By: RiverDogs Media
The Charleston RiverDogs will host the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on July 11th and 12th. Team USA will play Japan in the final two games of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm on both nights.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring an event like this to The Joe and for our fans to have the opportunity to watch two quality baseball teams go head-to-head,” said RiverDogs President and General Manager Dave Echols. “Some of the best young baseball players in the world will take the field twice. Our fans may even get a first glance at some future RiverDogs.”
Single game tickets will cost $12 regardless of section. The RiverDogs are also offering a special “Red, White and Blue” ticket package. With a purchase of this package, fans will receive a ticket to each of the USA Collegiate National Team contests and a ticket for the RiverDogs July 4th game against the Columbia Fireflies. Packages range from $29-$40 and are available until July 3rd at this link.
This will be the Collegiate National Team's first time playing in Charleston. The two contests will conclude a 14-game slate for the team, as Team USA will also play its annual Stars vs. Stripes series and host the 20th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series at various venues across North Carolina.
“We are excited to begin this relationship with Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Ballpark and the Charleston RiverDogs,” said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball's General Manager of Professional and Collegiate National Teams. “Having the final two games of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series in Charleston will provide a great ending to what we anticipate being a high-level, entertaining series between two of the top baseball federations in the world.”
The Collegiate National Team will kick off its schedule with its annual Stars vs. Stripes series on June 25-28 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The series is a product of the Collegiate National Team Training Camp that features 56 of the premier non-draft-eligible collegiate players in the country, in which the final 26-man roster will be chosen from to compete in five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan.
The 20th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series is set for June 30-July 4, with games at the National Training Complex, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, and Segra Stadium in Fayetteville.
The National Training Complex will host the opening three games of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series July 7-9, while games four and five of the series will be played in Charleston on July 11 and 12.
Team USA leads the series with Japan 24-19 (Overall: 133-107-2), including a 21-1 (Overall: 87-33-2) series record in the United States.
The Collegiate National Team will be led in 2023 by Cal Poly's Larry Lee, who will make his USA Baseball managerial debut this summer and second appearance overall in the red, white, and blue. He was an assistant coach for the 2017 Collegiate National Team that went 15-5 with friendship series victories over Chinese Taipei, Cuba, and Japan. Lee is the winningest head coach in Big West Conference history and, following the 2023 season, has amassed 635 wins with Cal Poly and 1,095 overall for his career.
USA Baseball will announce the Collegiate National Team staff, and Team USA's final roster at a later time. For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, including ticket information, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter.
