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HR in seventh lifts Long Beach to title
kjacobsen@observer-reporter.com
With one swing of the bat, Oliver Van Buskirk punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame.
The Long Beach, Calif., reserve will have his jersey sent to the Pony Baseball Hall of Fame and possibly to Cooperstown to be displayed for the next year at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Both players had superb performances in Saturday's Pony World Series championship game, but Van Buskirk's will be more well remembered.
Van Buskirk hit what PONY officials believe to be the first walk-off home run in Pony World Series history, a two-run blast that lifted Long Beach to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Taichung City, Taiwan, at Lew Hays Pony Field.
"I went up there just thinking 'get a base hit,'" said Van Buskirk. "It was a high, outside fastball and I knew it was gone when I hit it. I was in shock. We just won the World Series."
Making Van Buskirk's feat more impressive was it came in a pinch-hit role. Matt Maccarrone singled in front of Van Buskirk, who drove an 0-1 pitch over the right-center field fence.
Taichung City had gone ahead 2-1 in the top of the seventh and seemed poised for the country's sixth World Series title. Instead, Long Beach came away with the trophy, its first since 1965 and California's 20th overall. A California team last won the World Series in 2003 (Lakewood).
"I was in the back of the dugout with my hand over my face," said DeJong. "I looked up and saw Oliver swing at the first pitch and said he's going to hit this next ball a mile. I was jumping up and down when it went out."
DeJong threw a complete game, giving up one earned run and striking out three to clinch the New Era ERA title. He had a 1.40 ERA in 15 innings, winning two games and saving another.
He allowed an unearned run in the first inning when third baseman Daniel DeWolf threw a ball over the head of first baseman Soloman Williams.
While DeJong wasn't as overpowering as he could have been, he still limited Taichung City to five hits.
"My arm didn't feel as strong," said DeJong. "But my dad said I didn't have to be overpowering. I just had to throw strikes and let my defense pick me up."
After his error, DeWolf redeemed himself with several excellent defensive plays and a game-tying single in the fifth.
"Daniel hasn't thrown a ball away all year," said Long Beach manager Ken Jakemer, who was an assistant on Long Beach's runner-up team a year ago. "After the error is how he always plays. He does it with the glove and the bat."
A little luck before DeWolf's RBI-single helped.
The game was televised by FSN and one of the cameras was set up behind first base. With a man on first and one out for Long Beach, Brett Harper hit a ground ball to shortstop. One out was recorded at second but the relay throw hit the fence behind first base and landed in the "out of play" area around the camera.
Harper, who would have remained at first, was awarded second base, allowing DeWolf to drive him in with a single.
"It was very opportunistic," Jakemer said.
The late-game heroics were nothing new to Van Buskirk, who has now hit three walk-off home runs in his young career. He also homered in Thursday's game, sparking a Long Beach comeback.
"It's usually a home run or a strikeout for me," said Van Buskirk. "Maybe a walk."
Jakemer didn't expect a home run but he liked his chances with Van Buskirk at the plate.
"He only needs one pitch," Jakemer said. "Matt getting on in front of him was huge. We were very confident with Oliver coming up."
Wang Chao Min's single in the seventh had given Taichung City its 2-1 lead. Chiu Chun Chang pitched nearly as well as DeJong, scattering six hits over five innings. Hu Chih Wei relieved in the sixth and gave up Van Buskirk's home run.
Hu also committed a baserunning mistake in the top of the seventh. He was on second with Wang on third. A pitch went to the backstop and Hu tried to advance, failing to notice Wang stayed put. The result was a 2-1-6-2 putout with Wang thrown out at home.
"Though we're not satisfied, I am proud of our performance," said Taiwan manager Chiang Chung Huar. "This is the best we can give. It was not good enough."
Notes
Tamiami's Henry Knez won the Wilson Sporting Goods batting champion award with a .583 average. ... Joanie Paskert was named 2008 Pony Princess. Alyssa Wise is the 2008 Pony Hostess.
