Peters Township realizes Pony League World Series dream
With an email, the quest began. Peters Township would, some how, some way, send a team to the Pony League World Series.
Near the end of June, the board of the Peters Township Baseball Association indicated via a correspondence its hopes of assembling a team to qualify for the prestigious event. The board hired former major league pitcher Chris Peters (Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos) to manage the club with John Salvitti and George Winslow as assistants. After a series of three tryouts and a few practices, the team was ready for prime time. The Indians had their first competition. They played their first and only game, a victory against the Washington County World Series Host team, before entering tournament action.
In the double-elimination tournament held in Monongahela, Peters Township dropped into the losers bracket after succumbing to 1st Summit. The Indians, however, rebounded, winning three straight games. They beat Morgantown and Kiski before avenging the loss against 1st Summit and landing into the championship. Despite a loss to Vesta, two teams advanced out of the tournament to the next leg of the qualifiers.
In a double-elimination tournament in McCandless, Peters Township again dropped its first game. After leading, 7-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Indians squandered their advantage and fell to Ingomar in extra innings. Again, in the losers bracket, Peters Township won three straight, beating Vesta, McCandless and Ingomar.
Though back in the finals, Peters Township faced a must-win situation if they intended to realize its dream of reaching the Pony League World Series. The Indians, however, lost to Johnstown, 12-1, and the Boilers then became the host area team.
“Our tournament play was done, or so we thought,” said Salvitti, because the tournament ended Aug. 1 and the World Series began Aug. 5.
But the day after Peters Township’s ‘disappointing loss’ Salvitti received a call from the tournament director of the Pony League World Series. Because the Dominican Republic had visa issues, an invitation was extended to the Indians as they could make it to the event, which started in three days.
“We caught a huge break,” Salivitti said. “We felt very lucky to have this opportunity. From the day we found out, we told our boys that their primary goal was to represent yourself, your family and Peters Township with dignity and respect.”
The Indians made the most of their second chances even though they knew the odds were against them.
“We knew that the teams we would be facing were bringing much more experience to the table,” Salvitti said.
Indeed. While Peters Township came into existence four weeks ago, defending champion, Chinese Taipei, had been together for a year, practicing twice a day and attending school together. Teams from Maui and Bay County Michigan have played together for five years and each had won national titles in previous years at younger age groups. Even the Washington County team had 20 games under its belt.
The Indians, however, played with the best. Using a dramatic comeback, they defeated the powerhouse organization from Johnstown, 6-5. The Boilers had qualified for the World Series nine out of the last 13 years. Peters Township, though, lost twice to Mexico, 4-1, and 13-9.
Despite elimination from the tournament, Salvitti said the coaches were pleased with and happy for the players. “We were extremely excited for the boys to be able to experience this high profile international event.
“Peters Township did more than represent. We sent a message that we belonged and we competed against the best 14-year-old teams in the world.”
Peters Township’s finest included: Nick Winslow, Vinnie Knight, Joey Labellarte, Joey Opferman, Shane Bartzcak, John Salvitti, Ryan Magiske, Jake Orsi, Sam Petrarca, Liam McCue, Matthew Levy, Daniel Boehme and Luke Fountaine.