Washington County hopes pitching, defense wins Pony championship
John Pryzbylinski was an assistant coach for the Washington County Pony League team last year, so he knows what the atmosphere is like when the hometown team is playing at Lew Hays Pony League Field.
As the head coach this year, he knows no matter how many times he conveys to his players what it’s like, they’ll need to experience it firsthand to truly know.
“We’ve told them there’s going to be little kids coming up and asking for your autograph like you play for the New York Yankees,” Pryzbylinski said. “It’s surreal for them and honestly there’s nothing that’s going to get them ready for what they’ll experience during that first game. There just isn’t. We can simulate pressure in practice, but when there’s thousands of people sitting at Lew Hays Field rooting for them, that’s when you feel it, and adrenaline takes over.”
The Pony League World Series gets underway Friday and runs through Aug. 13.
Washington County’s first game will be against the Francisco Cervelli Baseball Academy of Italy at noon Saturday. They’ll try to be the first team from Washington County to win the Pony League World Series in 70 years.
Other teams that have qualified are Host Area champion South Hills, Bay County, Mich., Barranquilla, Colombia, Taichung of Chinese Taipei and Monterrey, Mexico.
The South, West and East zones are still in tournament play to determine their qualifiers.
Pryzbylinski is a Connellsville High School and Waynesburg University graduate. He was a catcher in college. He was an assistant coach at Waynesburg High School this year for his former college coach Perry Cunningham. He’s also coached at Frazier and travel baseball for the Pittsburgh Outlaws.
Another cool aspect for Pryzbylinski is that his dad, John Przybylinski Sr., is an assistant coach for the Washington County team.
They’ll have a squad of 15 players. They come from Canon-McMillan, Trinity, Charleroi and Bentworth.
Pryzbylinski likes the makeup of his pitching staff and pointed to that as a strength of the team.
He listed a dozen players that can pitch. He can choose from Braxten Thompson, Ryan Lukas, Clint Havanis, Niko Vitale, Ashton Fike, Andrew Strejcek, Carson Simmers, Andrew Irwin, Colton Mumford, Luke Henderon, Keegan Widenhofer and Ethan Amos.
“We have very good, live arms and guys who are very confident when they step on the mound,” Pryzbylinski said. “That’s something that is a little new for me. I’ve been a part of a bunch of teams that have historically hit pretty well, but didn’t necessarily trust all of our guys on the mound, outside of maybe one or two.”
The goal is to pair that pitching with strong defense all around the diamond.
“I think shutting down teams on defense will be where we’re really going to thrive,” Pryzbylinski said. “Defense is what wins championships is what they say.”
Pryzbylinski joked that as a Division III catcher, he never played in front of a crowd as big as he saw at Lew Hays Field last year.
He took a moment to enjoy it and so did the players. That’s something he wants his players to do again this year.
“Showing up to the first game and seeing everyone cheer for you … it’s really a home-crowd advantage,” Pryzbylinski said. “The kids loved it. I loved it. You definitely take a moment to stop and smell the roses for sure. It was an experience like no other. There are kids on this team that talk about the kids on last year’s team like they are their favorite superstars.”
Now it’s the current group’s turn to be the superstars for the young ballplayers that make their way to the tournament.
Roster
No. Player
5 – Lucas Daniel
8 – Luke Henderon
10 – Keegan Widenhofer
12 – Braxten Thompson
14 – Clint Havanis
16 – Ryan Lukas
18 – Jackson Greene
19 – Andrew Strejcek
21 – Ethan Amos
22 – Kaden Harkins
23 – Ashton Fike
25 – Colton Mumford
27 – Carson Simmers
31 – Niko Vitale
48 – Andrew Irwin