Valley PONY tournament gets good reviews at official opening

WARREN — Bob Bonfiglio, a coach with a Bedford, N.H., girls fast pitch team, couldn’t stop smiling.

He and his players were throwing plastic beads to excited fans in the crowd at Warren G. Harding High School’s Mollenkopf Stadium on Sunday.

“This is a great experience,” said Bonfiglio, whose team, the Hornets, traveled 111 „2 hours from New Hampshire to the Mahoning Valley.

Teams of girls between the ages of 10 and 12 played games Saturday, but the opening ceremony for the Protect Our Nation’s Youth Girls Fast Pitch Softball National Tournament in Mahoning and Trumbull counties was Sunday at the Warren stadium.

Each team was introduced and marched around the stadium’s track with many of them throwing candy and plastic beads to the crowd.

Teams of girls between the ages of 16 and 18 start tournament games in the two counties next Sunday.

Overall, about 300 teams will play on fields in Mahoning and Trumbull counties during the tournament.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com