SARASOTA (SNN-TV) – Aside from football, baseball is in the headlines on the Suncoast as well, as the WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup kicks off today.
Tonight at LECOM Park the WBSC U18 Baseball World Cup kicks-off, with Team USA taking on the Netherlands at 7pm, weather permitting. But before tonight, yesterday the teams were introduced at an introductory press conference, moderated by inaugural ESPN SportsCenter anchor George Grande.
Each of the 12 countries were represented by their managers who helped preview the World Cup and their respective teams. WBSC host, and Team USA manager and MLB veteran utility player Denny Hocking says the talent displayed in these 50 games over nine days is simply some of the best.
“If you’ve got baseball in your blood, I would highly recommend coming out to both Ed Smith and LECOM because the talent that’s not just in the U.S.A uniform, but all of the other 11 nations, is going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
The USA Baseball roster is star-studded, but also includes a Suncoast product in Bradenton native Stone Russell, a middle infielder who formerly played at IMG Academy.
