PONY ALUMNI GIVE HART A WINNING EDGE.Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, -- Two years after advancing to the PONY League The Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League, also known as the PONY League, was a Class D minor league baseball circuit that played from 1939 through 1956. The forerunner of the modern Class A New York - Penn League, the PONY served as the first professional baseball address of World Series in the 10-under division, a group of young baseball players have remained together to help the William S. Hart Bronco bronco: see mustang. team (12-under) to the North Coast Regionals in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Hart (10-1) has qualified for the North Coast Regionals after finishing second at the district tournament in Sylmar, followed by a championship victory at the North Coast sectionals at Hart last weekend. ``It's great because we're all friends, and we all like each other,'' said shortstop/pitcher Austin Rodriguez, one of nine returnees from the Mustang team. Hart opened regional competition in dramatic fashion Thursday, as Josh Heinz singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh for a 15-14 victory over Torrance, as Hart rallied from a five-run, fourth-inning deficit. Ryan Gorman pitched the final inning for the victory. Heinz, a stocky stock·y adj. stock·i·er, stock·i·est 1. Solidly built; sturdy. 2. Chubby; plump. stock  i·ly adv. 5-foot-2 catcher, is batting .625 with nine home
runs -- including three in one game vs. Toluca Lake during the Hart
sectionals -- and 24 RBIs in just 32 at-bats.
``Josh is really good. He's strong,'' Rodriguez said. ``He's a great power hitter, and he hits for average, too.'' Heinz, Rodriguez, Tyler Glasnow, Devin Gustaveson, Dallas Bacon and Justin Sanford are all hitting .500 or better. The top pitchers are Rodriguez, Glasnow, Gustaveson and Tyler Gaines. Regional pool play continues through today in Simi Valley, followed by tournament playoffs Monday and Tuesday. The regional winner advances to the West Zone tournament in Whittier, followed by the Bronco World Series in Monterey. At this point, there are no easy opponents, and a heat wave has seen most games played Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. in 100-degree temperatures over the past week. ``The heat's all right because you get used to it, but you're not just playing the other team -- you're also playing against the weather,'' Rodriguez said. Hart is coached by Tom Hovis and assistants Ray Rodriguez Ray Rodriguez is Cuban-American businessperson and the current president of Univision. Univision Communications (a subsidiary of Broadcasting Media Partners Inc.) • • and Don Heinz. ``We're back in action, and we've got the core group,'' coach Rodriguez said. ``We're a very solid team one-through-12, and everyone can pitch.'' CAPTION(S): box Box: HART BRONCO ALL-STARS |
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