USA! USA!

No ex-Rattlers on Team USA, but a big win for USA Baseball deserves a post to itself.

Team USA wins gold at World Cup

Ends Cuba's 25-year tournament run with 6-3 victory

Team USA ended a 33-year drought -- and Cuba's 25-year dominance -- at the IBAF World Cup with a 6-3 victory in the gold medal game on Sunday in Taiwan.

Rockies prospect Jayson Nix and Phillies farmhand Jason Jaramillo each had two RBIs for the United States, which built an early five-run cushion and held on to win this biennial tournament for the first time since 1974.

Cuba has won the event 25 times, including every time it had been contested since 1984. But the Cubans totaled only seven hits against four pitchers and settled for their first World Cup silver medal since 1941.

Angels farmhand Steven Shell (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts over three innings. Jerry Blevins (Athletics) retired both batters he faced and Jeff Stevens (Indians) got the final two outs.

Midwest League ties in this excerpt alone would be Shell (Cedar Rapids) and Blevins (Kane County). Colby Rasmus (Quad Cities) and Brian Duensing (Beloit) were in a jumbled box score as of this posting.