Flaherty’s gem leads Washington County to shutout victory
Will Flaherty picked one of the nicest days of the summer to have one of his best games for Washington County.
Flaherty threw a four-hit shutout over six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks to lead Washington County to a much-needed 7-0 victory against Bay County, Mich., Monday afternoon in an elimination game of the Pony League World Series at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington Park.
Washington County plays this afternoon against Tijuana, Mexico, or the Bronx, N.Y.
The win keeps Washington County’s hopes alive for a first-place finish, or at least matching last year’s runner-up finish. Bay County, which has consistently brought talented teams to the world series from the North Zone, was eliminated. The last time a team from Michigan won a title was 1961.
What made Flaherty’s performance so important was the high expectations Washington County took into the tournament after last year’s strong showing. Washington County has not won a title since 1955.
“This was one of my better games,” Flaherty said. “The fastball, low and out, and the changeup inside were working for me. I was very happy with my performance.”
Flaherty said the team is well aware of what happened last year and what people are expecting this year.
“We just look to get one more win further than anyone else,” he said.
If the Washington County team keeps on hitting the way it did against Bay County, then the road to the championship game won’t be as difficult as some make it out to be. Washington County pounded out 10 hits to go along with the seven runs. Washington County had four extra-base hits — two doubles and two triples.
Washington County, the host team, broke a scoreless game open with two runs in the third inning. Catcher Tim Crayton was hit with a pitch and moved to second on a single to left field by Garrett Stoy. Both runners came home on a double to right-center field by Owen Samogala.
The score remained 2-0 until the fifth, when Washington County scored three runs to open a 5-0 lead. The big hit was a triple by Bryan Schmeltz, which drove in Flaherty, who opened the inning with a single to center. Samogala hit a double to center field to drive in Schmeltz. Samogala scored on a single by Landon Tnavsky.
“Will’s been our guy all year,” said Washington County manager Andrew Wuenstel. “He kept them off balance. When our backs are against the wall, Will’s our guy. He kept the ball in the park. There’s nothing more we can ask of him.”
Palmview, 11-4
Palmview, Texas, scored in each inning, including three in the second and four in the sixth, to take a victory from Mon Valley Monday morning in an elimination game of the Pony League World Series.
Mon Valley, the Host Area champion, scored one run apiece in the second and third innings, and two in the seventh,
“We came out better than the first time we played them,” said Mon Valley manager Jason Plymire. “In this tournament, you have to have good pitching. We didn’t have enough for them.”
Gael Zambrano and Alex Leon led the Palmview offense. Zambrano went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, while Leon went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run. The top five hitters in the lineup went 13-for-18 with seven RBI and seven runs.
“When you’re in this tournament, you can’t make mistakes,” Plymire said. “We were ready to play. They were just a little better than us.”
Kennedy Nash led Mon Valley’s offense, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Demaris Tolliver had two RBI.