WASHINGTON, PA (July 24, 2023) - Edogawa, Japan, has won PONY Baseball’s Asia-Pacific Zone to qualify for the 2023 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series.

Japan cruised through tournament play, outscoring opponents 99-6, with their only loss coming from defending champion Chinese Taipei.
Head coach Yutaka Furusawa noted the victory over Chinese Taipei was huge for team morale.

“Being able to beat Chinese-Taipei for the first time in about 10 years is very important. I feel that the stability of the defensive power centered on the pitcher led to our victory,” stated Furusawa.

Japan’s defensive ability centered around pitching was noted by Furusawa as their team’s biggest strength heading into the World Series.

While Japan is coming here to try and win a title, the team’s trip to the United States is more about experience.

“Most of the players are visiting the United States for the first time. We are looking forward to playing in the World Series of our dreams,” said Furusawa. “We want to fully experience America and enjoy baseball.”

The last time Japan participated in the Series was in 2013. Their lone title came that year when Okinawa, Japan, hoisted the trophy. 

Edogawa gets a first round bye and will play its first game of the 2023 tournament against the winner of the North Zone and South Zone match-up at 5:00PM/ET on August 12 at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, Pennsylvania.

DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series
The DICK'S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series is an international youth baseball tournament played annually at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, PA. The World Series annually attracts 25,000 fans and contributes over $4 million to the regional economy, with all games livestreamed internationally via plws.org. The tournament represents PONY Baseball's 13- and 14-year-old age division. PONY has over 500,000 players ages 3-23 in more than 50 countries. More information is available at plws.org.