The Barometer Online

Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jacob Gregory Brianne McGowan

Media Credit: Peter Strong Darwin Barney

Media Credit: Jacob Gregory Cambria Miranda

Last summer, three Oregon State athletes traded in their orange and black for the red, white and blue.

Baseball shortstop Darwin Barney along with softball pitcher Brianne McGowan and utility player Cambria Miranda represented the United States of America in their respective sports.

The success of the three athletes at OSU led them to wear 'USA' in place of the Beaver logo across their chests.

"You walk around outside you are wearing Team USA gear," Barney said. "It's more like your representing your country. It is a great sense of pride, not many people get to represent their country."

The experience for Barney was different from the experience for McGowan and Miranda. A year prior to Barney being included on the national team, OSU was represented by pitchers Jonah Nickerson and Kevin Gunderson for USA Baseball. While the softball players were teamed with one another, the only familiar face for Barney was that of catcher Tim Federowicz from North Carolina, who OSU beat in the College World Series to win the championship.

"You learn that you like people when they are on your team and then for no reason you don't," Barney said. "You look at a guy on the mound and you think he's a jerk. That's just your mindset and then next thing you know they are on your team and your best friend."

Barney traveled the country playing collegiate all-star teams as well as the national teams of Germany, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The summer culminated with a trip to Havana, Cuba. In Cuba, the United States looked for a rare win on Cuban soil at the FISU World Championships.

The United States got their win; in fact, they got eight of them and no losses. The Americans made their way through a strong field defeating teams from Puerto Rico, Japan and Chinese Taipei. The United States played Chinese Taipei twice, matching up with them in the championship game of the tournament.

The victories in Cuba were not by scores in which the USA squeaked by, but by large margins. The final score in the championship game was 18-9. The dominating play by the United States team set the tone for the rest of USA Baseball in Cuba over the summer. After the college-aged players left the island, the Junior National Team took the silver medal while the Professional National Team defeated Cuba and secured a spot in the 2008 Olympics.

"You hear the statistics that Team USA has never won a tournament in Cuba," Barney said. "You could see why with how the umpires were umping, the different teams, and everyone who was Cuban went for Cuba and pulled away from us. I feel like I got a lot out of it."

During the summer Barney learned baseball from perspectives that he was not completely used to. The abundance of talent on USA Baseball forced Barney to learn some new positions for the summer. Barney was placed in the outfield for some innings in addition to his role as an infielder. Barney moved around the field so much, he even pitched a scoreless, one-hit inning.

"That was the first chance I really got to move away from shortstop and see the game from a different perspective," Barney said. "You gain a little bit of respect for outfielders. Infielder's think outfield is so easy, but outfield is tough. Playing left I could see the game from behind the shortstop and see the things they did. It helped me picture my game and see what I could do with it."

Barney started nearly every game for Team USA over the summer, hitting .258 with six doubles, six stolen bases and a home run.

The inclusion of Barney on the national team could be the start of something big at Oregon State. Joining Barney, Gunderson and Nickerson as members of the national team to play for OSU, could be two recruits who played for the Junior National Team, Greg Peavey and Tim Alderson.

"I think it's great, it adds a lot of credibility to our program," OSU baseball head coach Pat Casey said. "It really helps us with recruiting. I hope Peavey and Alderson show up. We are excited to have that kind of exposure."

Oregon State softball head coach Kirk Walker, like Casey, feels that this provides Oregon State with a great recruiting tool.

"It is obviously a great experience for them," Walker said. "But for our program it is extra exposure to the world. It is something we are very prideful of."

For McGowan the national team experience was a familiar one. In 2003, McGowan recorded two victories in China for the United States Junior National Team.

"It is a real big honor," McGowan said. "You get to play with all these players that you've been playing against all year. So it's fun to get to know them and represent your country."

Unlike Barney who played on the national team without any of his OSU teammates, McGowan and Miranda had each other.

"It was really nice," Miranda said. "I've played with her the last two years so it was nice to have her there and experience it with her."

"We got to come together," McGowan said. "It is nice when you don't know anyone to have someone with you."

The Beavers helped the United States win gold at the World University Games after defeating United States rival Japan 3-2 and then Chinese Taipei 4-3 in the finals.

While the trips and tryout processes were different for the three Beavers, the end result was the same, as all three came back to Corvallis with gold medals. The athletes, however, cherish the learning experience of last summer, including how other countries play their sport.

"They definitely play different," Miranda said. "Some of the other countries were really intense and wild. They went all out and didn't care if they were not playing with the right mechanics, they just went out and got it done."

By playing in Cuba, Barney's eyes were opened to how other countries view the United States.

"You get to see countries and how they view you," Barney said. "Japan, they look up to how Team USA plays baseball and then you play a team like Germany and they don't necessarily like the way you play baseball. I learned how they live their lives, the different lifestyles and where we come from. You need to respect everyone and realize how fortunate we are to be here."

After last summer, Oregon State baseball has a player that has put on the same uniform and played the same position as major leaguer Nomar Garciappara. While the softball team can boast that Miranda can join the likes of Natasha Watley, McGowan joins an elite group of women who have stepped into the circle for the USA, including Lisa Fernandez, Cat Osterman and Michelle Smith.

"It is especially positive to me having grown up in USA softball," Walker said. "I take great pride in knowing they have put on the USA uniform like Lisa Fernandez, Cat Osterman, Michelle Smith and Dot Richardson."

"It is a huge honor," McGowan said. "Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with players like them is an honor."

More important than the players that they have followed is the simple fact that these athletes sported the letters 'U,' 'S,' and 'A' on their uniforms.

"This is an experience people would die for," McGowan said.

"It was an honor to be chosen for the team," Miranda said. "It was an incredible experience."

"One in a million people get to do this and that is the only way to put that into perspective," Barney said. "When you have U.S.A. on your chest, it's not that you are necessarily playing (just) for the guys next to you, but you are playing for everyone. If you ever get the chance to play for Team USA, never pass it up because it is a sense of pride."

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