KC Cards

Sunday, August10, 2003, Morning - Well, it's less than 5 1/2 hours till the first pitch, and I can tell you from personal observation that the guys are chomping at the bat (pun intended) to play ball. Many of us moved out of our previous hotels (Days Inn, Red Roof Inn, Residence Inn) over to the Spring Hill Suites just north of the baseball field. It is a beautiful new hotel located right on I-70 (Exit 19B), perfect in every way (indoor swimming pool, free continental breakfast, free high speed internet access, plenty of parking, close to GREAT shopping mall and restaurants), except for one. Apparently, most of the California team that we play in a few hours is ALSO checking in here this morning/afternoon. Oh well, ya can't have everything. Coach Winner couldn't bring his fungo bat on the airplane, and he didn't have any bags to check, so we went on a treasure hunt to find one on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Thirty-three calls later, we found a wholesale sporting goods remanufacturing plant that did no advertising and had no sign out front. The owner, who was called at home at 9am on a Sunday morning, opened up special for us at 11am on a Sunday morning. $23.38 later, we had our fungo bat. Just goes to show you that there are no problems without solutions. Only problems where a person just stops trying before he or she finds the solution. The boys will be meeting at the Days Inn at 2:45 and then be taken to a local batting cage for pregame batting practice. As all of you no doubt know, the game starts at 5:30pm Washington, Pa., time, and 4:30pm Houston time. More after the game from Washington, Pa. Scott R. Saturday, August 9, 2003 Evening - Just got back from the PONY World Series opening ceremonies. The players and coaches met at the Days Inn parking lot and went to opening ceremonies in two 15 passenger vans. The parents and other K.C. supporters followed in their cars. The players all looked resplendent in their uniforms and new navy blue PONY World Series caps. The first game ended (New York came from down 2-1 to win 5-2 with four big runs in the 6th inning), and all of the players for all of the teams assembled outside the centerfield fence in their uniforms. The announcer introduced the PONY head honchos, the sponsors, the Pony Princesses (8 of them), and then one-by-one, the teams. As each team was announced, the players and coaches ran single file from centerfield to a designated place on the basepaths. When they were finished, all 8 teams occupied the whole basepaths (2 teams between each base), and the Pony Princesses were on the pitcher's mound. Everyone sang, "take me out to the ballgame," and just as quickly as it started, it was over. The players will assemble at the hotel tomorrow (Sunday) at 2:45pm in preparation for their 5:30pm game. Remember, 5:30pm here is 4:30pm for you in Houston. We look forward to making enough noise for you to hear whether or not you tune in on the internet. That's all from Washington, Pa., for now. More after tomorrow's first game. By Scott R. Saturday, August 9, 2003 Afternoon - For those of you who are back in Houston, the K.C. team practiced this afternoon from 1pm to 3pm. It was a good vigorous practice, and the boys definitely shook off any sense of jetlag or cobwebs from a few days of relative inactivity. The hitting looked crisp and sharp, the fielding was efficient and the boys' arms seem fresh and with a lot of zing in them. The bottom line is that under the watchful eyes of Jay Dushkin, Mike Winner and Nick Ozuna, there is no question that these young men-- our young men, are ready for what awaits them tomorrow afternoon. By Scott R. Saturday, August 9, 2003 Morning - Hooray. It is 11:30am on Satuday, 8/9 and we finally will be practicing in about an hour and a half. Most of the practice fields in the area are under water because it has rained something like 30 out of the last 40 days. It is so bad, I saw Bill Lamont building an ark in the hotel parking lot. Anyway, I know that the boys are excited to get back on a baseball field for the first time in a few days. The world series opens at 5pm tonight with four teams from the other bracket playing at 5:30pm and 8pm. Our turn is tomorrow late afternoon. More from Washington, Pa., after our first practice. To those of you stuck in 110 degree heat indices in Houston, we are really sorry it is so bad there. It is cooler here, but just as humid, if you can believe it. I'll write more after practice. By Scott R. This evening, the team is gathering at the Days Inn and travelling to Lew Hays field to watch some of the first night's games and participate in the opening ceremonies between the first and second game. As Mr. Reingold told all of us, don't forget that every game is broadcast on the internet. You can be linked to the broadcast through http://www.ponyworldseries.com or http://www.wjpa.com/pony2003.htm. The boys are in excellent spirits and can't wait to begin playing tomorrow afternoon. More from Washington, Pa., later on. Friday, August 8, 2003 - The team and coaches made it safely to Washington, Pennsylvania this afternoon. The boys were surprisingly well behaved both at the hotel yesterday and en route to Pennsylvania today. Only a few misdemeanor charges and we should be able to take care of those with community service (just kidding, everything went fine). We even had the same number of kids when we got here as when we left. A tip of the hat to all K.C. parents for raising such well-behaved gentlemen. Tonight is the banquet and the home run derby. More from the PONY World Series after we get back to the hotel tonight. By Scott R.

Kyle Chapman Pony League 14YO All Stars recent victories news in District, Sectional, Regional and Zone Tournaments are picked up by Houston Chronicles on Wednesday, August 6, 2003 - Page 12C in the boxes under Baseball "Pony League Zone Championship. Kyle Chapman, Houston, Texas 11 East Cobb, Georgia 10 East Cobb 332 030 0 - 10 9 Kyle Chapman 006 102 2 - 11 11 Winning Pitcher - Bryan Borski Thursday, August 7, 2003 - "This Week" Sports, Page 12 in the big box "Baseball Victories". Led by manager Jay Dushkin and coaches Mike Winer and Nick Ozuna, the Kyle Chapman 14-year-old All Stars have claimed the District, Sectional, and Gulf Coast Regional titles, posting only one defeat along the way. The team vied in last weekend's South zone tournament in Louisiana. The next step would be the PONY League World Series in Washington, Pa, from Agust 9-16. The roster includes Brian Borski, Cameron Brown, Alex Cernoch,Aaron Dushkin, Andrew Espinosa, Beau Faulk, Max Flinn, Brett Gibson, Sean Lamont, Patraick Morris, George Murphy, Karl Pringle, Jamie Reingold, Mark Robichau, Daniel Rothenberg, Joe Silver, Corey Triche,and Matthew West."

Fall Registration Important Dates to remember .... register early .... If you have any questions, please send us an email. REGISTRATION DATES: Sat. Aug. 9 10am - 3pm Wed. Aug 13 6pm - 8:30pm Sat. Aug 16 10am - 3pm Try-out Schedule The following schedule will be used for Fall Season Try-Outs. Select Try-Outs will be announced at a later date. Try-Out times will be assigned at the time of registration. If you are a returning National League Player, you will not be given a Try-Out time, as you will be automatically placed on your Spring team, unless otherwise requested. Tuesday, Aug. 19 PM 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 Wednesday, Aug. 20 PM 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 Thursday, Aug 21 PM 6:00, 7:00, 8:00

FULLERTON, CA; The 2003 14 year-old All-Stars from Heartwell are off to the Pony World Series in Washington, Pennsylvania. After beating Orange twice Wednesday night, Heartwell promptly became the representatives for the Western United States. "This is just awesome", said manager Russell Johnson. Awesome it is. This marks only the fifth time in nearly 40 years that Heartwell has advanced to the world series. The scene at Amerige Park on Tuesday was filled with adrenaline. Orange was heavily favored to win the tournament, being that they only needed to win one of the two games. But Heartwell brought the big sticks, and pounded away at Orange early in the first game. Michael Beltran and Travis d'Arnaud hit back-to-back homeruns, both of which ended up over the fence in right-center field. d'Arnaud pitched a beautiful game, as did Kyle Christensen in relief. Trevor Costin who started game two, also hit a solo homer early in the game. In the fourth inning, Jonathan Harlow came in and slammed the door on Orange. "When asked about an all-star season, most players have a story that ends with a loss. We have a chance to end our story as champions of the world" said Coach Toby Hess. Heartwell's quest for their first world championship continues on Sunday in the small town of Washington, Pennyslvania, just south of Pittsburgh. The western champs will face the southern champions from Houston, TX.

The Kyle Chapman 14 year old All-Stars beat East Cobb Georgia 11-10 in a stunning come from behind victory in the championship game of the PONY South Zone Tournament in St. Amant, Louisiana, late Tuesday night, to earn a berth in the 2003 PONY World Series, which begins in Washington, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, August 9, 2003. The K.C. 14's, who have now won 13 out of their last 14 games, had to erase a 7-0 deficit after 2 1/2 innings, and a 10-9 deficit after 6 1/2 innings, but managed to win with the timely hitting that has become their trademark in this dramatic championship run. The K.C. 14's had knocked East Cobb into the elimination bracket on Monday night with a dramatic 5-4 victory despite trailing 4-2 after 6 innings of play. East Cobb earned their way back into a rematch with K.C. by eliminating Corpus Christi Westside 3-2 earlier on Tuesday evening. By the way East Cobb came out, there was no doubt that they intended to avenge their defeat at K.C.'s hands just 24 hours earlier. East Cobb posted a field goal in the first inning, and another in the second inning on a conglomeration of K.C. fielding errors (there were four in the first two innings) and just plain good hitting (they got 4 in the first two innings). Before K.C. decided it came to play baseball, East Cobb had run the score to 7-0 in the middle of the third inning. How thoroughly did East Cobb dominate the K.C. 14's? The Corpus Christi team stayed to cheer their Houston brothers on to victory, but left in the middle of the third. Boy, did they ever miss a comeback!!! Karl Pringle led off the bottom of the third with a single to right-centerfield. Matt West advanced him to second when he was hit with a pitch. Jamie Reingold loaded the bases with a single to right field. Daniel Rothenberg ran the count to 3-2 before walking (for the first of three times this game), to drive Karl in from third. Sean Lamont drove in Matt with a fielder's choice to centerfield that retired Daniel at second base. With two outs, Joe Silver hit a pinch-double to left field, driving in Jamie. Corey Triche followed with a clutch RBI single to left-centerfield, driving in Sean. Brian Borski blasted a triple to right-centerfield, driving in Corey and Joe. And just like that, K.C. had shaved East Cobb's lead to 7-6 after three innings of play. After relief pitcher Daniel Rothenberg held East Cobb scoreless in the top of the 4th, K.C. finally tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff triple to right field by Matt West, who scored on a wild pitch. It was all tied up at 7-7 after 4 innings of play. East Cobb untied the game, scoring 3 big runs in the top of the 5th inning. They did it with a leadoff walk, a bunt single that was clearly a blown call by the umpire at first base, a serious throwing error by Daniel Rothenberg that allowed two runs to score and the batter to advance to second, and a pair of wild pitches. East Cobb led 10-7 in the middle of the 5th inning. K.C. could not make a dent in the lead in the bottom of the 5th, going down 1-2-3 on two groundouts and a strikeout. Relief pitcher, Brian Borski came on to relieve Daniel Rothenberg in the 5th, and held East Cobb scoreless in the 6th and 7th innings, allowing just one meaningless single. Meanwhile, K.C. shaved the East Cobb lead to 10-9 in the bottom of the 6th inning. Karl Pringle led off with a single, then scampered safely into third base when the East Cobb left fielder allowed Matt West's fly ball to glance off his glove on a dead run. With one out and runners on second and third, Daniel Rothenberg hit a 2-1 outside curveball down the left field line past the third baseman for a standup double scoring both Karl and Matt. Sean and Joe each received walks from the East Cobb pitcher, but could not advance to score the tying run. Thus, it was 10-9 East Cobb in the middle of the 7th inning. K.C. came up in the bottom of the 7th needing one run to tie and two to win. Jason Butts, the East Cobb pitcher appeared to be well in command of the game when he ran the count to 1-2 against Karl Pringle with one out and no one on base. However, Karl stroked a double to left-centerfield. Then, with two outs, and the game hanging in the balance, Jamie Reingold stroked a single to left field. Incredibly, the East Cobb left fielder (who, no doubt, had thoughts of throwing Karl out at the plate), allowed the ball to roll under his glove and it went to the fence. Karl scored and Jamie ended up on third base. The game was tied 10-10 with a runner on third and two outs. Daniel Rothenberg strided to the plate, and was promptly intentionally walked. Sean Lamont decided that he didn't like the notion of one of his teammates being walked so that they could pitch to him. Result? A lined shot to left-centerfield that scored Jamie Reingold from third base with the winning run. Thus, for the second time in 24 hours, K.C. erased a multiple run deficit to a very talented and well-coached East Cobb team, to win the 2003 PONY South Zone Championship. Your K.C. 14 year old All-Stars are now district champions, section champions, regional champions, and now zone champions. But best of all, Tuesday night's win qualifies K.C. for a berth in the PONY World Series, which will be held from August 9th to August 16th in Washington, Pennsylvania. K.C. will play its first game of the 2003 PONY World Series on Sunday, August 10, 2003 at 5:30pm eastern time, against either Orange, California, Heartwell, California, or Mililani, Hawaii, depending on which of those three teams wins the West Zone Championship later today (Wednesday). For information about the PONY World Series, or its brackets, see http://www.ponyworldseries.com or http://www.pony.org. Congratulations to the hard-working players, coaches, parents, administrators, family members and volunteers of the Kyle Chapman PONY League 14 Year Old All-Star team on two incredible but exciting hard-earned victories. This is Scott Rothenberg saying, "Onward to the PONY World Series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" See you at the ballpark.