Aug 9, 2013 3 min read

Gilbert Rodriguez can worry about a number of things when it comes to his Brownsville, Texas All-Star team’s participation in the Pony League World Series.

He can worry about whether the transportation will arrive on time, the possibility of inclement weather disrupting the game or the flu spreading through the team.

What he doesn’t have to worry about, is whether Brownsville can stand the pressure of playing in the Pony World Series.

This is a team that has gone through a high-wire balancing act throughout the South Zone Tournament, facing elimination seven consecutive times.

Brownsville will continue its remarkable journey today, playing Bayamon, Puerto Rico in the 5:30 series opener at Lou Hays Pony Field in Washington Park.

Bay County, Mich., plays Mon-Yough in the 8 p.m. game. Washington opens play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against Paderborn, Germany.

This year’s championship game will be played at 7 p.m., Wednesday. A format change shortened the series by three days.

“They have a lot of confidence and believe in themselves,” said Rodriguez, Brownsville’s manager. “They know what it takes to win a world series.”

They also know what it takes to win a pressure-packed zone tournament.

Brownsville lost the opening game in the South Zone Tournament, 3-2, to Pompano, Fla. Another loss would have eliminated Brownsville from the event. This team, however, ran off seven consecutive victories – outscoring opponents by a combined 87-19 – and wrapped up the tournament title and a berth in the Pony World Series with an 8-3 win over St. Landry, La.

“We had to do it the hard way,” said Rodriguez. “Seven games without a loss, including the championship. I think we might have needed that loss because it served as a wake-up call for the kids.”

Following the loss to Pompano, Brownsville won games against the BYA Bad-Boyz (10-0), Temple Terrance, Fla., (12-2), Kyle Chapman, Texas (16-4), Crowley, La., (19-1) and St. Landry, La., (20-6 and 8-3).

Brownsville has the right mix of power and pitching, with Alex Alonsa leading the team with six home runs. Brownsville has 17 home runs in the postseason.

“This has been a great team effort,” said Rodriguez. “The kids know each other real well. They have been playing together for a long time.”

Brownsville, a city of about 178,000, has 12 Pony teams in the city. That provides an impressive pool for all-star teams.

“There is good competition there,” said Rodriguez. “There are a lot of strong teams.”

Long Beach, Calif., the West Zone champion, won last year’s Pony title with a 9-7 victory over Chinese Taipei in the finals.

Hilo, Hawaii, is this year’s West Zone champion, and opens the tournament Sunday against the winner of the game between Paderborn, Germany, the Europe Zone champion, and Washington.

If Brownsville defeats Bayamon, Puerto Rico, next up will be Okinawa, Japan, the Asia-Pacific Zone champion.

“I knew we have a lot of hitting and pitching,” said Rodriguez. “It was a hard trip, but we managed it. I don’t know much about the other teams in the world series. We’re excited, because we know we have a good team.”

The Pony League World Series schedule can be found in the Scoreboard section on Page C2.