Team USA Completes Sweep Of Cuba; Concludes Tour with 20-3 Record
July 24, 2013 | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. --- Taylor Sparks was 2 for 4 with a run batted in as Team USA completed a five-game sweep of Cuba following a 5-3 victory Tuesday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Red, White and Blue also logged a 3-2 win Monday night. With the wins, the Collegiate National Team concludes the season with a 20-3 record, posting a 13-0 mark in exhibition contests and a 7-3 record in international play.
With Team USA holding onto a 2-0 lead after five innings, Sparks' first hit came in the sixth but was left stranded. He drove in a run in the team's two-run seventh-inning before Cuba would jump on the board with three runs in the top of the eighth.
Carlos Rodon (NC State) pitched 6.2 shutout innings to climb to 3-0. The left-hander allowed just two hits and fanned 11. He faced just one batter over the minimum during his stint.
Team USA took the lead in the first and never looked back. Michael Conforto (Oregon State) doubled to left to give the team a 1-0 edge and the team would go on to tack on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Sparks finished the summer with a team-high .396 batting average. The incoming junior tied for third with 21 hits and drove in 10 runs while scoring 11. He was also perfect on the base-paths with seven steals.
