A team from Taitung County that won the Pony League World Series championship on Saturday celebrated their victory in New York on Sunday before heading back to Taiwan later the same day.
The players, all aged under 15 and from Taiyuan Junior High School in Taitung, arrived in New York on Sunday from Washington County, Pennsylvania, where they competed in this year’s Pony League Baseball World Series from Aug. 7 through Saturday.
They toured several major tourist attractions around New York before attending a dinner hosted by Liao Kang-min, Taiwan’s top representative in New York.
PHOTO: CNA
The team defeated Riverside, California, 12-1 in the title game on Saturday to become the first team since 2001 to win the double-elimination tournament after losing their opening game.
Saturday’s victory also marked the sixth Taiwanese team to win the title in the past 16 years.
At the dinner in honor of the young players, Liao said the Taitung students demonstrated strong will and indomitable spirit by coming back after losing their first game of the tournament.
Taiwan fell to Toa Baja of Puerto Rico 3-1 on Aug. 8, but then beat Bay County, Michigan, 13-9 and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 7-3, to set up a showdown with Toa Baja.
Having to beat the Puerto Rican team twice in a row to reach the final, Taiwan defeated Toa Baja 8-3 on Thursday and then 4-2 a day later on a dramatic home run by Chang Cheng-nan in extra innings.
Manager Wang Kuo-ching could barely contain his excitement over his team’s triumph and praised his team’s ability to come together after being defeated by the Puerto Ricans and going on to win all ensuing five games and finally the title.
The Pony League tournament is for players aged 13 and 14. Unlike Little League, the Pony League is composed of two-year age brackets and different sized diamonds for different age groups.
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