Pony Squads Head to Playoffs

It should be a patriotic postseason for the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s 13- & 14-year-olds. Pali Red, Pali White and Pali Blue have all advanced to this Saturday’s Pony Division playoffs. Playing in a 14-team league that includes teams from Cheviot Hills, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and East Los Angeles, Pali White (13-5-1) and Pali Blue (13-5-2) ended the season tied for third behind Santa Monica’s Red and Blue squads. Led by ace pitcher Jackson Bantle, an eighth-grader at Corpus Christi who is headed for Loyola High, Pali White had won two previous meetings over Pali Blue by 11-0 and 8-6 scores heading into last Friday night’s showdown at the Field of Dreams. Palisades High-bound Jackson Nethercot homered twice in the first inning to propel Pali Blue in a 25-3 rout. Teammate Sam Wasserman, also on his way to Palisades High, has hit 11 home runs this season, including two in last Saturday’s season finale at Santa Monica White. Pali Red, coached by PPBA board member Dave Kahn, is led by the powerful swinging of Palisades High-bound Jack Jordan and Loyola-bound Hagen Smith. Red finished the regular season at 8-10-1. Mustang (Ages 9-10) The Phillies, coached by Mike Bennett, swept through the winner’s bracket with victories over the Cardinals, Red Sox and Yankees to move within one victory of the championship. After a late-season surge the Phillies almost lost in the first round of the postseason tournament. Colin Enzer hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning and the Phillies finally prevailed 9-8 three innings later thanks to clutch pitching by Luke Bennett, who then picked up a save in the team’s 12-8 victory over the Red Sox. Pitcher William Winkenhower led the way in the winner’s bracket final with 10 strikeouts in four innings of a 8-4 win over the Yankees. He also helped his own cause at the plate, hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run. The Phillies came into Wednesday’s final undefeated in the double-elimination format, meaning they would win the title with a victory. A loss yesterday to Tuesday’s Dodgers-Yankees winner would set up a deciding game today at 4:30 p.m. on Diamond 2. Thanks to the pitching of Jason Starrels and Zach Lynch, the Dodgers staved off elimination for the third time with a 7-4 win over the Cardinals. Julia Broudy kept the Cardinals close with two and a third innings of shutout pitching. Bronco (Ages 11-12) The Yankees (14-6) finished in first-place in the American League standings while the Cubs (11-9) won the National League pennant. Both teams, however, suffered two playoff losses and were eliminated. The third-place Red Sox rebounded from an opening-round loss to reach Tuesday’s consolation final where they met the second-place Phillies. Waiting for the winner were the surprising Cardinals (9-11), who got hot at the right time, winning their last two regular season games. Then, in the playoffs, they got by the Cubs 10-9, routed the Orioles 14-5 and trounced the Red Sox 18-7 to emerge from the winner’s bracket. If the Red Sox-Phillies winner beat the Cardinals yesterday, a decisive game will be needed to decide the championship today at 4:30 p.m. on Diamond 2. Pinto (Ages 7-8) After a near-perfect regular season the juggernaut Red Sox have continued their dominance in the playoffs. Coached by Mark Skelly, the Red Sox won three playoff games over the Dodgers, Cubs and Phillies by a combined score of 30-11 for a remarkable 18-2 record, awaiting the winner of Tuesday’s consolation bracket winner (either the Phillies or Orioles). The Red Sox needed to win yesterday to wrap up one of the most impressive runs in PPBA history. A loss would mean a winner-take-all game today at 4:30 p.m. on Diamond 4. The Phillies finished atop the National League while the Orioles were third in the American League behind the Red Sox and Tigers. Shane Skelly and Alexander Hurley were selected as Pinto All-Stars. Skelly and Charley Wadler were chosen the team’s most valuable players and Ari Sallus and Joe Suddleson were voted most improved. Wadler and Skelly each had over 50 hits in the regular season and each had seven postseason hits entering Wednesday’s game. Seven-year-old rookie Andrew Sington belted a team-leading six triples and Nick Plummer had the most game-winning hits. Going into Wednesday’s game the Red Sox had scored a whopping 248 runs (most in the league) and allowed only 124 (least given up in the league). They won 15 out of 17 games in the regular season, including 14 in a row. Closing ceremonies, which include awards to World Series winners, sportsmanship honors and all-star team announcements, are Saturday at 9 a.m. on Diamond 1. Look for complete championship coverage in next week’s issue.