, a team that we knew really well because we had played them six times before,” said Stankiewicz. “We were up 3-0 in the eighth inning and felt like we had them, but we couldn’t close it out. I think that lends to the experience of the Cuban National Team: they are an older, more veteran group than we are. Our young guys got excited about winning the game and playing for the gold and maybe we got ahead of ourselves. With those guys (Cuba), we opened a door and they kicked it in. They were able to tie the game and win in the 10th, which was a tough blow for us.”
“Despite the loss to Cuba, our guys bounced back and responded well,” said Stankiewicz. “It helped that we were playing the host team with the crowd behind them. It was matter of pride for us and we told the players that although we didn’t come here to win the bronze, we came here to represent the United State of America. The guys understood that and responded well to that challenge. It was a big letdown when we lost to Cuba. But the next best thing at that point was the bronze and we wanted to make sure we got that. It was a matter of personal pride for the players and pride in wearing the jersey.”
Stankiewicz spent over 30 days with some of the best coaches and players in college baseball, including Dave Serrano from Tennessee, Jason Gill from Loyola Marymount and George Horton from Oregon. Over the course of the summer, the team played a number of Coastal Plain League teams in North Carolina, five exhibition games in Cuba and eight games as part of the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week. The Collegiate National Team finished with a 12-5 overall record and 5-2 record during Honkbal Week, not including a 3-0 exhibition win over The Netherlands on July 12.
“It was great to see so much international baseball,” Stankiewicz said. “It is exciting that these other countries are playing baseball and playing it well. Baseball is a game that is really gaining steam in Europe and it was neat to see their fan base. They are all excited about the game and it is very neat to see that it is growing over there.”
“It was also exciting to work with great, young players,” explained Stankiewicz. “A lot of those players are going to play in the Major Leagues someday. In the same respect, we are not that far away here at GCU. I really believe that.”
Back on campus from his exciting summer journey, Stankiewicz is looking forward to sharing his experiences with members of the 2013 roster.
“I want our guys to realize they are not that far away from representing the US,” said Stankiewicz. “I worked with great coaches and players, great young men, over the last few weeks and I believe there will be players here that can compete in same arena. I want to make sure that our guys know that. If you play baseball the right way, you have a chance to have a lot of success. I want our guys to understand that if they go about it right way, if they work hard and are disciplined, they can have those opportunities.”
“We are in the process of bringing in some players here that we hope will be able to represent the United States in a format like this one day,” added Stankiewicz. “We have a great group of players now and hopefully someday soon, they will be able to experience something like this.”
To read previous blogs from Stankiewicz, click here for Week 1, click here for Week 2, click here for Week 3, click here for Week 4 and click here for Week 5.
For more information about the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, click here.
The Collegiate National Team was defeated by Cuba, 5-3, in the first of the medal games at Honkbal Week after Cuba scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning. But just a day later, the team rebounded to win the third-place contest over The Netherlands, who tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull within one run before the Collegiate National Team claimed the 4-3 victory.
“You always set out to win first place in these tournaments and it was frustrating that we lost the opener to Cuba, a team that we knew really well because we had played them six times before,” said Stankiewicz. “We were up 3-0 in the eighth inning and felt like we had them, but we couldn’t close it out. I think that lends to the experience of the Cuban National Team: they are an older, more veteran group than we are. Our young guys got excited about winning the game and playing for the gold and maybe we got ahead of ourselves. With those guys (Cuba), we opened a door and they kicked it in. They were able to tie the game and win in the 10th, which was a tough blow for us.”
“Despite the loss to Cuba, our guys bounced back and responded well,” said Stankiewicz. “It helped that we were playing the host team with the crowd behind them. It was matter of pride for us and we told the players that although we didn’t come here to win the bronze, we came here to represent the United State of America. The guys understood that and responded well to that challenge. It was a big letdown when we lost to Cuba. But the next best thing at that point was the bronze and we wanted to make sure we got that. It was a matter of personal pride for the players and pride in wearing the jersey.”
Stankiewicz spent over 30 days with some of the best coaches and players in college baseball, including Dave Serrano from Tennessee, Jason Gill from Loyola Marymount and George Horton from Oregon. Over the course of the summer, the team played a number of Coastal Plain League teams in North Carolina, five exhibition games in Cuba and eight games as part of the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week. The Collegiate National Team finished with a 12-5 overall record and 5-2 record during Honkbal Week, not including a 3-0 exhibition win over The Netherlands on July 12.
“It was great to see so much international baseball,” Stankiewicz said. “It is exciting that these other countries are playing baseball and playing it well. Baseball is a game that is really gaining steam in Europe and it was neat to see their fan base. They are all excited about the game and it is very neat to see that it is growing over there.”
“It was also exciting to work with great, young players,” explained Stankiewicz. “A lot of those players are going to play in the Major Leagues someday. In the same respect, we are not that far away here at GCU. I really believe that.”
Back on campus from his exciting summer journey, Stankiewicz is looking forward to sharing his experiences with members of the 2013 roster.
“I want our guys to realize they are not that far away from representing the US,” said Stankiewicz. “I worked with great coaches and players, great young men, over the last few weeks and I believe there will be players here that can compete in same arena. I want to make sure that our guys know that. If you play baseball the right way, you have a chance to have a lot of success. I want our guys to understand that if they go about it right way, if they work hard and are disciplined, they can have those opportunities.”
“We are in the process of bringing in some players here that we hope will be able to represent the United States in a format like this one day,” added Stankiewicz. “We have a great group of players now and hopefully someday soon, they will be able to experience something like this.”
To read previous blogs from Stankiewicz, click here for Week 1, click here for Week 2, click here for Week 3, click here for Week 4 and click here for Week 5.
For more information about the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, click here.
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