Aug 4, 2016 5 min read

Chris Peters was at work with colleagues when he heard, so he gleefully informed his friends.

”We’re going to the World Series,” said Peters, a former major league pitcher and current manager of the Peters Township Pony League all-star team.

He relayed the news to team parents, who quickly became messengers of the good news, sending members of the 13-person roster scrambling to the team group chat.

About 24 hours had passed since the Peters Township team, formed little more than a month ago, lost to Johnstown 12-1 in the championship round of the Host Area tournament Monday. Peters Township had rebounded from opening game loss in both the Host Area and section tournament to be on the the brink of the world series.

”It felt horrible,” infielder and pitcher Jake Orsi said. “We tried so hard, and we lost that last game.”

That result killed any opportunity of making the world series for the first time in the league’s history.

At least, that’s what happens in normal circumstances.

An international team’s unresolved bureaucratic issues created a unique path to the world series for a second Washington County team.

Peters Township will open the Pony League World Series today (5:30 p.m.) at Lew Hays Pony Field against Mexico Zone representative Los Mochis. Caribbean Zone champion Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, couldn’t sort out visa issues and was removed from the world series field Tuesday. In its place is Peters Township.

”I’m sure plenty of people doubt us, don’t expect us to do as well as other teams,” said Daniel Boehme, an outfielder and pitcher. “But we’re here to prove we’re a great team, and we’re here where we belong.”

One of his teammates is shortstop John Salvitti, who makes the short trip to Washington every summer to watch the world series. His father, also named John, grew up in Washington and played on the 1981 Washington team.

”He was telling me how it’s really hard to get into,” Salvitti said. “I never really thought there would be a chance of us getting in.”

The elder Salvitti, an assistant coach for Peters Township, received a text message Tuesday afternoon from World Series Tournaments Inc. president Bob Gregg shortly after 2 p.m. Gregg wanted Salvitti to call him. Salvitti figured Gregg’s urgency had to do with tournament sponsorship. Not so much. Gregg wanted to know if the Peters Township team was going to be in town this weekend.

”Are you kidding?” Salvitti said.

Nope.

Soon after that conversation, Salvitti connected with PONY Baseball president Abe Key. According to Key, the Dominican Republic team had until 5 p.m. Eastern to come up with the paperwork before official disqualification would occur, leaving the Peters team in limbo until then.

”Oh, man,” Boehme said he thought to himself. ” I got happy for nothing.”

”It was pretty awkward,” Orsi said.

The PT players waited out the uncertainty by communicating via their group text. The younger Salvitti, trying to stay positive, began organizing a practice for that evening.

”I didn’t even know what to do,” he said.

The 5 p.m. deadline came and went, with the Dominicans’ visa issues still unresolved.

”Then we were finally in,” Orsi said. ” And it was all good.”

Boehme expressed confidence that he and his teammates won’t feel out of place. He and Salvitti played together on Beaver Valley 12-year-old travel team in 2014 that won a national tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y.

”There’s going to be some butterflies. We’ll all be pretty nervous,” Boehme said. “After the first couple innings, we should settle down and be OK.”

East Zone champion Chesterfield, Va., will play Host Area champion Johnstown in the 8 p.m. game … Opening ceremonies will be held between games. … Laredo, Texas, the South Zone champion, won three of its five zone tournament games via shutout.