WASHINGTON, PA (July 29, 2024) - Bay County, MI, has won PONY Baseball’s North Zone to qualify for the 2024 Printscape PONY League World Series.
Bay County went a perfect 4-0 in the North Zone tournament, defeating other teams from Michigan and from Illinois to clinch the zone champion.
Bay County’s manager, Jim Butts, believes his team has great depth.
“We are a well rounded team,” Butts said. “We play really good defense, and we are fairly deep in pitching and mentally tough.”
After giving up 11 runs in the first game of the North Zone tournament, Bay County only gave up four runs over its next three games. In its four games, Bay County also plated 62 runs.
Bay County is certainly no stranger to the World Series, now winning the North Zone for a 12th consecutive year.
Butts also managed Bay County’s 2019 and 2021 World Series. The 2019 squad made it to the final before losing to Chinese Taipei.
“In 2019, we won three games by one run and had to come back in the sixth inning of each game,” he said. “I try to get my players to understand that one or two small plays, some extra effort, and just not ever giving up can be the difference between winning or losing.”
To prepare for the World Series, Bay County is playing in tournaments with older age brackets to challenge themselves.
Bay County will play its first game against Tijuana, Mexico, on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 12 PM/ET at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, Pa.
Printscape PONY League World Series
The Printscape 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 over 30,000 fans and contributes over $6 million to the regional economy, with all games livestreamed domestically and internationally. 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.