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Youngstown Cene team to open PONY World Series
By Greg Gulas
It has been a season of firsts for the local Class B League in regards to PONY Palomino play.
After fielding a first ever all-star team for its East Zone competition, the team swept through the tournament to capture the league’s first ever East Zone championship while accomplishing yet another first by earning a trip to this year’s World Series at Compton, Calif.
Now, manager Andy Timko and staff hope for the ultimate first — a World Series title.
Youngstown Cene, which won four straight games this past weekend and outscored opponents, 20-3 en-route to its initial East Zone title, will open World Series play today at 7:30 p.m. when they take on North Zone champion, DeWitt, Mich.
In addition to Youngstown and Michigan, six other teams comprise this year’s field with Bayamon, Puerto Rico (Caribbean Zone) and San Jose, Calif, (West Zone No. 1) rounding out Youngstown’s bracket, and Culiacan, Mexico (Mexican Zone), Santa Clara, Calif. (alternate for its Asia Pacific Zone, which was unable to attend), Crowley, La. (South Zone) and host, Compton Urban Youth Academy comprising the other bracket.
“I really don’t know much about the other teams in the field nor the level of competition that they have played, but Chartiers Valley, the team we defeated for the East Zone championship won a game at the World Series last year and that bodes well for us,” Timko said. “I told our team that the other teams are comprised of 18 year-olds, just like us so don’t be in awe. I know that we can play with the other teams, but the key is to cash in on our opportunities. We need to continue hitting like we are capable of, score when runners are in position and just get that big, two-out hit.”
Hitting has always been the trademark of a Timko-coached team as he has won seven of the last 10 league titles.
With the aid of pitching coach, Brian Kubala and assistant coach Steve Leslie, pitching and defense are also visible strengths of this year’s squad.
Each team is allowed two 19-year-old players on its roster while Youngstown’s 15-player aggregation is comprised of 11 18-year-old players and four 17-year olds.
Youngstown does not field a 19-year-old league.
“While pitching and mound depth is always necessary in order to make a deep tourney run, this team is scary in that they have yet to hit like I feel they are capable of hitting,” Timko added. “We have yet to play a game where all nine players in the line-up have hit like I feel they can.”
Josh Greggs, Mike Boswell, Dustin Lander and Mark Gross are the team’s four “only” twirlers while Jared Kapturasky, Scott Sada and Mitch Wood add much-needed mound depth.
Billy Krull will share catching duties with Jake Smith and Dalton Davis while Davis assists at first base, and also shares the team’s designated hitter duties with Smith.
Joe Campagna at first base and second baseman Wood hold down the right side of the infield while shortstop Riley Campbell and third baseman Greg Popatak are solid on the left side.
Campbell, who is headed to the University of Toledo in the fall, started East Zone play by hitting safely in his first six at-bats while Campagna and Wood will be teammates at Slippery Rock University, and Popatak is headed for George Mason University this fall.
Sada, a Penn State/Behrend product, keeps the team strong up the middle as he roams center field while Jared Houser (Walsh University) and Austintown Fitch High School product Jared Kapturasky are the left fielders, and Kyle Benyo, who is YSU bound, the right fielder.
“Another plus entering the tournament is that our league is highly competitive so our players already know about its high level of competition,” Timko said. “Our coaches do an excellent job of recruiting and chances are if you are at a high school game and see a good player, he’s already been called, approached or contacted by one of our teams or coaches. That’s another reason that all of our age groups fared well at tournament time this year.”
If Youngstown wins its opening game, it will next play the winner of the Crowley, La., and host Compton Urban Youth Academy game on Friday at 10:30 p.m.