56th PONY
League World Series Finals
Trujillo
Alto Wins Title!
Second straight title for Puerto Rico
Sleeping bats
awakened and the World Series ERA champion arrived on the pitcher's
mound, at nearly the exact same time as Trujillo Alto, PR won the
56th PONY League World Series championship, beating Long Beach, CA,
8-3.
Long Beach built
leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but couldn't make them stand, and couldn't score
at all against winner Anthony Stewart. In fact, Stewart threw three
perfect innings of relief to get the win. Starter Kelvin Rivas worked
four innings and was charged with three runs, two of them as the result
of infield errors.
Rivas tied the
game in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homerun. Cesar Ogando's
rbi triple broke the tie, then he scored an insurance run in the fifth.
Rivas went yard a second time and Stewart popped a two-run homer just
over the fence in left to close the scoring. Ogando's triple, his
second of the series, tied a record set in 1954 by Fairmont, WV's
Peter Zeck.
Chris Hubbard's
two-run single in the first put the West Zone champions in front 2-0
before Trujillo Alto ever batted. Sean Buckle was hit by a pitch in
the second, making it 3-1 with the bases loaded and nobody out. A
groundball turned into an odd 4-2-5 double-play, taking the steam
out of the Long Beach sails, the the Californians managed just one
more hit the rest of the game.
Stewart ties an
all-time World Series record with his third victory of the Series,
joining 18 others on an impressive list of winners. The first name
on the list is Fred Bolden, Washington, 1955. Also, you'll find the
name Alex Fenandez (Miami, 1984) and Marc Pisciotta (Marietta, 1985).
Line
Score:
Long Beach--2-1-0--0-0-0--0=3 r, 5 h, 1
e, 5 lob
Trujillo Alto --1-0-1--1-2-3--X=8 r, 10 h, 3 e, 4 lob
WP--Anthony
Stewart, 3 in, 0 r, 0 h, 3 k
LP--Tyler Erickson, 1/3 in, 2 r, 2 er, 1 h, 1 w
HR--Kelvin Rivas (TA) 2
World
Series Championship Game, Scoring Recap
First Inning:
Long Beach--Sean
Buckle led off with a single. Spencer Troutman hit a groundball up
the middle, mishandled for an error. A wild pitch moved up both runners.
Chris Hubbard's single scored both.
Trujillo Alto--Cesar Rivera walked with one out, advanced to
third on an errant pick-off throw, and scored on a wild pitch.
Long Beach 2, Trujillo Alto 1
Second
Inning:
Long Beach--Preston Allred singled to start the inning. A Matt
Treece groundball to second was booted, followed by a Pat Merola bunt
single to load the bases. Sean Buckle was hit on the right leg, scoring
Allred.
Long Beach 3, Trujillo Alto 1
Third
Inning:
Trujillo Alto--Victor
Claudio singled with one out and was sacrificed to second. Cesar Ogando
singled to left. Claudio scored on a wild pitch.
Long Beach 3, Trujillo Alto 2
Fourth
Inning:
Trujillo Alto--Kelvin Rivas hit solo homerun
on an 0-2 pitch.
Long Beach 3, Trujillo Alto 3
Fifth
Inning:
Trujillo Alto--Victor Claudio walked, stole
second and scored an out later on a Cesar Ogando triple. Ogando scored
on a Juan Pizarro groundout.
Trujillo Alto 5, Long Beach 3
Sixth
Inning:
Trujillo Alto--Kelvin Rivas stroked a solo
homerun to center. After Christian E. Rivera was hit by a pitch, Anthony
Stewart drilled a two-run homer to left.
Trujillo Alto 8, Long Beach 3
Seventh
Inning: No scoring
Starting Lineups:
| Long
Beach, CA |
|
Trujillo
Alto, PR |
|
25
|
Sean
Buckle |
8
|
|
13
|
Victor
Claudio |
6
|
|
3
|
Spencer
Troutman |
1
|
|
5
|
Cesar
Rivera |
2
|
|
33
|
Chris
Hubbard |
3
|
|
59
|
Cesar
Ogando |
3
|
|
51
|
Alex
Campbell |
5
|
|
22
|
Juan
Pizarro |
5
|
|
42
|
Taylor
Sparks |
9
|
|
45
|
Michael
De Aza |
5
|
|
15
|
Dylan
Romo |
2
|
|
17
|
Kelvin
Rivas |
1
|
|
24
|
Preston
Allred |
4
|
|
1
|
Christian
E. Rivera |
4
|
|
22
|
Matt
Treece |
6
|
|
15
|
Anthony
Stewart |
8
|
|
12
|
Pat Merola
|
7
|
|
51
|
Kevin
Gonzalez |
9
|
Lineup Changes:
Bottom 2nd: LB--Stefan Miladinovic to left field for Merola
Top 5th: TA--Anthony Stewart to pitch, Kelvin Rivas to 1st
base, Cesar Ogando to rightfield, Kevin Gonzalez to centerfield.
Bottom 5th: LB--Tyler Erickson enters in Campbell spot in batting
order to pitch, Spencer Troutman to catcher, Dylan Romo to 3rd base.
Bottom 5th: LB--Walker Getz enters in Erickson spot in batting
order to pitch.
Top 7th: LB--Merola re-enters in the nine spot in the batting
order.
Battle of the
Unbeatens
Trujillo
Alto & Long Beach each 3-0
The 56th PONY League
World Series comes down to this--Saturday afternoon, one game, winner
take all. Well, winner take the Roy Gillespie PONY World Series Championship
Trophy. And isn't that exactly what they came to Washington to get?
! ! !
In many ways,
it is fitting that these two teams are playing for the title:
1) Following the first round, many people felt these were the two
best teams.
2) In several tight games, they always found a way to win.
3) Teams from either California (19) or Puerto Rico (6) have won 25
of the first 55 PONY World championships, including seven of the last
12 years.
Trujillo Alto
scored impressive back-to-back 4-2 wins over Chinese Taipei to make
the championship round. Long Beach handled Kingwood, TX significantly
more impressively the second time around, winning the Division finals
9-1 after a nine-inning, 7-6 victory in the first round.
Saturday afternoon,
for the 45th time in Washington, PA, two teams meet in the PONY League
World Series championship game. Gates open at 12 noon, first pitch
is 1:00 o'clock.
Division
Finals -- Thursday Night
Long
Beach Runs the Division Table
Homeruns
for Taylor Sparks, Dylan Romo and Chris Hubbard, along with two doubles
by Sean Buckle, led Long Beach into the PONY World Series title game,
beating Kingwood, 9-1.
Sparks tied the
game in the bottom of the second. Long Beach plated four runs then,
in the third. Romo's solo shot in the fifth made it 6-1. Hubbard's
two-run shot closed the scoring in the sixth.
Long Beach--9
runs, 11 hits, 1 error
Kingwood--1 run, 5 hits, 3 errors
WP--Chris
Hubbard--6 in, 1 r, 1 er, 5 h, 7 w, 5 k
LP--Christian DeBlanc--2.2 in, 6 r, 2 er, 5 h, 2 w
HR--Taylor Sparks (LB), Dylan Romo (LB), Chris Hubbard (LB)
Trujillo Alto
tops Chinese Taipei, again!
Anthony Stewart's two-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the top of
the seventh inning, leading Trujillo Alto to a 4-2 win over Chinese
Taipei and a berth in Saturday's PONY League World Series title game.
Stewart worked 2.2 innings in relief of starter Juan
Pizarro and got the win.
Cesar Rivera tripled
and scored on a ground-out in the first. Then Stewart scored on a
Victor Claudio rbi single in the third to make it 2-0.
Lin Ching Fu's
single in the bottom of the third cut the deficit in half and Ma Sheng
Wei tied the game in the fourth. The Asia-Pacific champions left 11
runners on base.
Trujillo Alto--4
runs, 5 hits, 3 errors
Chinese Taipei--2 runs, 11 hits, 0 errors
WP--Anthony
Stewart--2.2 in, 0 r, 4 h, 1 w, 3 k
LP--Lee Yu Hung--7 in, 4 r, 4 er, 5 h, 2 w, 11 k
HR--Ma Sheng Wei (CT)
Chinese Taipei,
Kingwood Play On
Kingwood, TX 12, Washington, PA 1, 5 innings
Jared Pinson doubled in the second and scored later in the inning
to put Kingwood in front to stay, 4-1. Sam Gee and Kyle Crabtree had
rbi's in the fourth making it 6-1. Crabtree added a solo homerun in
the fifth, part of a game-ending six run uprising for the South Zone
champions. Washington batters were held to just three hits. Kingwood
takes on Long Beach, CA in the Division finals needing to beat the
West Zone champs twice to make the World Series championship game.
Kingwood--12
runs, 14 hits, 1 error
Washington--1 run, 3 hits, 3 errors
WP--Trevor
Odom--3 in, 1 r, 1 er, 3 h, 1 w, 1 hb, 3 k
LP--Taylen Gorby--2 in, 4 r, 4 er, 6 h, 1 w, 1 hb, 1 k
HR--Kyle Crabtree (Tx)
Chinese Taipei
beats CBC, 7-2
Two homeruns and a three-run second inning leads the Asia-Pacific
champions past CBC, 7-2. Kan Meng Chieh led off the game with a solo
shot to put Chinese Taipei up 1-0. Lin Ching Fu drove home two runs
with a second inning single and later scored to make it 4-0. CBC got
one in the second on an Andrew Oliver groundout and scored an unearned
run in the fourth to cut the deficit to 4-2. Chinese Taipei plated
two in the sixth and Cheng Yu Shu's homer in the seventh closed the
scoring.
Chinese Taipei--7
runs, 12 hits, 1 error
Chesterfield County--2 runs, 3 hits, 4 errors
WP--Chen
Hung Yi--7 in, 2 r, 1 er, 3 h, 3 w, 8 k
LP--Dutch Crone--1.2 in, 4 r, 4 er, 5 h, 1 w,
1 hb, 1 k
HR--Kan Meng Chieh (CT), Cheng Yu Shu (CT)
Second
Round Action--Tuesday Night
Long
Beach 13, Washington 4
A six-run third inning was more than enough for the West Zone champions
to beat the hosts, 13-4. Run-scoring hits for Alex Campbell and Dylan
Romo, plus three Washington errors gave Long Beach a lead they would
never relinquish. Washington had plenty of chances to get back into
the game, but stranded a dozen runners. Sean Buckle hit a three-run
homer in the top of the fifth for Long Beach. Trevor Jones went yard
in the bottom of the seventh.
Long Beach--13
runs, 11 hits, 3errors
Washington--4 runs, 8 hits, 7 errors
WP--Spencer
Troutman, 3 in, 1 r, 1 er, 4 h, 2 w, 1 hb, 7 k
LP--Julien Anderson, 2.2 in, 6 r, 2 er, 4 h, 2 w, 2 k
HR--Sean Buckle (LB), Zach Barnes (W), Trevor Jones (W)
Kingwood blanks,
eliminates North Zone champs
Jared Pinson allowed just four hits, all singles, as the South
Zone champions beat Central Michigan, 5-0. The teams had just one
basehit between them after the third inning. Kingwood catcher Greg
Williamson helped his battery mate in the first, picking off two runners
after basehits.
Kingwood--5
runs, 6 hits, 0 errors
Central Michigan--0 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors
WP--Jared
Pinson, 7 in, 0 r, 4 h, 5 w, 5 k
LP--Brandon Holsworth, 4 in, 5 r, 3 er, 6 h, 1 w, 1 hb, 1 k
Second
Round Action--Monday Night
Trujillo
Alto wins pitchers duel
Pitcher Kelvin Rivas struck out 14 batters, leading Trujillo Alto
to a 4-2 win over Chinese Taipei and a berth in the Division Finals.
Cesar Ogando tripled home one run in the first, then scored on a Michael
De Aza single to make it 2-0. Rivas battled Lee Yu Hung all night
long. The score stayed 2-0 until Juan Pizarro's two-run single in
the bottom of the sixth. Ma Sheng Wei's single drove in Lee Yu Hung
and an error allowed Pan Wei En to score, making it 4-2. Lee took
the loss, allowing seven hits and striking out 12.
Trujillo Alto--4
runs, 7 hits, 2 errors
Chinese Taipei--2 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors
WP--Kelvin
Rivas, 7 in, 2 r, 1 er, 4 h, 1 w, 14 k
LP--Lee Yu Hung, 6 in, 4 r, 4 er, 7 h, 12 k
CBC Stays Alive
In the first elimination game of the 56th PONY League World
Series, Chesterfield County twice batted around,
taking advantage of six Johnstown errors to beat the Host Area champions,
12-7. Stephen Gunn hit a two-run homerun in a four-run fifth inning.
CBC plated six unearned runs in the fourth.
Chesterfield
County--12 runs, 11 hits, 2 errors
Johnstown--7 runs, 12 hits, 6 errors
WP--Sam
LaMere, 4 in, 3 r, 3 er, 6 h, 1 w, 3 k
LP--Ryan Sylvia, 3.2 in, 8 r, 2 er, 7 h, 3 w, 2 hb, 7 k
HR--Stephen Gunn (CBC)
Welcome Back,
1956 PONY Champion Joliet, Illinois
Between
games Sunday night, a special anniversary celebration commemorated the
59th anniversary of the Joliet, Illinois 1956 World Series title. Several
members of that champioship team were on hand Sunday night, including
their captain, Joe Kozlevcar, who shared greetings to, and thanks for,
the people of Washington. Others in attendance included Jim Orr, Anthony
LaPaso, Bob McDaniel, Jim Ward, Jim Kuban and Dan Dietz. Several members
of the team are deceased but were represented at the ceremonies: Mickey
Fassola Klement, daughter of Lou Fassola, and Carol Ferry stood in for
Terry Fitzgerald. Former major league third baseman Ed Spiezio was a
member of the Joliet squad, but was unable to attend due to a family
emergency. Spiezio played for San Diego, the Chicago White Sox and won
a MLB World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Opening
Round--Sunday
Washington
wins back & forth contest
After
losing leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3, Washington got an rbi single from
Zach Barnes in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Central Michigan,
5-4. The hosts never trailed in the game, but needed an error and
a wild pitch to set up the Barnes game-winner. Central Michigan's
Josh Ellis had tied the game at 4-4 with a solo homerun in the top
of the sixth.
Washington--5
runs, 9 hits, 2 errors
Central Michigan--4 runs, 6 hits, 4 errors
WP--Taylen
Gorby--2 in, 1 r, 1 er, 1 h, 1 w, 3 k
LP--Troy Stressman--6.1 in, 5 r, 4 er, 1 w, 1 hb, 9 k
HR--Josh Ellis (CM)
Long Beach
ties in 7th, wins in 9th
Chris Hubbard (LB) hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the
seventh, singled to tie it again in the ninth, and thenscored the
game-winning run as Long Beach, CA beat Kingwood, TX, 7-6. Kingwood,
TX had built a 5-1 lead in the top of the sixth, only to see Long
Beach score one in the bottom of the frame, setting the stage for
Hubbard's game-tying blast.
Long Beach--7
runs, 13 hits, 1 error
Kingwood--6 runs, 12 hits, 2 errors
WP--Spencer
Troutman--2 in, 1 r, 1 er, 3 h, 1 hb, 3 k
LP--Scott Davis--1 in, 2 r, 2 er, 3 h
HR--Chris Hubbard (LB)
Opening
Round--Saturday
Puerto Rico pounds way to win!
Kevin Gonzalez drove in four runs to lead
Trujillo Alto, PR past Johnstown, 11-0 in five innings. Gonzalez stroked
a two-run single in the second, then blasted a two-run homer in the
third to break the game open. Gonzalez combined with starter Anthony
Stewart and John Roman to hold the Host Area champions to just two
hits, both by Austin Urban. Michael De Aza's three-run homerun put
the Caribbean Zone winners over the 10-run margin, ending the game
after five innings.
Trujillo Alto--11
runs, 12 hits, 0 errors
Johnstown--0 runs, 2 hits, 3 errors
WP--Anthony
Stewart--3 in., 2 hits, 5 k
LP--Ben Legath--3 in., 10 r, 8 er, 11 h, 3 k
HR--Kevin Gonzalez (PR), Michael De Aza (PR)
Chinese Taipei
wins opener!
Chinese Taipei used a four-run third to take the lead and a grand
slam in the seventh to seal the deal, beating Chesterfield County,
10-2. After back-to-back homeruns by Chen Hung Yi and Cheng Chia Ming
tied the game in the third, Lee Hung Chun singled, stole second and
scored on a Kan Meng Chieh basehit. Kan later scored on an error.
Chen Hung Yi hit the grand slam, the 29th in PONY World Series history.
Kan Meng Chieh got the win, Chen a save. Chesterfield's runs came
on solo homeruns by Sam LaMere in the first and second innings.
Chinese Taipei--10
runs, 10 hits, 0 errors
Chesterfield County--2 runs, 7 hits, 5 errors
WP--Kan
Meng Chieh--5.1 in., 2 r, 2 er, 7 h, 7 k
Save--Chen Hung Yi--1.2 in., 0 r, 1 w, 2 k
LP--Ryan Spangler--2 in., 4 r, 3 er, 4 h, 2 k
HR--Sam
LaMere (VA) 2
Chen Hung Yi (C-T) 2, incl. grand slam
Cheng Chia Ming (C-T)
Opening Day--Jam-Packed
Saturday!
The 56th PONY League World Series starts Saturday at Lew Hays PONY
Field. Teams started arriving in Washington, PA on Thursday evening.
Others will pull into town on Friday.
Saturday's schedule
begins with the World Series Brunch. Following the Brunch, World Series
Tournaments, Inc. hosts the 7th Annual Friends Game at Lew Hays PONY
Field. Opening Ceremonies & the first day doubleheader get underway
at 4:30 pm.
Final Spots
Filled
The South Zone tournament at Burleson, TX went to the "If
Necessary" game--and BEYOND! Kingwood, TX lost the first game
of the tournament to Corpus Christi, 4-0. Wednesday night, Kingwood
beat Corpus Christi twice, 7-6 and 7-6 in 8 innings to win the South
Zone berth in the PONY League World Series.
At Fullerton,
CA, Long Beach (4-0) went undefeated through the West Zone bracket,
including a Finals win over Quartz Hill Wednesday night to claim the
West Zone PONY League World Series berth. Long Beach will face Kingwood
in Sunday's first game.
Chinese Taipei
wins Asia-Pacific
For the sixth time since 1998, Chinese Taipei is the Asia-Pacific
PONY Zone champion. Three times during that span, Chinese Taipei made
the finals four times, taking the PONY League World Series championship
trophy home to the Pacific Rim in 1998, 2000 & 2005. Chesterfield
County, VA will provide the opposition in the tournament's opening
game Saturday afternoon. Both programs qualified for the 2001 World
Series but were in opposite divisions and did not face each other.
Chesterfield County advanced to the final that year.
Central Michigan
rules the North Zone
John F. Kennedy was President the last time a team from Michigan
won the PONY World Series (1961). This year's North Zone champions,
the Central Michigan Stars, will try to break that drought. Their
first opponent comes from a state that's waited even longer. Washington
won the 1955 crown, the last Pennsylvania squad to hoist the first-place
trophy. The two teams will meet Sunday in the final game of the opening
round.
Chesterfield
County, VA wins East Zone
After failing in their efforts to return to Washington a year
ago, CBC Baseball of Chesterfield County, VA didn't let this opportunity
get away. CBC's PONY team is World Series bound, following a win against
Boardman, OH and two victories over New Bedford, MA. The Chesterfield
Countians played in the World Series in 1996, 99 and 2001, the 50th
Anniversary celebration year. CBC will face Chinese Taipei, the Asia-Pacific
Zone champion, in Saturday's opening game.
Johnstown wins
Host Area, Returns to PLWS
For the second time in three years, Johnstown PONY Baseball won
the Host Area Tournament, clinching a berth in the 56th PONY League
World Series. Johnstown will take on Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico in
the second game of the opening-night doubleheader, Saturday, August
11th. Washington, PA is the only other entry determined so far. Zone
tournament play is underway this weekend across the country for the
four U-S zone teams.
Caribbean Champion--Trujillo
Alto
A team from Puerto Rico has won the PONY League World Series six
times, all since 1984. If that number is to increase this year, the
title will be won by a new entry in the World Series--Trujillo Alto.
Caguas has won three championships, including the 2006 title. San
Juan, Bayamon and Ponce, PR have all won PONY World Series titles.
