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Puerto Rico advances, knocks out Johnstown

5 min read
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Coming off an elimination game win against Houston Sunday, momentum was on the side of Johnstown heading into its second elimination game in as many days.

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico had other plans after falling into the loser’s bracket with a loss to Chinese Taipei.

Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Zone champion redeemed itself, scoring 14 runs in the third and fourth innings to eliminate Johnstown, 14-2 in five innings Monday in the Pony League World Series at Lew Hays Pony Field.

“In this time of tournament, you have a little pressure on the player’s,” Puerto Rico manager Juan Pitra said through an interpreter. “They (the offense) gained their confidence as the game went on.”

Puerto Rico advances to play Bay County, Mich., at 10 a.m. today in an elimination game.

Both pitchers dominated the game early, combining for nine strikeouts in the first two innings, but it was Johnstown that finally cracked the scoreboard first.

In their second time through the lineup, the Boilers scored two runs on one swing of the bat from shortstop Grant Norris. After a one-out walk to leadoff batter Bryce McCleester, Norris hit an Erick Rivera pitch deep off the scoreboard in right-center field for a 2-0 lead.

“It was a big lift, especially the way Troy (Emert) pitched the first two innings,” Boilers manager Josh Day said. “For us to have a little cushion was a big lift for our team. It showed us that we could play for these guys.”

Emert, Johnstown’s starter, left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second. After coming two balls away from walking in the first run of the game, Emert struck out Antony Martir.

Johnstown’s lead would be short-lived as Mayaguez came back with five runs with two outs in the bottom half of the third. Emert looked like he would get out of the jam after striking out Erick Rivera with runners on second and third but allowed a towering three-run home run to Jafnel Rivera to give Puerto Rico a 3-2 lead.

Two batters later, the Caribbean Zone champions extended their lead with their second home run of the inning, a two-run shot by Gabriel Rivera.

“We saw it opening game with them,” Day said of Puerto Rico’s offensive explosion. “They have the ability to score in bunches. We left two pitches up in the zone. The first ball they hit out wasn’t even above the belt, it was above his letters. They say hitting is contagious, and I think that is what happened for them.

Puerto Rico its onslaught, all but ending the game by scoring nine runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 14-2.

Mayaguez had eight hits in the inning, including a three-run double by Kendrick Crespo and a three-run home run by leadoff hitter Kenen Irizarry.

The lead was plenty for Erick Rivera, who finished the game with 12 strikeouts for Puerto Rico.

“Last night I got a lot of rest to be ready and relaxed today,” Erick Rivera said through an interpreter. “I made sure I rested to have that kind of performance today. After my teammates got me the lead, I was more confident when I went back to the mound.”

Jafnel Rivera led Puerto Rico with four RBI. Irizarry, Crespo and Gabriel Rivera each had three.

Johnstown, the Host Zone Champion, can now start thinking about next year.

“To be in this situation and to take part of the World Series is an unbelievable experience for these boys,” Day said. “It is something we will never forget. Washington and Pony League did a fantastic job this year. It is a memory that will last a lifetime.”

Mazatlan Sinaloa, Mexico 10, Vienna, Austria 0 (6 innings): Mazatlan Sinaloa, Mexico staved off elimination for the second consecutive day with a 10-0 win against Vienna, Austria Monday.

Mexico advances to play the loser of the Hagerstown, Md., and San Bernardino, Cal. game that took place late last night at 12:30 p.m. today.

“We have been playing really hard games,” Mexico manager Javier Montano Lopez said through interpreter and starting first baseman Fernando Fiores. “We are just looking at the game we are playing at the moment.”

Mexico’s pitcher Javier Montano kept the European Zone champions in check through 6 innings, allowing two hits and striking out six.

Austria hung around for the first two innings, but its defense and pitching began to falter in the third inning, allowing Mexico to score four runs on four hits and three errors.

After loading the bases with no outs, Mexico got on the board with a couple of RBI groundouts by Hector Enciso and Rodrigo Garate. Jose Tirado followed with an RBI single to left field and came around to score on an error.

Austria had its best offensive threat in the top of the fourth but came away empty handed. With the bases loaded and one out, Mexico pitcher Javier Montano induced the home-to-first double play to escape the jam.

“We have been a little tense early on in the tournament,” Montano Lopez said. “That is a play that we needed.”

Mexico scored one more run in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth to end the game because of the 10-run rule.

Vienna, Austria finished its first trip to the Pony League World Series with a 1-2 record.

“The boys had a great time,” Austria manager David Korber said. “We have enjoyed every single minute. This is the World Series so we were excited. To win one game here is more than we could have imagined.”

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