For the second straight year, junior first baseman/pitcher Sean Doolittle was selected last week to spend the summer playing for Team USA. This marks the third straight year that Virginia has placed a player on the 22-man roster. In 2004, Ryan Zimmerman notched a .468 batting average, four home runs, and 27 RBIs for Team USA.
Doolittle wasted no time getting off to a hot start for the Americans. Tuesday evening, he delivered the game-winning base-hit to leftfield that gave Team USA a 1-0 victory over Taiwan in a contest played in Pawtucket, R.I. Doolittle only entered the game in the eighth inning after rushing to the stadium from the airport. He had spent the previous few days in Lubbock, Texas, where he was attending the Brooks Wallace Awards Banquet.
"I was just trying to make something happen," Doolittle said. "I didn't swing a bat for threedays and I fouled of a few pitches trying to go the other way. It definitely was a memorable experience."
Doolittle was chosen for Team USA after surviving a series of tryouts that cut 35 hopefuls down to the final 22-man roster. He was one of three players to be named to the roster for the second-straight year. Team USA will play series against Taiwan, Germany, Korea and Japan before traveling to Havana, Cuba for the Championship Tournament in August. Two other opponents on the schedule include the Southwest Slashers and the Georgia Collegiate All-Stars.
"I just think it's really cool to be able to wear a USA across your chest and go out there, go overseas and represent your country," Doolittle said. "It's an opportunity to see more of the world. Last year, we were in Japan and Taiwan and this year we're going to Cuba. My dad is in the military so for me to be able to represent my country is pretty cool."
Doolittle hit .324 at the plate this past season for the Cavaliers and drove in 57 runs.
"I obviously want to get better and become the best player I can," the New Jersey native said. "I think hitting with wood bats all summer and playing against the competition that we're going to see is really going to make me a better hitter. I would like to be able to try to hit for a little more power so when I come back here next year when we have the right-field fence moved in I'll be able to take advantage of that."
The right-field fence at Davenport Filed, which currently stands at 352 feet down the line, will be moved in before the start of next season as part of a series of stadium improvements.
Doolittle also hopes to fine-tune his pitching over the summer. He posted an 11-2 record with 108 strikeouts in 2006.
"I would like to be able to start keeping my pitch counts lower," Doolittle said. "I did have a lot of strikeouts but lots of times I wasn't able to go into the seventh and eighth innings of games. I'd like to be able to go deeper in games. I also want to try to develop my changeup to go along with my fastball and slider."
If he had not made the Team USA roster, Doolittle would have played in the Cape Cod Summer League where several of his teammates are currently competing. Doolittle talked about his experience will differ from that of his teammates.
"I feel like the talent level is relatively the same," he said. "But it's a different experience. On Team USA, you travel more and bounce around living out of hotels. In Cape Cod, you're living with host families and you're in the same town for the whole summer."
Virginia players currently playing for Cape Cod League squads include Jeremy Farrell, Brandon Guyer and David Adams. The New England League features Greg Miclat, Tim Henry, Brandon Marsh and Pat McAnaney while Andrew Carraway and John Scaglione are playing in the New York Collegiate League. Closer to Charlottesville, Virginia fans can see Patrick Wingfield, Ryan Hudson, Mike Mitchell and Jake Rule in the Shenandoah Valley League.
"All of our players that are healthy go away to collegiate summer leagues," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "We have players scattered throughout the country to try to become the best players they can be as well as making Virginia baseball better."
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