Washington County bats bomb Bronx
Bryan Schmeltz saw two fastballs, and he knew what to do with them.
Washington County’s third baseman hit two home runs, including a two-run blast in an eight-run first inning, as the host team rolled to a 19-9 victory over Bronx, N.Y., Tuesday afternoon in a Pony League World Series elimination game.
The game was called in the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Washington avenged a 5-3 loss to the Bronx on Sunday in its first game of the tournament, but blanked Bay County, Mich., 7-0, Monday to set up the rematch.
“At this point, we are in survival mode,” Washington County manager Andrew Wuentsel said. “We are taking it one pitch at a time and not looking too far ahead. I probably sound like a broken record because I probably said that last time. I am just thankful to be here, and I am very proud of the way the kids played today.”
The host team scored eight runs on five hits in the first inning to take control early.
Garrett Stoy walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an error after Tim Crayton reached on an infield single for a 1-0 lead.
Schmeltz, who will be a freshman at Canon-McMillan, followed with his two-run blast to left field for a 3-0 advantage.
“Obviously, when you put a good swing on a fastball, you can hit it pretty far, and that is what was thrown to me on both home runs,” Schmeltz said. “It is probably the same for a lot of guys, but I definitely hit fastballs better than breaking pitches. We feel confident going into the next game if we just play the way we know we can and not make any big mistakes.”
Starting pitcher Owen Samogala walked and Landon Trnavsky before Samogala swiped home on a double steal for 4-0 lead.
Trnavsky scored on Landon Conn’s sacrifice fly for a 5-0 advantage and Jackson Smith made it 6-0 on Coen Phasupong’s base hit to left.
Crayton’s two-run single sent Phasupong and Stoy home for the seventh and eighth runs of the frame.
“We got off to a great start, and as it turned out, those runs in the first inning were very important,” Wuentsel said. “Bryan (Schmeltz) got good pitches to hit and he didn’t miss. You can’t ask for anything more.”
Washington increased its lead to 12-0 in the second with four runs on four hits.
Schmeltz singled and scored on a balk for a 9-0 advantage. Samogala singled and scored on Tristin Coney’s base hit for a 10-0 lead.
Trnavsky scored on a wild pitch and Coney touched home plate on Conn’s sacrifice fly.
The Bronx cut the deficit to 12-5 in the third when Fausto Dominguez hit a grand slam to left field and Misael Acosta scored on an error.
“We are going to take this experience as a positive one,” Bronx assistant coach Jeffrey Gutierrez said. “You aren’t going to win every game, and you really learn more from losses. The kids had a great experience and we were able to win two games in this tournament.”
Washington responded with a five-spot in its half of the third for a 17-5 advantage.
Schmeltz scored on a wild pitch and Easton Dulaney had a two-run single for a 15-5 lead. Dulaney scored on a wild pitch and Smith on a passed ball to regain a 12-run advantage.
The Bronx got two back in the fourth on an RBI single by Dominguez and a sacrifice fly to right from Jeremy Puello.
Schmeltz put his team ahead by 11 with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning. Samogala tripled and scored on a wild pitch to increase Washington’s lead to 19-7.
Angel Garcia hit a two-run home run for the Bronx in the fifth, but Conn forced Dominguez into a fly out to center field to end the game.
Chinese Taipei, 4-3
Chinese Taipei was down to its last out in the seventh and without a hit before No. 9 batter Chin Wei Hsiang doubled to left to give his team a one-run lead.
Palmview, Texas, tied the game in the bottom of the frame to force extra innings, but Chinese Taipei was able to scratch across a run in the top of the ninth and advance to Tuesday night’s game against Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Tainan City took advantage of an error to score the game-winning run, as Lin Shih Wen reached on an error and moved to second when Sung Chin Chieh was intentionally walked.
Palmview recorded the next two outs, but Huang Zi Hang’s base hit that dropped in shallow center field allowed Wen to score.
Palmview starting pitcher Noah Cortez had a no-hitter through 5⅓ with seven strikeouts and three walks, but was relieved in the sixth. Cortez was at 90 pitches, and had five pitches left, but he was lifted for Axel Pulido.
Palmview took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Gael Zambrano singled up the middle, moved to third on Alex Leon’s double and scored on a balk.
Chinese Taipei tied the score in the sixth when Hang walked, moved to second on a passed ball, third on a sacrifice fly and scored on a wild pitch.
Zambrano tripled and scored on another double by Leon for a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth.