Washington County opened play in the 73rd PONY League World Series with a run-rule win. The next two games needed extra innings to separate the winners and losers. Corpus Christi broke a 2-2 tie with a six-run 10th inning to beat Bay County. Monterrey tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, then got a solo home run in the eighth to beat South Hills. First round action concludes when Colombia takes on Corpus Christi Sunday at 12 noon. The first elimination games of this year’s tournament follow Sunday afternoon. Division Finals are scheduled for Tuesday evening with the tournament’s championship game set for Wednesday night. Hear all of the action on WJPA-AM (1450) and online LISTEN HERE!
Saturday, Aug. 9 — Bracket
Washington County 12, Grosseto, Italy 2, 5 inn. Kaden Harkins two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth invoked the run rule and moving Washington County into the Winners’ bracket Monday night. With the game tied at one in the third, Niko Vitale singled home Ryan Lukas to put the locals in front to stay. Washington County added a pair of unearned runs later in the frame, then sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth. Lukas, Keegan Widenhofer, Vitale and Lucas Daniels drove in runs the inning, building the lead to 10-1. Grosseto scored its last run in the fifth, setting the stage for Harkins blast that ended the game. Vitale, Lukas and Luke Henderson each had two hits, helping Braxten Thompson to the win.
Corpus Christi, TX 8, Bay County, MI 3, 10 inn. Both teams scored single runs in the third and the eighth, before Corpus Christi batted around in the tenth, scoring six times to beat Bay County. JJ de los Santos went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs, including the tie-breaker in the final frame. Two batters later, Gabriel Trevino delivered a two-run double to give the South Zone squad more than enough to advance. Josh Garcia had a pair of hits and scored twice, all after regulation, helping Dos Villegas to the win. Mason Krager had three hits to lead Bay County. Both starters, Lincoln Ketter and Carter Maze were solid but neighter figured in the decision. Ketter did not allow an earned run in his 5+ innings of work. Maze allowed one run on four hits while striking out eight. Landon Deford took the loss.
Monterrey, Mex. 7, South Hills 6, 8 inn. Angel Ponce homered to centerfield in his only at-bat, walking off with the one-run, eight-inning win for Monterrey. South Hills had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh, thanks to Jonah Koontz’ solo home run. In the Monterrey half of the inning, Abdiel Zavala singled with one out and moved to third on an infield error of a Sergio Guajardo batted ball. Derek Bustos grounded out to short, Zavala scoring to tie the game. South Hills took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, thanks to Johnny Parris’ two-run double. Monterrey answered with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning on just one hit, a two-run single by Guajardo. Koontz put the Host Area champions back in front with a two-run single in the fifth. That lead was short-lived as Guajardo singled to score Vladdy Angulo to tie the game at 4. Two errors brought Zavala home. Santiago Villanueva got the win, working 4.1 innings, charged with four runs while striking out 10. Dylan Koehler took the loss, pitching the final 2.1 innings. Koontz was the only South Hills player with two hits. Guajardo had a pair of singles and drove in three.
Sunday, Aug. 10
12:00 noon Barranquilla, Colombia vs. Corpus Christi
2:30 pm Elimination: Chinese Taipei vs. Bronx
6:00 pm Elimination: Grosseto vs. Bay County
Monday, Aug. 11
10:00 am Elimination
12:30 pm Elimination
4:30 pm Winners’ Bracket Monterrey vs. Simi Valley
7:00 pm Winners’ Bracket Washington County vs. Colombia/Corpus Christi winner