ERST LESEN! » game.The Redbirds, eighth in rushing

NEW YORK -- Liam Carroll probably couldnt have picked a better location for the biggest games of his coaching career.As manager of the team representing Great Britain at this weeks World Baseball Classic qualifier, Carroll and his 28-man roster have their sights set on earning the final berth in next years 16-team WBC field. It would easily qualify as the biggest moment in the history of the British baseball program, and the fact that the event is being contested at MCU Stadium in Brooklyn carries personal significance for Carroll.My dad is from New York and grew up a hardcore Brooklyn Dodgers fan, Carroll said. Jackie Robinson is his idol.A statue of Robinson and Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese stands at the entrance to MCU Stadium, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league team.That said, Carrolls mother is English and he was born and raised in London. He wants nothing more than for his players to figuratively plant the Union Jack flag here in Brooklyn by earning their first trip to the WBC.Theyre thrilled to be here and very excited for the opportunity, Carroll said.Great Britain is vying against Brazil, Israel and Pakistan for the final berth in the 16-team field for the 2017 WBC. The winner advances to face South Korea, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands in pool play next March in Seoul.The hope around the Great Britain program is that victory in Brooklyn will raise awareness of baseball back home and push it closer to the mainstream. It wont be easy. Israel has several players with major league experience, and Brazil qualified for the 2013 WBC.Great Britain went 1-2 at its first WBC qualifier in September 2012. The Brits have a deeper talent pool and are better prepared this time around, and Carroll believes his team is ready to take the next step.The British national team is coming off a disappointing ninth-place finish at the 2016 European Baseball Championship. But WBC eligibility rules, which are established by Major League Baseball, are more flexible than those for the national team. Because of that, the roster has been bolstered by American and Bahamian players with parental connections to Britain.Four players from the British national club champion Southampton Mustangs are on the WBC qualifier roster -- pitchers Jordan Edmonds, Spencer Kreisberg, Rei Martinez and third baseman Maikel Azcuy. Martinez and Azcuy are Cuban natives who emigrated to England. Great Britain has 11 team members who played on MLB-affiliated teams this season, including three Triple-A players: catcher Chris Berset and pitchers Chris Reed and Michael Roth.Roth is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, but qualifies because his mother is a native of Kettering, England. His maternal grandparents both served in the Royal Air Force. Roth pitched for two College World Series champions at the University of South Carolina and was a member of the Great Britain team at the 2012 WBC qualifier in Germany. This time around, hes better prepared. He has four more years of professional experience under his belt, including major league service time with the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers.This is probably [going to be the] smallest crowd that Ive played in front of this year, Roth said. That helps because when you get up here, whether theyre yelling or screaming at you -- like they were when I was at Fenway this year -- you just really focus on the catcher. Youre trying to execute pitches. Youre going out there and competing, and its really between you and the batter.Great Britain was planning to use pitcher Jacob Esch in the Brooklyn qualifier, but that changed when the right-hander was promoted from Triple-A to the Miami Marlins. Esch is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended Georgia Tech, but his mother is an England native from St Austell, Cornwall.Wed love to have him here, but its huge for our program to have a British passport holder in the big leagues, Carroll said.One British player owes a footnote to New York baseball history. Bahamian-born outfielder Antoan Richardson scored the winning run for the Yankees when Derek Jeter delivered a walk-off hit in the final home game of his career on Sept. 25, 2014.Carrolls team preaches the adage of playing the game the GB way and focusing on three tenets -- inspire, develop and perform. One of the players who best embodies this belief is second baseman Richard Klijn. He grew up in the village of Cark in northwest England and began playing baseball at age 6. He has dyslexia, and baseball often provided refuge from frustrations at school. Baseball equipment was difficult to come by and proper playing fields were unheard of, but he stuck with the sport and eventually fell in love with it.By age 16, Klijn was in camp with the Great Britain national team. At 17, he left to play in the top baseball league in Germany. He won five Bundesliga championships with Regensburg Legionaere before joining the Haar Disciples club in suburban Munich in 2015. Now 26, he badly wants to help Great Britain advance to the WBC.I think weve done a good job of getting everyone together real fast and getting everyone to know each other, Klijn said. Were confident, and were feeling very good right now. I think weve got a great chance against all three teams.Great Britain has also tapped one of the top relief pitchers in baseball history to be its bullpen coach. Longtime San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, who ranks second in MLB history with 601 career saves, was brought on staff through his association with Great Britain assistant coach Brad Marcelino. Hoffmans mother is an England native from Southend-on-Sea, and his maternal grandfather was a footballer at Southend United.My mom is getting up there in age, and I think she would appreciate seeing her homeland represented by the family, Hoffman said.Carroll and Marcelino, meanwhile, are the threads that link Great Britains baseball past to its present.Marcelino was born in Essex and lived in London as a child. He played in three different decades as an outfielder for Great Britain, debuting in 1999 and culminating with the 2012 WBC qualifier. In between, he was a member of the 2007 British team that won silver at the European championships. Marcelinos father, Oscar, played for Great Britain in the 1980s and later coached in the program as well.Carroll joined the national program as an infielder in 1996 and began working his way up the coaching ladder starting in 2004. He also played for Oscar Marcelino at Porterville College in California for two seasons.Brad Marcelino has witnessed amazing growth in British baseball since the days when his father played. Today, more than 20,000 Britons participate in baseball and softball, and the structure of the national team and development program has been firmly cemented.Light years [apart], a complete 180, Marcelino said in contrasting the two eras. To now have the public see that theres a program on an international stage is tremendous. Kelly Hrudey Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Tiger Williams Jersey . 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Though Youngstown State continues to move up in the STATS FCS Top 25, Bo Pelini isnt exactly pleased with how his Penguins have performed during their fifth consecutive 3-1 start.The second-year coach made that perfectly clear after Youngstown State committed four turnovers and had to hold on late in last weekends 30-20 home win over South Dakota. In the wake of that victory, the Penguins jumped from 20th to 15th in the poll.I expect more, Pelini said. There were some guys who absolutely played their tails off, but you need 11 on every snap. Its as simple as that and if youre not getting it, youre not going to be the type of football team you want to be.Pelini is hoping to see crisper execution as his squad goes after a third straight victory Saturday at No. 23 Illinois State.The Redbirds (2-3, 0-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) are looking to avoid their first four-game losing streak since 2004 as they havent won since a 9-7 victory at Northwestern on Sept. 10, but theyve taken five straight home meetings in this series. They should have some extra incentive to get back on track in this matchup with a large homecoming crowd expected in Normal.Theres no finger pointing going on right now, so I really have to complaints about how theyre preparing. Its just execution in critical parts of games, said Redbirds coach Brock Spack. We have some young or inexperienced players at critical positions and theyre learning. Were going through growing pains right now.Spack seems most concerned with a Youngstown State rushing attack that easily paces the MVFC with 262.8 yards per game. Martin Ruiz ranks first with six rushing touchdowns and second with 367 yards, while Tevin McCaster has 242 yards and two scores.Ruiz finished with 84 yards on 18 carries and also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left before the Penguins two-point try failed in a 31-29 home loss to the Redbirds last October.Junior Ricky Davis provides Youngstown State (3-1, 1-0) with a dual-threat at quarterback. Hes thrown for 657 yards with four touchdowns and rushed for 202 yards. Though he threw his first two interceptions of the season last Saturday, Davis set career highs with 281 passing yards and 21 rushing attempts against the Coyotes.Illinois State may lead the conference in passs defense with 183.dddddddddddd8 yards allowed per game, but its secondary gave up some big plays in last weekends 31-10 loss at top-ranked North Dakota State. The Redbirds also have given up 402 rushing yards and yielded 65 points over their last two games.I expect that were going to get their best shot, said Pelini, who admits this will be his teams toughest test since a 38-21 loss to West Virginia. Im not worried about Illinois State. Im worried about us, getting us right and increasing our level or execution.Star defensive end Derek Rivers has done his part, sitting in a tie for third in the league with four sacks. Avery Moss also has tormented quarterbacks with three sacks for the Penguins, who rank second in total defense with 300.8 yards allowed per game.The Redbirds, eighth in rushing offense, would certainly like to run the ball better to help neutralize Rivers and Moss, but leading rusher George Moreira (287 yards, 3 TDs) could be out for the season due to a broken collarbone. Those duties could fall to second-leading rusher Jamal Towns, though Spack hinted that true freshman James Robinson also might be given an opportunity.---AROUND THE MVFC=The only matchup between league unbeatens takes place Saturday when Missouri State (3-1, 1-0) hosts No. 1 North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0). The Bears, coming off their first victory over a ranked foe since 2013, will try to end the Bisons 13-game winning streak.Quarterback Aaron Bailey, who had four touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Southern Illinois last weekend, looks to lead No. 11 Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0) to its first 2-0 league start since 2011 on Saturday when the Panthers travel to South Dakota (1-3, 0-1).No. 13 Western Illinois (3-1, 0-1) hopes to bounce back from its first loss, a 52-14 beating at South Dakota State, on Saturday when it welcomes Indiana State (3-2, 1-1) to Macomb. The Leathernecks have won the last three meetings.No. 12 South Dakota State (2-2, 1-0), which is averaging a league-best 45 points, will try to keep putting up big numbers Saturday night when it visits Southern Illinois (2-2, 0-1). The Salukis allowed 42 in a 21-point loss at Northern Iowa last week. ' ' '