Placentia Punishers display the zone tournament championship banner Sunday. (Photo courtesy Placentia Pony).
Placentia Pony Bronco 12-and-under Punishers added another title to their collection Sunday, winning the championship of the West Zone Tournament in Moreno Valley with a 4-0 victory over Maui, Hawaii.
Placentia advances to the Pony International World Series this weekend in Laredo, Tex. Placentia will play San Cristobal, Dominican Republic on Friday at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
Other teams in the tournament are Laredo, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; Chicago, Ill.; Culiacan, Mexico and the East Coast representative. The championship is Monday, Aug. 4.
In Sunday’s final, Placentia’s Tyler DaRosa threw a 1-hit, complete game shut-out, according to Manager Nick Nunnari. Adrian Rosales had two hits and Caden Petler and Beckham Mahoney each drove in a run with a hit.
It was the third shutout of the tournament for Placentia, which also defeated North City of San Diego 12-2, Pacific Grove, Calif. 15-0 and Olive Orange 15-0.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys, they played their hearts out today and all weekend long,” Nunnari said. “Tyler DaRosa was incredible on the mound today, limiting Maui to one hit. He was backed up by a tremendous effort from our defense. Oliver Rojas played a gold glove shortstop today and our outfielders covered a lot of ground.”
“We’re excited to get back to the Pony World Series for back-to-back seasons and represent the West Zone.”
This 12-and-under team won the 11-and-under World Series in Virginia last year, Nunnari said.
Placentia also won the 9-and-under World Series in Modesto, Calif. in 2022. Also in 2022, Placentia’s 12-and-under team won the World Series in Texas.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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