WASHINGTON, PA (July 23, 2021) —PONY Baseball’s Caribbean Zone representative in the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series will be Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Due to international travel restrictions from the Coronavirus Pandemic, Puerto Rico will be the only international team in the 2021 tournament.

Bayamón went undefeated in the Puerto Rican National Championship, outscoring its opponents 25-7. Bayamón defeated Levittown, Puerto Rico, in the championship game by a score of 10-2. 

After Bayamón’s performance in the Puerto Rican Championship, it comes as no surprise that the team’s coach, Anthony Rodriguez, believes that the team’s biggest strength is its batting. 

“All year we have had big hits at the right moment,” said Rodriguez. “Myself and our parents are very proud of our team, and we hope to end the summer as World Series champions.”

To prepare for the 2021 World Series, Bayamón practices each day of the week and plays tournament games on weekends. 

The 2021 Bayamón squad will be the eighth team from Bayamón to play in the DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series. Bayamón won the 1995 PONY League World Series and is making its first appearance since 2013. Bayamón will play its first game against the North Zone champion on Saturday, August 14 at 5:30 PM/ET at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, PA.

WASHINGTON, PA (July 13, 2021) — The host team in the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series will be Washington County, PA. The growth of the Founder’s League gave Washington County 12 PONY teams, allowing 31 players to try out for the World Series team.

Ben Miller, the coach of the 2019 Washington County squad, will also be the head coach of the 2021 team. Miller grew up playing baseball in Maryland and was a catcher in high school and at Waynesburg University, where he was a three-year starter. The remainder of Miller’s coaching staff consists of John Stack, John Rieg, and Jason Vankirk, all of whom have extensive coaching experience in Washington Youth Baseball.

When questioned about the team selection process, Miller detailed just how difficult picking the right World Series team is. 

“The team selection process began before the first game of the regular season,” said Miller. “I went to about 25 games to watch the kids play. Following the playoffs, we offered a three-day tryout and collected video and mechanical data, along with quantitative evaluations.”

Miller is also working his team hard to prepare them for competitive World Series play. The Washington County squad practices six days per week and will play in four tournaments. Miller also has his team playing in two tournaments against 15- and 16-year-olds to prepare for better pitching. 

After winning two games in the 2019 World Series, Miller has certainly set some high expectations. Although the 2019 Washington County squad was the most successful since the 2006 team, which also won two games, Miller does have a few things he wants to do differently.

“First, I want to focus on all the preliminary tournaments from a learning perspective, rather than winning,” said Miller. “The only thing I want to repeat from 2019 is to make sure my guys know how much I believe that they can end this summer as world champions.”

Washington County will play its first game in the 2021 DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series at 8:00 PM/ET on Saturday, August 14 at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, PA.