WASHINGTON – Errors rarely plagued the Mon Yough All-Stars during the regular season. The same cannot be said of the squad’s appearance in the PONY World Series. For second straight game, late-inning errors hurt Mon Yough as it was eliminated from the tournament in a 9-8 loss to Davenport, Iowa, Monday night at Lew Hays PONY Field in Washington, Pa. The team committed four errors, the most costly leading to the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. With the game tied 8-8, Davenport had one out and two runners on base – both reached on walks – when Mike Schwartz hit a hard grounder that deflected off pitcher Kris Marchewka’s glove and to second baseman Justin Deutsch. Deutsch managed a throw to first baseman Neil Pascarella but Schwartz arrived first. Pascarella was unable to handle the tough hop and the lead runners took off. Pascarella spotted Julian Vandervelde heading for home and threw to catcher Pete LaBrasca. LaBrasca ran toward third but then decided to get the other runner out, figuring he was farther from any bag. But his high throw to second sailed into the outfield and Vandervelde scored. It was deja vu for Mon Yough as two days prior against Levittown, Puerto Rico, it gave up eight unearned runs on four errors in a 12-2 loss. Was it all nerves for the local 14-year-olds, playing in front of hundreds of people, or knowing the game was on the line with each play• Mon Yough coach Tony Pascarella wasn’t sure. “I just don’t know what’s going through their minds,” he said. “Once they got into the game, I don’t think they even realized the number of people in the crowd.” The game featured four lead changes. At one point, Mon Yough held the largest lead at 8-5. That came in the fourth inning as the team scored three runs to break a 5-5 tie. With one out in the fifth, Mario Fragello reached on an error and stole second. A ground out advanced him to third. Following a walk to Deutsch, Neil Pascarella singled to center, scoring Fragello. LaBrasca singled to center to score Deutsch. Davenport brought in Ryan Hintze to pitch, but Zack Neil singled in Pascarella for the third run in the frame. Davenport struck back in the fifth with one swing. Mitch Howe led off with a single and Michael Mitchell followed with a two-run home run to center. Mitchell’s blast was Davenport’s third round-tripper of the night. Vandervelde hit a two-run home run in the first and Nick Mirfield got one in the third. “We just kept hitting the ball and not giving up and do what ever it took to win the ballgame,” Davenport manager John Charles said. Momentum seemed to shift with every run scored early on. However, neither team seemed to be able to grasp the momentum late in a game that was twice delayed in the seventh because of rain. The first delay came after Mon Yough’s Rafael Rincon reached on a single up the middle with one out. When the game resumed, Rincon – who represented the go-ahead run – swiped second on the first pitch to Marchewka. After Marchewka struck out swinging, Lenny Ulish came through with a clutch single to right. Pascarella waved Rincon home, but the runner rounded third, took a few steps toward home and then stopped – even though it appeared he could make it. Pascarella said he was stunned when Rincon held up. After another short rain delay, Mirfield, pitching in relief, nailed down the win as Fragello flied out to left on a 3-2 pitch. “I thought we had the go-ahead run when Lenny Ulish got the base hit,” Pascarella said. “Raf stops; I don’t know why. I’m yelling go, go, go. He goes half-way in and just stops. I don’t know what happened.” Pascarella said he cannot not blame what happened one person or one play. He reached for positive thoughts. “We have to think back about what we have done and accomplished this year,” said Pascarella, struggling to hold back tears. “(After) a few days, we’ll look back at this and wonder what happened.” As for the starting pitchers, both struggled at times and were hurt by defensive lapses. LaBrasca went 5 1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits. He had seven strikeouts and yielded no walks. Mitchell went 3 2/3 innings and surrendered eight runs, three of which were unearned. He gave up six hits and three walks.

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