Olympic exhibition games set in Kissimmee
olympicbaseball July 28th, 2006
Before Olympic Qualifier, USA, Canada and Puerto Rico played for exhibition games in Kissimmee.
Olympic baseball teams from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico will face-off at Kissimmee’s Osceola County Stadium Aug. 18 and 19 for a set of exhibition games.Presented by the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Central Florida Sports Commission and dubbed the Klash in Kissimmee, the two-day exhibition game series pits Canada against Puerto Rico on Aug. 18, while the second game on Aug. 19 matches USA against Puerto Rico. Both games start at 7 p.m. at Osceola County Stadium.
The three teams will participate at the Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Cuba Aug. 25 to Sept. 6. The top two teams at the Olympic qualifier will receive automatic berths to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
All three squads will train at the Houston Astros’ spring training complex Aug. 16-24. The United States team is composed of top minor leaguers and led by former New York Mets manager Davey Johnson. Johson led the Mets to the 1986 World Series championship over Boston. The Mets defeated the Astros in a memorable five-game National League playoff that same season.
Earlier this year, the stadium, which seats 5,300, hosted an exhibition game between the Astros and the Dominican Republic’s national baseball team as it prepared for the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Tickets for the games are $10 (adults) and $7 (children ages 12-under). Tickets can be purchased online at www.TicketMaster.com or call the stadium’s ticket office at 321-697-3200 for information.
