The grand finale of the 2017 PONY Baseball season and PONY’s longest running event, the 66th annual DICK’S Sporting Goods Pony League World Series (DSGPLWS) begins Friday at historic Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington, Pennsylvania. Ten teams, including four international, will battle it out on the diamond over six days to determine a world champion of PONY Baseball.
Make sure to watch the live stream of the annual Skills Competition on PONY World Series’ Facebook and Twitter (@plws2017) at 11 a.m. ET/US Friday, as 30 competitors will duel to determine a Home Run Derby and Fastest Runner champion. Then, the games begin Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. with Mexico Zone Champion Guasave, Sinaloa taking on Caribbean Zone Champion Levittown, Puerto Rico.
Making its second appearance (2012) ever at the DSGPLWS this year, Guasave received the Mexico Zone’s automatic bid after winning a title at the Pony Mexico Zone Championships in Juarez City in late April. After losing its first game 6-1 against Villahermosa, Guasave stormed back to go undefeated throughout the rest of the tournament and beat Villahermosa in a rematch 1-0 in the championship game. Guasave’s starting pitcher Vidal Sotelo Rivera was the hero, after hitting a game-winning home run to deep left centerfield to win the ball game.
Levittown makes its fourth-ever appearance at the DSGPLWS this year after winning gold at the Pony Caribbean Zone Championships in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic in mid-July. Like Guasave, Levittown lost its first game of its tournament, only to make a grand come back and win a championship 5-4 over Panama.
Mexico has been represented at the DSGPLWS as far back 1971, when Maya first qualified for the Zone. The very next year, Monterrey, Nuevo León went on to win Mexico’s only DSGPLWS. Los Mochis, Sinaloa last made it to the championship game in 2013, when it lost to Okinawa, Japan 5-4. Guasave’s participation in this year’s tournament marks the sixth-straight year that a team from Sinaloa has been represented at the DSGPLWS.
During Levittown’s last appearance in 2014, it advanced to a semifinal “if necessary” game, but fell to eventual champion Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei 6-2 in eight innings. In 2002, Levittown lost in the championship game to Norwalk, California 10-0. In 1990, when the tournament was played in Olympic format, Levittown won two games, but lost 12-3 to eventual champion Seoul, Korea in the early rounds. Puerto Rico has won seven DSGPLWS titles for the Caribbean Zone, the most recent being Trujillo Alto in 2007.
Prior to Game #2, the event will hold its annual Opening Ceremonies at Lew Hays Pony Field. In Game #2 Friday, East Zone Champion Hagerstown, Maryland battles Host Area Champion Youngstown, Ohio at 8 p.m. Hagerstown roared through the Pony East Zone Championships in High Point, North Carolina last weekend, winning each of its three games by a combined score of 44-8, including a 17-5 win over defending East Zone Champion Chesterfield, Virginia in the championship game.
Youngstown had to overcome a second game loss to three-time defending Host Area Champion Johnstown, Pennsylvania (4-0) en route to a title at the East Zone, West Region, Pony Host Area Championships. The Ohioans won two-straight games, including a 15-5 rematch in the championship game against Johnstown to win the title.
Hagerstown is making its 13th appearance at the DSGPLWS, the most by any town/city not named Washington. Hagerstown finished as high as second in 1995, when it lost to Bayamon, Puerto Rico 11-2 in the championship game. It also advanced to the semifinals in 2000 and 2015. Hagerstown lost 3-1 to N. Charleston, South Carolina in the first-ever DSGPLWS game in 1952. Youngstown makes its fourth appearance in DSGPLWS history this year. The team’s best finish came in 1955, when it lost to Host Washington in the championship game 4-0. Both Hagerstown and Youngstown are looking to become the first winners in Maryland and Ohio state history.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, cheer on the players during PONY’s annual Champions League Game at Lew Hays Pony Field.
Day two’s games begin Saturday at Noon, as North Zone Champion Bay County, Michigan faces South Zone Champion Brownsville, Texas. Bay County went undefeated at the Pony North Zone Championships in Bay City, Michigan last weekend, ultimately beating Central Michigan 11-1 in the championship game for the title. Likewise, Brownsville went undefeated at the Pony South Zone Championships in Youngsville, Louisiana. The team went 5-0, defeating defending South Zone champion Laredo, Texas 2-1 in the championship game.
Bay County is making its sixth-consecutive appearance at the DSGPLWS this year and eighth in the last nine years, as the PONY North Zone champions. Bay County enjoyed its best finish ever at the DSGPLWS last year, when the team finished third, falling to finalist Maui, Hawaii in the Division Finals. A Michigan team has only won the DSGPLWS once (Hamtramck, 1961).
Brownsville makes its third DSGPLWS appearance this year (2006 & 2013). In both occasions, Brownsville won a game. Teams from Texas have won four DSGPLWS titles, the most of any state in PONY’s South Zone (San Antonio, 1952; Lufkin, 1957; Houston, 1962; Laredo, 2011).
At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Host Washington County takes on first-time DSGPLWS participant, European Zone Champion the Netherlands. Netherlands was the undefeated champion of the Pony European Zone Champions in Prague, Czech Republic in mid-April, when it defeated 2014 European Zone Champion Brno, Czech Republic 11-0 in the championship game.
Under the banner of Washington, the tournament host has won one DSGPLWS title (1955). More recently, Washington finished as the tournament finalist in 1982, 1985 and 1998. In the last five years that a PONY European Zone Champion has participated in the World Series, it has won four games, all against Washington/Washington County.
In Saturday’s Game #5 at 5:30 p.m., the winner of Game #1 between Guasave and Levittown takes on Asia-Pacific Zone Champion Seoul, Korea. Seoul owns three DSGPLWS titles. All were won during a three-year stretch from 1988-90. Seoul last represented the Zone in 1997, when it won two games, but did not advance to the championship game.
Day three begins Sunday at Noon, as West Zone Champion Covina, California awaits the winner of Game #4 between Washington County and Netherlands. Covina is coming off a victory at the Pony West Zone Championships in Mountain View, California last weekend, where the team overcame a 6-0 shutout loss to the host team to win its next two games, including a 9-3 victory over defending West Zone Champion Maui, Hawaii in the championship game, to win the title.
Covina’s last appearance at the DSGPLWS came in 1999, when it won its second title. Along with nearby West Covina, Covina has won five combined titles (1974-75, 1981-82 and 1999). California’s 21 overall DSGPLWS titles represents the most that any U.S. state or international country has won all-time.
Tournament action continues Sunday through Wed, Aug, 16, culminating with the championship game, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. To purchase tickets for the event, click here or purchase them at Lew Hays Pony Field’s entry gate.
Follow all the action pitch-by-pitch thanks to the tournament officials’ electronic scoring operation through Game Changer here. You can also watch all of the games live thanks to Pikewood Sports and MLB.com here. Make sure to stay tuned all week long for additional content on PONY.org and PLWS.org, as well as PONY Baseball and Softball and PONY World Series’ social media accounts.
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