July 7, 1999
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The USA baseball team used clutch pitching performances from UCLA’s Josh Karp and Notre Dame’s Aaron Heilman to post a 7-1 victory over Korea before 1,834 spirited fans at Albuquerque Sports Stadium.
Karp (2-1) retired the first 10 batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up Sang-Houn Kim’s home run to left-center.
Heilman came on with no outs in the seventh inning and runners on first and second base. A balk and walk loaded the bases but Heilman came through in the clutch, throwing primarily his patented fastball while striking out the next three batters to preserve the 4-1 lead.
Heilman tossed the final three innings for the save, facing 11 batters while totaling four strikeouts, five groundouts, one hit and one walk allowed. His summer stats with Team USA include a 1.88 ERA, a 1-1 record and two saves in seven appearances (two starts), with 16 strikeouts, four walks and nine hits allowed in 14 and one-third innings.
Leftfielder Bill Scott gave his college teammate Karp some offensive help in the fourth inning, with a two-run shot to center field that plated California catcher Mike Tonis (Scott’s fifth home run of the summer).
North Carolina centerfielder Tyrell Godwin added to the 4-1 USA lead in the seventh, with a towering solo home run to right field. The USA tacked on two more runs in the eighth to cap the scoring.
Tonis went 2-for-3, with a pair of RBI and two runs scored while Miami (Fla.) designated hitter Manny Crespo also had two hits and two RBI.
The victory clinches the five-game series for Team USA (7-8 overall), which earlier posted two wins in three games versus Korea in Tucson, Ariz. The series concludes Thursday night in Ogden, Utah.
Team USA then will play three games against the Nicaragua National Team — Saturday in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday in Portland, Ore., and Wednesday night in Spokane, Wash. — before returning to Tucson.