Cole to start for Team USA in Gold Medal game

From UCLA:

TOKYO - UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole will start for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team against Cuba in the gold medal game of the V FISU World University Baseball Championships on Saturday, Aug. 7.

First pitch at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time in Japan - 2 a.m. (PT) in Los Angeles.

Team USA enters the gold medal game against Cuba sporting a 16-2 record and currently rides a seven-game winning streak after defeating host Japan in semifinal action on Thursday night. Cuba will enter Saturday's contest on the heels of an 11-0 victory over Korea in semifinal action. The Cubans have scored in double-digits in all five games of the World Championships, outscoring the opposition by a 70-8 margin.

Cole has gone 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four games (three starts) for Team USA this summer. The native of Santa Ana, Calif., has registered 21 strikeouts and three walks in 18.0 innings during his second stint with the USA Collegiate National Team. Cole pitched for Team USA as a rising sophomore in 2009.

A two-time All-Pac-10 Team selection, Cole went 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA for UCLA in 2010, helping lead the Bruins to the finals of the College World Series for the first time in school history. UCLA established the school record for single-season victories, going 51-17 after advancing to the College World Series for the first time since 1997.

The Cuban National Team will send Ismel Jimenez to the mound on Saturday evening. Jimenez has logged an 18.00 ERA in two innings of work at the World Championships.

Team USA has won the last three FISU World University Baseball Championships and is seeking its fourth consecutive gold medal.