The Pepperdine Waves are Taiwan-bound to play in an international baseball tournament, the Formosa Cup, against teams from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The team will travel to Tainan City, Taiwan, over Thanksgiving weekend to play three games in the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium Nov. 28-30. They will play Jobu University from Japan and teams from South Korea and Taiwan that have yet to be named, according to a release.
“It’s always great when you can get out of your comfort zone and do something that isn’t inside the box. It’s going to be fun for our guys. I don’t think anyone has been to Taiwan or done anything like this,” said head coach Steve Rodriguez in a release. “And in some small capacity, we’re representing the United States, so we want to set a good example for what our college teams are about, and hopefully we make a good showing of it.”
Rodriguez is entering his 11th season as the Waves’ head coach. Last summer, he managed the USA Baseball’s National Team Development Program’s 17U team. The program provides training to prepare young players for future international competition. This connection lead USA baseball to offer the invitation to compete n the Formosa Cup to Rodriguez and the Waves, according to the release.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Rodriguez said. “One of the biggest things I’m hoping for is that it will be a good cultural thing for our guys. It’s not just a chance to go and play baseball against some different countries, but to go and witness a different culture than what we’re used to in the United States.”
Rodriguez, who played on Team USA while he was in college, said he knows the value of trips like these.
“The biggest thing is team bonding,” he said. “We’re going to be spending 15 hours on a plane together. And you have to rely on each other when you’re in a different country. I know when I played on Team USA these were the kinds of trips where the teams really bonded. I think our guys will come back changed people.”