WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania (Jun 16) - The world is coming to Washington, Pennsylvania for the 2017 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series (DSGPLWS) August 11-16 at historic Lew Hays PONY Field. Two teams have already qualified, Mexico Zone Champion Guasave, Sinaloa and European Zone Champion Netherlands. The eight remaining bids will be competed for during the summer, finishing with the PONY South Zone Championships Aug. 2 in Youngsville, Louisiana.
After four days of play in April, the Netherlands clinched the 2017 SUMA PONY European Zone Championship played in Prague, Czech Republic. The championship game featured two undefeated teams, Holansko A and former 2014 European Zone champion Czech Academy. The Netherlands ended the game with an 11-0 sweep, earning the automatic bid to the 2017 DSGPLWS.
2017 marks the sixth-consecutive year that a team from PONY’s European Zone has qualified for the tournament. Representatives from the European Zone since Paderborn, Germany first qualified in 2012 include: Brno, Czech Republic in 2014, Vienna, Austria in 2015, and Paderborn again in 2013 and 2016. Paderborn in 2012-13 and 2016 and Vienna have recorded wins against Washington, Pennsylvania, during the Zone’s six appearances.
The Netherlands will make their first ever appearance at the DSGPLWS as the 2017 European Zone qualifier. The Dutch will play in Game #4 against Washington County at 2:30 p.m. ET/US on Friday, Aug. 11.
Guasave, Sinaloa qualified for the 2017 DSGPLWS after a win against undefeated rival, Villahermosa, in the championship game. The game was won in the bottom of the seventh inning when Guasave pitcher Vidal Sotelo Rivera hit a walk off homer and completed the 1-0 victory.
A team from the Mexican state of Sinaloa has qualified as the Zone champion for seven- consecutive years. Maya was the first Mexico Zone team to qualify in 1971, when it made it to the quarterfinals and lost 16-4 against Orange, California. A team from Mexico has been represented from 1971-76, 1979-80, and every year after 2008.
In 1972, Monterrey recorded Mexico’s only DSGPLWS Championship when it defeated Honolulu, Hawaii in back-to-back games and won 3-2 in the championship. In 2013, Los Mochis fell one win short of the championship after a loss to champion Okinawa, Japan 5-4.
Tournament play begins with Guasave against the Caribbean Zone qualifier in Game #1 on opening day of the World Series at 5:30 p.m. ET/US on Friday, Aug. 11.
The host team, Washington County, Pennsylvania, will be picked in June from the PONY affiliated leagues Washington Youth Baseball and Canon-Mac Youth Baseball Association combined.
Washington holds the 1955 championship title after recording four tournament wins and defeating Youngstown, Ohio in the title game 4-0. In 1998, Washington lost 4-0 in the championship game against Tai Tong County, Chinese Taipei. In 2006, Washington recorded three wins and advanced to the Division Finals, where it lost to Simi Valley, California 4-2, one game shy of the championship.
The PONY Caribbean Zone Championships, hosted in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, will be played July 12-16.
Puerto Rico has made its presence known in every DSGPLWS since 1983, besides 2011 when Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic qualified. Most recently, Mayaguez advanced to the 2015 semifinal “if necessary” game before being defeated by eventual champion, Taipei County, Chinese Taipei.
In 2014 Levittown advanced to the semifinal “if necessary” game, where it lost to Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei 6-2 in eight innings. Trujillo Alto won the championship in 2007, defeating Long Beach, California 8-3. Caguas won the championship after a close game against Simi Valley in 2006. Ponce took home the championship in 2001.
On July 2-8, the PONY Asia-Pacific Zone Championships will be played in Fukuoka, Japan.
Chinese Taipei has been a juggernaut for the Zone since Tai Tong first represented the country and won a championship in 1994. Since then, Chinese Taipei has played in 13 championship games and won eight titles. Most recently, Taoyuan and Taipei Counties have gone back-to- back for the nation. CT’s championship last year marked its eighth overall, passing Puerto Rico for second most wins by any state/nation.
Okinawa won Japan’s only championship in 2013 when it defeated Los Mochis, Mexico 5-4 in the title game. West Tokyo qualified in 2006, when it made it to the Division Finals and fell in a close game to Caguas 7-6. West Tokyo returned in 2010, but lost in the championship game to Chesterfield County, Virginia 3-1.
Korea made its presence known from 1988-90 when it won the championship three-consecutive years.
The Asia-Pacific Zone qualifier will play on day two of the World Series against the winner of Game #1 at 5:30 p.m. ET/US on Saturday, Aug. 12.
The North, East, West Zone and Host Area representatives will all be determined on Aug. 6, while the South Zone team will be determined on Aug. 7.
Bay County, Michigan will host the PONY North Zone Championships on Aug. 3-6.
A team from Bay County has represented the North Zone in eight DSGPLWS, including 2006-10 and 2012-16. In 2016, Bay County advanced to the Division Finals, recording two wins, before falling to Maui, Hawaii.
Other recent qualifiers for the North Zone include Lafayette, Indiana in 2011, who recorded three wins and made it to the Division Finals, but lost to eventual champion, Laredo, Texas 7-3. Evansville, Indiana took the North Zone all the way to the Division Finals in 2004, but lost to eventual champion East Cobb, Georgia.
The South Zone champion is set to play against the North Zone champion in Game #3 on Aug. 11 at noon ET/US.
The PONY East Zone Championships will begin on Aug. 2 in High Point, North Carolina.
Chesterfield County, Virginia represented the East Zone when it first qualified in 1999 and made appearances in 2001, 2007, 2010, 2013-14, and 2016. They won a championship in 2010 after beating West Tokyo 3-1.
Hagerstown, Maryland played in several DSGPLWS, including 1995, when it lost in the championship against Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Recently, Hagerstown qualified for the 2015 World Series, when it advanced to the Division Finals and lost to San Bernardino, California 10-5.
Game #2, Aug. 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET/US, features the Host Area qualifier taking on the East Zone qualifier.
Mountain View, California will host the 2017 PONY West Zone Championships Aug. 3-6.
The West Zone was most recently represented by Maui, Hawaii, who was one win shy of the 2016 championship. Hilo, Hawaii took home the Roy Gillespie Memorial Trophy just two years before, in 2014, when it defeated Taoyuan County 5-3.
California leads all U.S. states or international countries in most championships won with 21. Most recently, California represented the West Zone with a championship in 2012, when Long Beach beat Taipei County 9-7. In 2015, San Bernardino came up short losing to Taipei County 12-1.
The West Zone will compete against the winner of Game #4 on Aug. 13 at noon ET/US.
The Host Area Zone, representing the Greater Pittsburgh region and Northern West Virginia, will be chosen after three satellite tournaments are completed and the three winners meet at the Host Area Finals in McCandless, Pennsylvania on Aug. 4.
1984 marks the first year a Host Area Zone team qualified when Mon-Yough, Pennsylvania participated in the DSGPLWS.
In recent years, Johnstown, Pennsylvania has had a nice run, qualifying for the DSGPLWS in 2005, 2007, 2008-10, 2012, 2014-2016.
The PONY South Zone Championships will be played Aug. 2-6 in Youngsville, Louisiana.
A team from Texas has represented the South Zone for the past six years. Laredo took home a championship in 2011 after defeating Taipei County 10-9. In 2012, Laredo fell to the eventual champion, Long Beach in the Division Finals.
The game schedule and full bracket with game start times and dates can be found on plws.org HERE. Games will be televised by the American Sports Network and online at MLB.com with live scoring available via Game-Changer on plws.org and pony.org. Be the first to know when teams qualify by following PONY World Series on social media.