Mon Valley team reaches Pony World Series

This story originally ran in Monday’s E-edition. We’re running it again in print for those without access.

With a 4-3 comeback win over Youngstown Sunday, the Mon Valley Pony baseball team booked a spot in the upcoming Pony League World Series.

From Aug. 9-14, teams will come from far and away to compete, and the Host Area qualifiers, open to any Pony teams within a 90-mile radius of Washington County where the tournament is held, is a Mon Valley team.

“They’re just a team,” manager Jason Plymire said. “Every aspect of their game has won them games. They’ll hit in the one game, they’ll pitch really well in another, and defense might win the next. They usually have two of the three or all three in every game, so they’re playing well. They find a way to make it work.”

The Mon Valley Pony team is made up of players representing Belle Vernon, Brownsville, Donora, Elizabeth Forward and Ringgold. The roster includes AJ Watson (Belle Vernon Area Pony, Belle Vernon), Ben Lilley (Brownsville Pony, Albert Gallatin), Braylon Schoch (Brownsville Pony, Brownsville), Camden Matusik (Rostraver Pony, Belle Vernon), Cam Black (Belle Vernon Area Pony, Belle Vernon), Connor David (Ringgold Pony, Ringgold), Cooper Cetera (Brownsville Pony, Brownsville), Demaris Tolliver (Donora Pony, Ringgold), Derek Dunlevy (Ringgold Pony, Ringgold), Jack Crovak (Elizabeth Forward), Jesse Sobczak (Rostraver Pony, Belle Vernon), Kennedy Nash (Ringgold Pony, Ringgold, Lucas Kear (Belle Vernon Area Pony, Belle Vernon), Michael Green (Ringgold Pony, Ringgold) and Zach Plymire (Belle Vernon Area Pony, Belle Vernon).

Now they’ll get to play at Lew Hays Pony Field and join teams from all around the world in the universal language of baseball.

“This is fantastic,” assistant coach Tony Watson said. “I can’t tell you the last time that a Mon Valley Pony team has played in the World Series. It’s such a great group of kids. We have so much support from the Mon Valley community, and we really appreciate it. We’ve seen a bit of a resurgence in baseball in the Mon Valley, and we’re happy about it.”

Those local Mon Valley athletes will compete with ballplayers from Chinese Taipei, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Spain as well as other areas in the United States.

Heading into the sixth inning of Sunday’s game, Mon Valley was trailing Youngstown 3-2 and seemed to be heading for a final deciding game in the double-elimination tournament.

After a walk and an error put runners on second and third, Zach Plymire singled to center to bring two runs in and cap off the scoring at 4-3, clinching the Host Area qualifier for his team.

“It was the best celebration I’ve ever seen from them,” Plymire said. “It was like the pro level where gloves go in the air and they’re charging each other. They all ran over to each other and started going crazy, which was great to see.”

The Mon Valley squad hasn’t lost yet, playing 11 games together over the month of July and winning every single one. The team defeated Youngstown 14-0 Saturday.

Sunday’s win is the closest game they’ve had, with a four-run victory over Peters Township to open qualifying the second closest.

Mon Valley defeated 376 Western PA 15-5 Friday en route to punching its ticket to the World Series.

“You can’t have this type of experience with pure luck,” Watson said about meeting kids from around the world. “It takes a lot of hard work, and these kids have worked hard since the beginning. I told these kids to enjoy the moment, because this isn’t something that happens every day. They’re going to remember this for the rest of their lives.”