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Saturday, August 19:
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Championship Game
Caguas, PR 4
Simi Valley, CA 2

Championship Game Lineups:
Simi Valley (visitor)
42 Christian Yelich ss
11 James Brady c
14 Danny Leon 2b
24 Tyler Yuckert 1b
17 Cody Thomson rf
23 Sean McCarthy 3b
2 Brando Tessar p
10 Danny Nieves lf
33 Cameron Cuneo cf

21 Mark Friedman to lf (bot. 3)
17 Cody Thomson to p (bot. 4)
2 Brando Tessar to rf (bot. 4)
4 Gabe Ruiz, pr for Yuckert (top 7)
20 Nick Schmidt ph for Friedman (top 7)

Caguas (home)
12 Ricardo Barbosa 2b
24 Alexander Claudio 1b
10 Ronald Sanchez c
13 Alexander Diaz lf
5 Jovany Padilla p
3 Roberto Pena ss
14 Jean Ortiz rf
15 Edgar Burgos 3b
7 Luis Munoz cf

18 Brian Castro ph for Claudio, (bot. 5)
(Claudio reenters in top 6)
6 Carlos Fuentes ph for Ortiz (bot. 6)
(Ortiz reenters in top 7)
2 Orlando Cotto ph for Burgos (bot. 6)
(Burgos reenters in top 7)

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2006 Audio Archives:
Saturday, August 12:
Game 1--Listen Here!
Caguas, PR 7
Brownsville, TX 6

Game 2--Listen Here!
West Tokyo, Japan 7
Hopwood, PA 1

Sunday, August 13:
Game 3--Listen Here!
Simi Valley, CA 19
Rockingham, NC 3, 5 innings

Game 4--Listen Here!
Washington, PA 8
Bay City, MI 0

Monday, August 14:
Game 5--Listen Here!
Brownsville, TX 11
Hopwood, PA 1, 6 innings

Game 6--Listen Here!
Caguas, PR 4
West Tokyo, Japan 3

Tuesday, August 15:
Game 7--Listen Here!
Bay City, MI 9
Rockingham, NC 8

Game 8--Listen Here!
Simi Valley, CA 5
Washington, PA 1

Click World Series Bracket!

Caguas wins it all, 4-2!
Four-run third wins World Series title

Ronald Sanchez doubled home two runs, then scored the eventual game-winner as Caguas beat Simi Valley, 4-2, Saturday afternoon at Lew Hays PONY Field.

Sanchez' double to rightcenter put Caguas in front, scoring Luis Munoz and Alexander Claudio. Two wildpitches brought Sanchez around to score, making it 3-0. Winning pitcher Jovanny Padilla walked one out later, stole second and scored on Roberto Pena's rbi single.

Simi Valley averaged 10 hits a game coming into the final, but the West Zone champions were held to just two singles through six innings. Padilla, with the aid of a pickoff, had retired 14 in a row at that point.

In the top of the seventh, Simi Valley had two on with one out. Sean McCarthy hit a fly ball double to right center. Pinchrunner Gabe Ruiz delayed leaving second to make sure the ball wasn't caught. Cody Thomson, who had walked, nearly caught Ruiz heading into third base and had to slow up momentarily. Ruiz scored, but Thomson was tagged out at the plate for the second out. McCarthy scored two wild pitches later and Brando Tessar walked.

Claudio then relieved Padilla, striking out pinchhitter Nick Schmidt to end the game. Claudio finished the series with a win and two saves, both of them in Padilla victories.

Inning-by-inning scoring summary
Top of the 1st, Simi Valley 0, Caguas 0
James Brady, 1-out single, stranded.

Bottom of the 1st, Simi Valley 0, Caguas 0
Ricardo Barbosa & Alexander Claudio singled back-to-back to open the inning. Tessar got a strikeout & two groundouts to end the threat.

Top of the 2nd, Simi Valley 0, Caguas 0
A 4-6-3 double-play got Jovanny Padilla out of a two-walk, one-out jam.

Bottom of the 2nd, Simi Valley 0, Caguas 0
Caguas retired in order. Six straight batters retired by Tessar.

Top of the 3rd, Simi Valley 0, Caguas 0
Simi Valley down in order.

Bottom of the 3rd, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Luis Munoz led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice and third on a groundball hit by Claudio, who reached on an error and stole second. Ronald Sanchez doubled to rightcenter, scoring Munoz & Claudio. Two wild pitches after two outs brough Sanchez home. Padilla walked, stole second and scored on Roberto Pena's groundball single to center.

Top of the 4th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Simi Valley down in order for the second straight inning. Including the doubleplay that ended the second, Padilla has retired eight straight.

Bottom of the 4th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Cody Thomson replaces Tessar on the mound. Caguas down in order.

Top of the 5th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Sean McCarthy led off with a single but was picked off by catcher Sanchez. Three up, three down.

Bottom of the 5th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Alexander Diaz stroked a two-out double to rightcenter but was stranded.

Top of the 6th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Simi Valley retired in order on two groundouts and a strikeout.

Bottom of the 6th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 0
Thomson strikes out the side, retiring Caguas in order

Top of the 7th, Caguas 4, Simi Valley 2
With one out and pinchrunner Gabe Ruiz at first, Thomson walked. McCarthy hit a double to the fence in rightcenter, scoring Ruiz. Thomson was thrown out at the plate for the second out. McCarthy scored on two wild pitches by Padilla. Tessar walked. Claudio replaced Padilla on the mound to get the final out.

Caguas, PR vs. Simi Valley, CA
How finalists got here
The winner of Saturday's game will be the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament--the 55th PONY League World Series champion! Who will take over the top spot, held for the past year by Chinese Taipei? Will a team from California win the title for the fifth time since 1997? Will the Puerto Ricans hoist the trophy for the first time since 2001?

Simi Valley has crushed opponents, winning games 19-3, 5-1 and 14-4. Only Tuesday's winners' bracket final went the distance. And in that first win over Washington, the Californians were dominant with Brando Tessar striking out 18 batters, holding Washington to just one base hit. In the 10-run-rule games, Simi Valley batted around in an inning in each game, scoring 12 runs in their first at-bat of the World Series last Sunday, then scoring nine runs in the third inning of the Division final.

Caguas has trailed in each game, 3-0, 3-0 and 2-0. But never did the Caribbean champions panic, coming back for three straight one-run victories, including a walk-off solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh in the World Series opener.

Division Championships
Simi Valley 14, Washington 4, 5 innings
A nine-run third inning propelled the West Zone champions into the PONY League World Series championship game. Christian Yelich's three-run homer was the big blow in the frame which saw 15 batters come to the plate. Danny Leon homered for Simi Valley in the first inning.

Washington got under the 10-run rule with three in the bottom of the third, but the Californians put the margin back over the top with single runs in the fourth and fifth.

Caguas 7, West Tokyo 6
Caguas used a five-run fifth inning to take the lead for good, beating West Tokyo for the second time in the World Series. Caguas trailed by at least two runs in each of their three World Series wins.

After one out in the fifth, Ricardo Barbosa singled and scored on the Alexander Claudio double. Ronald Sanchez singled. Both runners scored on a double by Alexander Diaz. Jovanny Padilla doubled to drive in Diaz and later scored on Jean Ortiz' base hit.

West Tokyo got a solo homerun from Toru Yokouchi in the bottom of the fifth and two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth. With one out in the final inning, a double to right turned into an out as Shota Suzuki tried to stretch it to a triple.

Elimination Wednesday
Washington 9, Bay City 3
Cullen Chatman's double to center drove home three runs to break it open as the hosts advanced to the division finals for the first time since 2001. Bay City intentionally walked Alex Frey to load the bases in the seventh, setting the stage for Chatman's blast that just missed being the 29th grand slam in PONY League World Series history. Nate Cataldo got the win, surrendering three hits and no earned runs while striking out 10. Washington faces Simi Valley in the division finals Thursday night.

West Tokyo, Japan 1, Brownsville, TX 0
Nori Kobayashi's bunt with two out in the top of the seventh brought home pinchrunner Sho Fujimoto with the game's only run. Fujimoto came into the game after Masa Orita led off the inning with a single, just the fourth of the game for the Asia-Pacific champions. Shota Suzuki held Brownsville to three hits while striking out 11 for his second win of the World Series. West Tokyo faces Caguas Thursday in the division finals.

Second Round Games Wrapped Up!
Simi Valley 5, Washington 1
Plenty of strikeouts and not many hits as two outstaning pitchers battled to the end. Brando Tessar got the win, holding Washington to just one hit while striking out 18. Alex Frey took the loss, despite allowing just two hits and striking out a dozen. Simi Valley moves to Thursday's division championship game.

Danny Leon's bases-loaded walk in the third scored Cameron Cuneo with the game's first run. Christian Yelich singled and scored on a wild pitch and James Brady scored on a ground out to put Simi Valley up 3-0 after three. Single runs in the fifth and sixth sealed the deal for the West Zone champions. Leon's ground out scored Cuneo and Danny Nieves stroked a two-out double to plate Tessar.

Frey hit into a force play and later scored on an error in the fourth for Washington's only run.

Bay City 9, Rockingham 8
Brandon Gottschling's rbi single in the bottom of the seventh drove in the game-winning run. The North champion trailed 5-0 in the third, and then 8-3 before plating five runs in the bottom of the sixth, setting the stage for Gottschling's single to left.

Caguas 4, West Tokyo 3
Ronald Sanchez' second home run of the PONY League World Series put Caguas in front in the fifth. Jorge Vega and Alexander Claudio shut the door, leading Caguas into Thursday's division championship game. West Tokyo had ten hits in the game, all singles.

Tatsuya Hiraki was hit by a pitch in the first, putting West Tokyo up 1-0. Shota Suzuki's two-run single made it 3-0 after one.

Roberto Pena walked and scored for Caguas in the top of the second, setting the stage for Sanchez' game-winner three innings later.

Brownsville 11, Hopwood 1, 6 innings
A four-run first inning put the South Zone champions in front to stay. Five runs in the bottom of the sixth ended the game. Alberto Rodriguez held Hopwood to one run and three hits, striking out 10. Brownsville will now face West Tokyo in a Wednesday elimination game.

Opening Round Action Complete!
Washington 8, Bay City 0
Alex Frey threw a one-hit shutout, striking out 14 Bay City batters, leading Washington to the opening round win. Nate Cataldo delivered a two-run homer in the sixth to break open the game. At one point, Frey struck out seven straight batters.

Simi Valley 19, Rockingham 3, 5 innings
A 12-run first inning put Simi Valley in front, and the West Zone winners never looked back. Brando Tessar stroked a grand slam in the first, the 28th grand slam in PONY League World Series history. Tyler Yuckert and Danny Leon hit three-run homers. Leon had six rbi in the game. Yuckert had four.

West Tokyo 7, Hopwood 1
A combination of errors, wild pitches and passed balls gave West Tokyo all the opportunities they would need to knock off Host Area winner Hopwood. Toru Yokouchi walked to open the game, then stole second, was sacrificed to third and scored on a wild pitch just three batters into the contest.

The Asia-Pacific champions used four hits in the third to score three more runs, including an rbi hit by Masa Ito and a two-run single by Taiei Nakao.

Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Hopwood got its first hit of the night, a single by James Stambaugh. Evan Arison followed with an rbi single to center, scoring Ronnie Fudala who started the frame with a walk.

Three unearned runs over the final three innings put Tokyo into Tuesday's winners' bracket game against Caguas. Hopwood will face elimination in Tuesday's first game, taking on Brownsville. This is the third straight PONY sanctioned tournament that Hopwood lost its first game. They came all the way through the losers' bracket to win the last two (Host Region & Host Area).

Caguas 7, Brownsville 6
Roberto Pena's solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning propelled Caguas to the opening-game win. Brownsville opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first from Justin Granado, who then delivered an rbi single in the second, upping the lead to 3-0.

Caguas took advantage of errors on four straight batters to tie the game in the bottom of the third. Ronald Sanchez then stroked a two-run home run over the scoreboard to put the Caribbean champions in front 5-3. Edgar Burgos singled home a run in the fourth to make it 6-3. Sanchez' homerun was the 1,000th all-time in the history of the PONY League World Series.

Brownsville's Enrique Negrete singled to score Salvador Villalpando in the sixth. Negrete's sacrifice bunt in the seventh tied the game after Jesus Quiroz delivered an rbi single earlier in the inning. Quiroz was then caught in a run-down on an apparent safe-squeeze play and retired, setting the stage for the Caguas walk-off victory.

Let the Games Begin!
The action is now just hours away. Players, parents, coaches and fans have looked forward to this day, some of them--all their lives. They have practiced, seemingly endlessly. They have travelled thousands of miles or several blocks. They have battled elimination and exhaustion. They are eight teams, with dozens of coaches, hundreds of parents, thousands of fans. It all adds up to the 2006 PONY League World Series. Let the Games Begin!

Field Finalized
The final spots in the 2006 PONY League World Series were determined Wednesday night. Brownsville, TX scored two one-run victories over previously unbeaten Bridge City to claim the South Zone championship. Just as the second game ended in Burleson, TX, the West Zone title was clinched by Simi Valley, CA, eliminating Chula Vista South. The South and West Zone winners join Bay City, MI, Rockingham, NC, Hopwood, PA, Caguas, PR, West Tokyo, Japan, and the host Washington, PA in this year's World Series.

Bay City returns to World Series
The North Zone tournament championship goes to Bay City, MI. Having dispatched two unbeaten teams in one day, Oak Park and Bradley-Bourbonnais, Bay City comes to the World Series for the first time since 1998. The North Zone winners will face Washington in the second game of Sunday's twinbill (approx. 8:00 pm EDT).

Bay City berth recalls interesting twist!
The PONY League World Series has been played in Washington, PA every year since 1984. Through the mid '90s, Bay City, MI had hand money on deposit with PONY Baseball/Softball, seeking to host the World Series should it ever leave its birthplace. Following the 1997 Series, PONY Baseball/Softball returned the money (with interest) to the Bay City group. The very next year--1998--Bay City got to the World Series, albeit in Washington, PA. Gary Bowersock remembers 1998. His nephew played for the Bay City team that year. He'll likely remember 2006 as well. His son, Austin, is on the latest World Series entry from Bay City.

Rockingham, NC rocks the East Zone
Rockingham, NC claims the fourth berth in the PONY League World Series. The host of this year's East Zone tournament knocked off Poland, OH, 11-1, in the "If Necessary" game Sunday morning. The East Zone winners stroked nine home runs in their four games, three of them by Robert Steele. Rockingham will face the West Zone champions in Sunday's first game. (5:30 pm EDT)

Hopwood wins Host Area tournament
Having battled back from the brink of elimination twice, Hopwood, PA has qualified for the 2006 PONY League World Series. The Host Area champions begin play on Saturday, August 12th against West Tokyo, the Asia-Pacific Zone champions (approx. 8:15 pm EDT). Opening-game losses in the satellite and Host Area playoffs left Hopwood needing to win every time out, including avenging earlier losses in both tournaments. Consecutive wins over Johnstown (6-2 & 7-6) put Hopwood into the Host Area tournament and back-to-back victories over previously unbeaten Dehaven (7-0 & 7-2) propelled them into the World Series.

Caguas, PR represents the Caribbean Zone, again!
For the third straight year, Caguas, PR has earned a berth in the PONY League World Series. The Caribbean Zone winners begin tournament play Saturday against the South Zone champions in this year's opening game (5:30 pm EDT). The 2005 Caguas team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, one step earlier than the 2006 squad. Caguas won the 1984 PONY League championship, the first of five titles for the Caribbean nation. Caguas also won the 1987 crown.

Hosts look to make history
No entry in the PONY League World Series comes in with more pressure on their shoulders than the host Washington squad. It's been more than 50 years since the birthplace city of PONY Baseball has produced a World Series title. Every year, players, coaches, fans and most of the local community wonder--"Is THIS the year"? While a second title hasn't been won yet, the local program has advanced to the championship round several times, most recently in 1998. A trip to the semifinal round and two quarterfinal berths have come along since then, but no championship. IS this the year? Washington faces Bay City, MI in Sunday's second game of the doubleheader (approx. 8:00 pm EDT).