Jul 31, 2016 4 min read

When Austin Abel and his Canon-Mac Youth Baseball teammates fell a game short of Pony League World Series qualification last summer, the then-13-year-old didn’t know when, or if, he’d have another chance to compete in that type of international event.

Thanks to a new partnership between the youth baseball organizations of Washington and Canon-Mac, such a chance has appeared quickly for Abel and others.

Washington was the founding member of PONY League Baseball in 1952 and has hosted 52 of the organization’s 63 Pony League World Series for ages 13 and 14.

This year’s world series, which begins Friday at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington Park, will mark the 33rd consecutive time Washington served as the host city. As host, Washington all-star’s team receives a berth in the world series.

However, dwindling participation numbers in recent years for the Washington and Canon-Mac leagues, caused in part by the growing popularity of travel baseball programs, led to a merger between the organizations last year and the formation of an entity called the Founders League. League administrators extended the partnership earlier this year to include Washington’s entry in the Pony League World Series.

“It was the natural progression,” said Rich Egizio, Canon-Mac Youth Baseball president. “For our organization and our kids to be able to play in the Pony League World Series, when that’s never been afforded to them before, from our standpoint, it was a no-brainer.”

Abel, four other Canon-Mac players and 10 players from Washington comprise the first Washington County team for the Pony League World Series. Washington County begins play at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Paderborn, Germany.

“I was really excited to get another chance at something this big,” Abel said.

With a shrinking pool of players from which to choose an all-star team, Washington has struggled at the Pony League World Series, winning a combined eight games since a 2001 semifinals appearance.

Washington Youth Baseball president Rick Herrnberger has served the organization in different roles for a decade, including a two-year stint coaching the world series team.

“There were a few years where we had just enough people to fill the team,” Herrnberger said.

The last time Washington won more than one game in the world series was a decade ago, in 2006, when it advanced to the semifinals.

“It’s not guaranteed that our team would be invited (back) if we couldn’t put a good showing in or at least be respectable on the field from a playing standpoint,” Herrnberger said.

Early indications are such a talent gap won’t be an issue this year. Since finalizing its roster following a 27-player tryout in June, the Washington County team performed well in tournaments, posting an 18-1 overall record and winning the tournament it hosted and the Summer Sizzler in Erie.

“We all know that we have bigger expectations on our shoulders this year,” said Kaden Kolson, a center fielder from Washington. “We want to change the culture around here.”

While the addition of Canon-Mac to a tradition that has belonged to Washington for more than 60 years bothered some adults in the Washington baseball community, the players, like Kolson, say the new setup makes sense and isn’t an issue for them.

“Parents will be parents,” he said. “But us kids, we just want to come out and play ball together. Come together no matter what the circumstances are.”

At a practice in late July, players spoke of having good team chemistry. Arriving at that point took some time, according to manager Conner Semple, a 2011 McGuffey graduate who played baseball in Washington’s youth system.

“In the beginning, you could see a little bit of tension,” he said. “Everybody was excited about it. But it was new for everybody.”

In previous years, Washington selected its all-star teams by coach vote.

Washington player Dalton Bedillion admitted to being nervous at the start of the tryout process.

“Just because some of your friends might not get to play,” Bedillion said. “But it’s better for the team and world series.”

The anxiety quickly turned to excitement for Bedillion and the rest of his teammates. Abel likened the team to a family.

“It was kind of nice bonding with new people and having better talent,” Bedillion said.