August 15, 2021 11:59 pm
Manchester, NH scored six times in the fourth and rolled to the program’s first-ever PONY World Series victory, eliminating San Jose, CA, 9-2. Runs scored on a sacrifice, a fielder’s choice, Noah Durham’s two-run single, a hit by Maddox Turck and Henry Dubois’ RBI double. San Jose scored their only runs of the tournament in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch and squeeze bunt before NH put the game away in the seventh. Ryan Dutton, Dillon Gaudet and Durham went double-single-double to close the scoring. Jaiden Bosquet got the win for his 5.2 innings of work, allow two runs and four hits while striking out eight. San Jose’s first trip to the World Series wasn’t without bright spots. David Colon won the Home Run Derby Individual championship and is the tournament’s leading hitter among eliminated players. Pitcher Zack Koontz is the ERA leader, having worked 7.1 scoreless innings in the opening round loss to Brownsville. San Jose also won the Team Home Run Derby title. Manchester faces Brownsville, TX Monday morning (10:00 am) in an elimination game.
Brownsville, TX built a 2-0 lead only to see Johnstown, PA score three times in the bottom of the fifth to take control of the division with a 3-2 win. Three walks in the first, coupled with a pair of fielder’s choice plays gave the South Zone champions a 1-0 lead. Brownsville made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth, getting a two-out double from Jorge Garza and Ruben Lopez’ RBI single. Back-to-back walks and a Chase Williamson single ended the day for Brownsville starter Jai Arenas. Aaron Smearman smacked reliever Miah Vela’s first pitch into left, tying the game. One out later, Aaron Bowers struck out but a passed ball allowed him to reach first. A grounder by Lucas Oleksa that should have ended the inning plated the go-ahead run. Williamson started and got the win for Johnstown, going five inning and allowing four hits while surviving six walks. Adam Radkowski did not allow a hit over the final two innings to earn a save. Johnstown now sits one win away from a berth in the World Series championship game.
Back-to-back pitching gems closed the action Sunday night.
Jonah Williamson and Cameron Dames combined on a two-hitter, leading Washington County to a 3-0 win over Bay County, MI. The Hosts plated a pair of runs in the third, one scoring on Williamson’s base hit, another on a passed ball. Washington County added another unearned run in the fourth, using a walk, a base hit, an outfield error and a fielder’s choice to lead 3-0. Williamson started and dominated, holding the North Zone champs to two singles until running into two-out trouble in the sixth, thanks to two walks. Dames came on, coaxed a grounder to short that was misplayed but the runner from first rounded second and was tagged out to end the threat. Dames worked a clean seventh to earn a save. Six different Washington County players had base hits in the win, staving off elimination. The locals will take on Bayamon, PR Monday afternoon (12:30 pm).
Youngstown’s Mason Petridis tossed a complete game one-hitter, shutting down Bayamon, PR, and moving to Monday night’s division final. The Host Area runner-up took a 1-0 lead in the first on Jackson Cheeks’ sacrifice fly. Hunter Garvin continued his hot hitting, crushing a two-run home run in the third. Youngstown made it 4-0 later in the inning as Jake Rynd lofted a sac fly to score Dom Cubellis after his one-out triple to left-center. Bayamon’s only run came in the fourth. Eliel Ramos led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, third on a ground out and scored on another Petridis wild offering. That was the only wildness shown all night by the right-hander who allowed just one run, one hit and one walk while striking out nine Bayamon batters. The Caribbean champions now face Washington County to stay alive. Meanwhile, Youngtown, like Johnstown, needs one more win to reach the World Series title game.
August 15, 2021 7:44 am
PITTSBURGH — Kevin Newman tied a major league record with four doubles — in successive innings, no less — and the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled over the Milwaukee Brewers 14-4 Saturday to snap their eight-game losing streak in the first game of a doubleheader. Newman doubled in each inning from the third through the sixth in the seven-inning game. He also scored four times. Newman’s third double drove in two to spark a six-run fifth that included Bryan Reynolds’ two-run homer. That outburst broke the game open, giving the Pirates a 12-4 lead. The only Pirates to previously hit four doubles in a game were Hall of Famer Paul Waner in 1932 and Adam Frazier in 2019. Rookie Hoy Park had three of the Pirates’ 19 hits. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Reynolds, Rodolfo Castro and Gregory Polanco added two hits each. Hayes, Jacob Stallings and Newman had two RBI apiece. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo and Hayes added RBI in the big fifth. Chasen Shreve (1-0) struck out the side in the fifth. Brett Anderson (4-6) was tagged for six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. He lost for just the second time to the Pirates in eight career decisions.
August 15, 2021 7:46 am
PITTSBURGH — Rookie Aaron Ashby and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, Rowdy Tellez hit a long home run and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Saturday night to split a day-night doubleheader. Ashby pitched the first four innings of the nightcap and allowed three hits while striking four and walking none. Making his third career start, the left-hander fell one inning short of qualifying for his first major league win. Brad Boxberger (5-3), Devin Williams and Hunter Strickland worked one inning each to finish the seven-inning game. Tellez blasted a two-run home run to cap a three-run fifth inning and give the Brewers a 5-0 lead. The drive, estimated at 445 feet, cleared the right-field stands and bounced off a walkway adjacent to the Allegheny River and into the water. Avisail Garcia added a solo home run in the seventh to complete the scoring. Milwaukee won for the fifth time in six games and leads the NL Central by eight games over Cincinnati.
August 14, 2021 3:54 pm
Johnstown, PA scored three times in the first and never trailed, rolling past Manchester, NH, 10-3, in a World Series game delayed by Friday’s storms. Ben Kormanski doubled in one run, then scored on a two-run double by Lucas Oleksa. The Host Area champions sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth, crushing a late rally by the East Zone qualifier. Noah Durham’s two-run single had pulled Manchester to within 5-3 in the fifth. Aaron Smearman got the win, allowing just one run over 3.2 innings. Oleksa, Kormanski and Connor Jones all finished with a pair of RBI for Johnstown. The winners advance to play Brownsville TX in Sunday’s winners bracket. Manchester faces San Jose, CA in the tournament’s first elimination game Sunday at noon.
Juliomar Campos singled with two out in the fifth, scoring Eliel Ramos with the game-winning run as Bayamon PR downed Bay County MI, 3-2. Bay County got a solo home run from Talan Debo in the top of the first but saw the Caribbean champions get an RBI single from Joniel Cuadrado and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Argenis Garay to take the lead. Debo walked in the fourth and scored on Jaxon Jenkins’ base hit tying the score before Bayamon went in front an inning later. In the top of the sixth, Bay County put two on with one out. Kingston Dufort singled to right but Alejandro Mujica started a 9-3-2 to cut down the lead runner at the plate and protect the lead. Bayamon advances to the winners bracket Sunday night (8 pm) while Bay County will play to stay in the tournament late Sunday afternoon (5:30 pm).
Washington County scored twice in the first, then loaded the bases with nobody out in the third but did not score. Youngstown exploded with a nine-run fourth, sending 13 batter to the plate. The Hosts didn’t have another hit in the game and managed only one more baserunner. A bases-loaded fielders choice got the Host Area runner-up on the board, then a wild pitch tied the game 2-2. Later in the frame, Anthony Triveri stroked a two-run single, Jackson Cheeks and Hunter Gavin followed by driving in runs, Carter Wilson and Dom Cubellis added run-scoring doubles before Washington County could stop the attack. Washington County drops into the elimination bracket late Sunday afternoon while Youngstown moves to the winners bracket Sunday night.
WJPA-AM (1450) serves as the Radio Home of the World Series. Games are available on-air and online: Listen Here!
August 14, 2021 4:42 am
Brownsville, Tx scored a walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th, downing San Jose, CA, 1-0. Jai Arenas singled to left and moved to third on Christopher Ramos’ double of the fence in right. After an intentional walk and a strikeout, Juan Garza fouled off a one-strike bunt attempt, then put down a successful squeeze to win the game. It’s the first 1-0 game at the PONY World Series since 2006 when Brownsville lost to West Tokyo. Brownsville pitchers struck out a record-tying 10 consecutive batters from the fifth through the eighth innings. But San Jose starter Zack Koontz held the Texans to just one hit through 7-and-a-third innings before leaving due to pitch count restrictions. The game was twice delayed by lightning for a total of nearly 80 minutes.
August 14, 2021 4:40 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A game scheduled between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night was postponed because of rain and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader Saturday. The first game will be played at 2:35 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:05 p.m. Both games are scheduled for seven innings under pandemic rules. Friday’s game was called 1 hour, 5 minutes after the scheduled start time. A heavy thunderstorm swept through the area about an hour before the game was eventually postponed, and the weather forecast called for more rain.
August 14, 2021 4:41 am
(AP) – ESPN will be using young broadcasters as part of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The first of two KidsCast presentations will be the MLB Little League Classic between the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians on Aug. 22. The ESPN2 broadcast will complement the main feed on ESPN. Two nights later, one of the Little League World Series games will serve as the standalone telecast on ESPN. This is the second time the network has done a KidsCast from the Little League World Series. Mo’ne Davis, the ácelebrated pitcher for Pennsylvania in the Little League World Series in 2014, will be an analyst for a second time. She was in the booth in 2019 and now attends Hampton University.
August 12, 2021 2:49 am
The 69th PONY League World Series opens Friday night at Washington Park. Eight teams will battle for the championship in a two-division double-elimination format. Friday’s game include Brownsville, TX, San Jose, CA, Manchester, NH and Johnstown, PA. First-round games Saturday pit Bay County, MI against Bayamon, PR followed by Washington County taking on Youngstown, OH. WJPA-AM (1450) will serve as the Radio Home of the World Series as we have each year. Game will be available on-air and online: Listen Here! This year’s tournament is the 58th played in Washington, the 57th at Lew Hays PONY Field, the world’s first PONY-sized diamond. San Jose and Manchester are making first-ever appearances. Bay County is here for the 14th time. Johnstown claimed its 10th berth with the Host Area championship. Bayamon is in the field for the 8th time while Youngstown makes its 7th appearance. Brownsville won the South Zone, earning a sixth trip to Washington, where the Hosts have been in the field every year since 1984, including a 1955 championship and multiple runner-up finishes, the last coming in 1998.
August 13, 2021 3:48 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Dwayne Haskins continued his push for the backup quarterback spot. He threw for 161 yards and a touchdown to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Ben Roethlisberger sat out Pittsburgh’s second preseason game. Mason Rudolph has been the team’s backup for the past three seasons and just may keep that job. Haskins is making a run at the backup spot. Jalen Hurts played two series for the Eagles and was a modest 3 of 7 for 54 yards. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni made his debut on the sideline. He replaced the fired Doug Pederson.
August 13, 2021 2:51 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Thursday, completing a three-game sweep. The Cardinals bullpen was pressed into duty after starter Wade LeBlanc exited with left elbow pain. He gave up three runs on three hits in two innings. St. Louis has won five of six overall and 10 straight games at Pittsburgh. The Cardinals’ last loss at PNC Park came on Sept. 17, 2020. Colin Moran homered twice for the Pirates, who have been outscored 50-18 during an eight-game losing streak.
