Hunter Enjoying Summer with USA National Team
8/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HAVANA, Cuba -- University of Alabama right-hander Tommy Hunter (Indianapolis, Ind.) has had quite a year.
As a freshman, Hunter posted a 10-3 record and 3.30 ERA in 20 games for the Crimson Tide and was the winning pitcher in a 5-1 win at Tennessee on May 20 that clinched a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship. He set UA rookie records for innings pitched and wins en route to earning freshman All-American honors.
Hunter was approached mid-season by Alabama assistant coach Joe Raccuia about the possibility of trying out for the USA National Team. The initial list of 20 players were selected and Hunter was on the "watch list" the remainder of the season.
"I'm not really sure how it all happened," Hunter said this weekend from Havana, Cuba, where the USA National Team will participate in the 2006 FISU World University Championships which begin today. "Coach Raccuia asked me if I would be interested in trying out for the USA National Team and I told him I would be interested."
Hunter was one of 14 players added to the initial list and then after tryouts at USA Baseball Headquarters in Durham, NC, was named to the 22-man squad. The tryouts were intense and very competitive, but nothing like the games and travel Hunter and his teammates have endured since the beginning of July.
"This has been really awesome," Hunter said. "I have had a lot of fun this summer. It has been hard work and we have been all over the place playing games. We have gone to a new town every two days. Every game has been a road game.
The USA National Team played 30 games during the month of July, including seven intrasquad and exhibition games, before embarking on its trip to Cuba for the FISU World University Championships. The USA National Team posted a 20-2-1 overall record during its tour of the United States.
The USA National Team began with a series of intrasquad and exhibition games with some college all-star teams in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The 23-game summer tour began with a seven-game series against Chinese Taipei. The opening game of that series came on July 4 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., is where Hunter got his first taste of USA Baseball.
The Alabama right-hander pitched the final two innings in relief of Vanderbilt left hander David Price. Hunter threw two perfect innings and struck out five of the six batters he faced. Sean Doolittle's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth gave Team USA a 1-0 win and Hunter picked up the win in his USA Baseball debut in front of 8,525 fans on the 230th birthday of the United States.
"I was so honored to pitch for Team USA on the Fourth of July," Hunter said. "I pitched the last two innings and we were lucky enough to get a run and I got the win. It was not just a win, but a win for the United States. And for that to happen on the Fourth of July was really, really neat."
In all, Hunter has pitched in a team-high 13 games this summer. He has compiled a 3-0 record and 2.61 ERA for a USA National Team that is loaded on the mound. Hunter has logged 20 2/3 innings this summer and allowed 15 hits, seven runs and six earned runs, with 22 strikeouts and only two walks.
Hunter is one of four SEC pitchers to pitch for the USA National Team this summer, joining Price, Arkansas' Nick Schmidt and Florida's Bryan Augenstein. The quartet of SEC hurlers are a combined 8-2 this summer in 25 appearances.
The USA National Team is 20-2 on the mound with a 1.33 ERA this summer. The staff has six shutouts and 10 saves and has recorded 257 strikeouts in 210 innings on the mound.
For Hunter and his teammates the travel has been more difficult than the opposition this summer. The team has played 23 games in 14 different cities, including Pawtucket, Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), Newport (Rhode Island), Durham, Joplin (Missouri), Marietta (Georgia), Rome (Georgia), Athens (Georgia), Greenville (South Carolina), Kannapolis (North Carolina), Greensboro (North Carolina), Ft. Mill (South Carolina), Columbia (South Carolina) and Fayetteville (North Carolina).
"It is really hard, especially the travel," Hunter said. "Once I settled in and learned the ropes, it was all about playing baseball. This has been an experience of a lifetime. We have been to a lot a places and met a lot of different people. No matter where we have played, we have never been the visiting team. They all cheer for the USA National Team. We have had tons of support all summer from all the fans."
That all changes today as the USA National Team opens with the Czech Republic at 2 p.m. at Fernandez Stadium in Havana in the first game of the 2006 FISU World University Championships.
The USA National Team will face the US Virgin Islands on Aug. 8 (10 AM), Puerto Rico on Aug. 9 (2 PM), Mexico on Aug. 10 (8:45 PM) and Chinese Taipei on Aug. 11 (8:45 PM). The quarterfinals are set for Aug. 13 and the semifinals are scheduled for Aug. 15. The 2006 FISU World University Championship game is slated for Aug. 15.
"I have never been to Cuba, so I am very excited about this opportunity," Hunter said. "We have been told to expect 65,000 people at each game, so I am sure it will be a site to behold. This will be a great experience. I hope we represent our country well this week."
