It was a battle of the world’s two best programs, as Long Beach PONY and Chinese Taipei met in the PONY World Series championship yet again. This time, victory eluded the local boys, as the Chinese Taipei starting pitcher was dominant in leading his team to a 3-1 victory.
Bren Wilkinson was the hero in the bottom of the fourth, breaking up a no-hitter with a solo homer that put Long Beach up 1-0. But Chinese Taipei rallied to go up 3-1 in the third inning.
Chinese Taipei starting pitcher Chien-Tzu Tien struck out nine of the first 11 Long Beach batters, but exited the game due to pitch count with the tying runs on base for Long Beach in the bottom of the seventh, with two outs. Long Beach struck out to end the game and a memorable summer for the local kids, who made it all the way to the World Series championship.
