Washington County rallies past Hidalgo in Pony opener
Washington County needed a spark, and Caedon Markley provided it.
Entering the bottom of the sixth, Washington County didn’t have a hit and was staring at a difficult start to the Pony League World Series.
But after Blake Komenda led off the sixth with a walk, Markley entered as a runner, stole two bases and scored on a ground ball to third.
That opened the flood gates.
Seven straight batters reached and all of them came into score as Washington County rallied for a 7-1 victory over Hidalgo, Texas Saturday night at Lew Hays Field.
“I felt like I had to give the guys a spark and it felt great to do it,” Markley said. “The pitcher, whenever he lifted his leg up, I just went. He didn’t have a slide step, so I just took off.”
With the win, Washington County plays Puerto Rico, 4:30 p.m. Monday. Hidalgo will fall into the losers bracket, 12:30 p.m. Monday against the winner of Sunday’s South Hills/West Covina, California game.
Markley’s run started a wild sequence for Washington County.
He broke for the plate on a ground ball to third by Carter Rukavina, and beat the throw home. Rukavina ran to second and slid into the base at the same time as the throw came in. When Rukavina slid, he dislodged the bag and knocked it a few feet away.
The umpire ruled Rukavina safe.
Hidalgo manager Miguel Puente asked the umpires to come together to talk about the call. After a discussion, the umpires stayed with the call, Puente continued to argue as he walked off the field and was ejected by the home plate umpire.
Rukavina later scored on a wild pitch for the go-ahead run.
After that, Cam Shaw had an infield single for Washington County’s first hit, Logan Caughman followed with an RBI single up the middle, Cam Jobkar and Colman McGuinness walked, Caughman scored on a wild pitch and Blake Westfall broke the game open with a two-run double to centerfield.
“I couldn’t be happier for Blake,” Przybylinski said. “He’s been really hard on himself leading up to this, so it was nice to see him drive one out there. I know he was happy too.”
Westfall added another run by scoring on a wild pitch, the fourth by a Hidalgo pitcher in the inning.
Prior to the sixth, Washington County struggled against Hidalgo pitching, including starter Rogan Gonzalez, who pitched four shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.
“I could not believe they pulled their starter,” Przybylinski said. “At 55 pitches, I was surprised he was taken out of the ballgame, but that sparked life into us. He was tough and had a no-hitter. We were eventually able to figure it out in the sixth.”
The only baserunner for Washington County in the first four innings came when McGuinness reached on an error on a dribbler in front of home plate.
Jose Sanchez worked around a walk in the fifth, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Hidalgo used three pitchers in the sixth, Sanchez, Diego Puente and Eduardo Rodriguez.
While the offense struggled, Shaw and Caughman kept Washington County in the game with strong pitching.
He pitched 4.1 innings and did not allow an earned run in a no decision. He yielded two hits, had seven strikeouts and no walks.
“You just have to know you are better than the kid at the plate,” Shaw said about pitching in a close game. “You have to get out in four pitches in less and just have to know you’re better.”
Hidalgo got its run in the third, which was helped by a Washington County error.
Roel Gonzalez singled to lead off the inning and moved to third after a fielder’s choice put Roberto Lozano on first with one out.
Oziel Garcia hit a ball up the middle for a potential double play, but the ball was bobbled at shortstop for an error and a run came in to score on the play.
Shaw struck out the next two batters to strand two runners.
Caughman picked up the win in relief and struck out the final five batters he faced using the mix of a fastball and a knuckleball. He allowed one hit and did not walk a batter in 2.2 innings.
“At that point it’s just about throwing strikes,” Caughman said. “The knuckleball was working. Everything was working. The crowd was loud. My teammates were loud. It was an amazing experience.”