Santa Cruz Pony Baseball league recently experienced a run of tournament success not seen in 55 years by winning the Northern California Coast Section Championships, according to league president Steve Peters.
Troy Bounds of Boulder Creek coached the 13-year-old all stars to the tournament where the squad went undefeated against teams from Monterey, Carmel, and Salinas at Franich Park in Watsonville.
“It was an amazing experience,” Bounds said. “I’ve been trying to accomplish this for 10 years. The kids were awesome and did what it took to get the championship banner.”
The Pony age-14 team, led by Coach Mark Collishaw of Scotts Valley sailed through the Coast Section and Region Championships to the West Zone Championships which hosted teams from Southern California, Arizona, Washington, Utah, and Hawaii. The team defeated host Watsonville, then Washington before succumbing to the perennially strong Hawaii team from Kauai.
“The entire coaching staff is thrilled to have such a great group of kids playing for us,” Collishaw said. “The fact that we reached the Western Zone Championships speaks volumes about the talent and attitude of this team.”
The Pony league also includes a Colt division for ages 15 and 16 which progressed to the Regional tournament in San Jose and Palomino for ages 17-19. For information: www.scruzpony.clubspaces.com and www.facebook.com/santacruzponybaseball.
The nonprofit PONY organization was sponsored this year by Bay Federal Credit Union, Thomas Andersen Construction, Larry’s Photography, Jerry’s Sports, Bill Smallman, Play it Again Sports, Moran Drywall, Get Some Baseball Training, and SignWave.
Players from all over Santa Cruz County participate in the league.
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