Washington County’s late rally fell short in an opening-round loss to Bronx, NY opening Sunday’s action at the PONY League World Series. Mon Valley rallied from a four-run deficit against Long Beach to stave off elimination. Bay County got a two-run single and 1.1 innings of scoreless relief from Brody Kuhn to eliminate Gijon Spain. Details on all the games are below. We’ll have every game live on WJPA-AM (1450) and online. Listen Here!
Sunday
Bronx 5, Washington County 3
Angel Garcia doubled in a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, giving Bronx a lead it would not relinquish. Misael Acosta homered an inning later and the East Zone champions added what proved to be the game-winning run in the fifth to advance in the winners’ bracket. Washington County used a pair of errors in the second to take a 1-0 lead before Bronx plated five straight runs. In the top of the seventh, Landon Conn singled and moved to third on a throwing error. Jackson Smith reached on an error and scored on a basehit to right but Coen Phasupong tried to stretch the single into a double and was thrown out, squelching the rally. The host squad managed four hits in the game, all singles.
Mon Valley 7, Long Beach 4
Long Beach scored four times without a hit, without an error, in the third inning, taking advantage of five walks and a pair of hit batters. That’s when Zach Plymire took over on the mound for Mon Valley and slammed the door, giving the Host Area bats a chance to awaken. Cam Matusik singled home one run in the fourth ahead of Kennedy Nash’s sacrifice fly cut the Long Beach lead in half. Mon Valley tied the game in the sixth when Demaris Tolliver singled home Jack Crovak and Braylon Schoch’s groundout scored Nash who beat out a possible double play earlier in the frame. Plymire appeared to strengthen as the game moved on, retiring the final seven batters. With the score tied in the top of the seventh, Jesse Scobzak singled and stole a pair of bases. One out later, Plymire blasted a two-run homer to left-center putting Mon Valley in front for the first time. Crovak followed with a solo homer to set the final score.
Bay County 5, Gijon Spain 3
The North Zone champions scored three times on four hits in the second and appeared to be on cruise control through four innings. Gijon, making Spain’s first-ever World Series appearance, got a pair of free hitters aboard with a walk and a hit batter. After a fly out, Alex Morales drilled a three-run home run to tie the game. Bay County responded in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead, Kuhn driving in a pair of runs with a bases loaded single. When starters and winner Brenner Gansser had to leave the mound due to PONY’s pitching restriction, Kuhn took over, working 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out a pair to earn the save. In the Gijon third, Lila D’Hauteville led off with a single to left, the first-ever basehit for a female player in the World Series. Only one other girl has played in the event. Anny Rivera was 0-for-2 at the plate for Brownsville, TX in 2018.