WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES : No More Visions of Baseball Gold for U.S. as Cuba Wins

The United States lost its chance to play for the baseball gold medal it the World University Games at Buffalo, N.Y., by committing three errors in a 7-2 loss to Cuba on Wednesday.

A three-game winning streak to start the tournament made the Americans optimistic, but their defense betrayed them in losing their next three to Japan, Canada and Cuba.

The U.S. team committed seven errors in those games and needs Taiwan to beat Japan and South Korea to beat Italy to play in the bronze medal game Friday.

“Sometimes things come to you fairly easy and I think young players forget how much work and effort and concentration and intensity that it takes to win,” said U.S. Coach John Anderson of Minnesota.

Cuba, which clinched a berth in the gold-medal game with its fifth consecutive victory, used an error by first baseman Todd Helton of Tennessee to start a four-run rally in the second inning.

In men’s basketball, the U.S. men routed Croatia, 106-65, for their fifth consecutive victory. They will meet China (2-1) in the semifinals. The United States has won its five games by an average of 43 points.

Carlos Rogers of Tennessee State led the United States with 20 points and seven rebounds.

In women’s basketball, the U.S. bounced back from its loss Tuesday to Cuba with an 88-67 victory over Japan that qualified the Americans for the semifinals. Tari Phillips of Central Florida had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the United States.

In swimming, Christine Stephenson of Georgia won her second gold medal, taking the 1,500-meter freestyle. Earlier this week, she won the 800 freestyle.

“This is my first international competition, so I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect it, but it’s definitely what I wanted.”

The U.S. women’s soccer team reached the finals by defeating Russia, 2-0. Linda Hamilton scored in the 69th minute and Kristine Lilly scored nine minutes later.