Aug 13, 2017 4 min read

The only person from Brownsville, Texas, who didn’t fear history might repeat itself two days in a row at the Pony League World Series was manager Fernando Torres.

Similar to their first-round loss against Bay County, Mich., when the South Zone champion watched an early three-run advantage slowly slip away, another Brownsville lead was threatened Sunday evening.

As Netherlands’ Tariq Kemp took a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall – the first home run in the country’s history at the event – to cut Brownsville’s four-run lead in half in the third inning, Torres’ nerves never flared.

That was until his team came to bat in the bottom half of the inning.

Rafael Parra hit a towering, three-run homer far over the right-centerfield wall to ignite a five-run third inning as Brownsville defeated the Netherlands, 12-4, in an elimination game at Lew Hays Pony Field.

“I wasn’t really thinking too much about Saturday,” Torres said about their first-round meltdown that put them in the losers’ bracket. “That was just a great job by (Kemp) at the plate because it was a pitcher’s pitch. It was a breaking ball at the ankles and he golfed it out of the park. You have to tip your cap.”

Brownsville advances to another elimination game, this time against Washington County today at 12:30 p.m. Guasave, Mexico, battles Youngstown, Ohio, in the 10 a.m. opener

Parra’s home run was followed by consecutive hits from Rene Sanchez and Michael Ramos, who were eventually driven in on a two-run single by Darren Ramirez to left field to lead 9-2 after three innings.

Brownsville opened the scoring for the second consecutive day when Javier Hinojosa hit a two-out double off the left-field wall and scored on a Jose Banda single past the outstretched glove of a diving Kemp.

“The team that we built is focused on hitting the long ball, but we can still get a lot of hits and have a lot of people contribute,” Torres said. “(Against Bay County), we hit the ball decently but errors did us in. We went into the batting cages (early Sunday) morning and just worked on getting back to the fundamentals.”

That extra work paid off throughout the lineup as the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters went a combined 5-for-9 and scored five runs. Victor Estrada hit a two-run home run that ricocheted off the left-field light pole that gave Brownsville a 4-0 lead after two innings.

“Victor didn’t even get an at-bat (Saturday),” Torres said. “It doesn’t matter where you are at in the lineup. That’s the mindset I preach to our team. Everybody has to contribute.”

The biggest disappointment for the Netherlands and manager Peter Herkemij was a missed opportunity to put Brownsville behind in the second inning after loading the bases with only one out.

Brownsville pitcher Jorge Lozano got a strikeout and received defensive help as first baseman Rene Sanchez casually scooped up a bounding grounder and stepped on first base to keep the Netherlands scoreless.

“This was not the first time it happened,” Herkemij said. “We had the same situation in our first game against Washington, where we didn’t take advantage and they fired right back at us. We couldn’t get over that. It’s difficult to overcome.”

After Kemp reached on an error and later scored on a balk in the fifth, Brownsville’s Rafael Capistran eliminated all hope of a comeback with a three-run home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 12-3.

Brownsville used four pitchers, and Lozano earned the win after giving up two runs and striking out three over three innings. Michael Ramos, Parra and Jose Banda also contributed on the mound.

“It was just an awesome experience,” Herkemij said after being eliminated. “This international level of ball we’re playing puts it into perspective for these boys. We think we’re pretty good … in the Netherlands. They’re one step ahead of us. That’s where we want to be. That’s our aim. We need to get as much international exposure and these types of experiences in every age group.”

In order for Brownsville to make its longest appearance at the World Series, after lasting three games in their previous two appearances in 2006 and 2013, it will help to have a performance similar to Sunday. Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup recorded a hit.

“We’re not an easy out,” Torres told his team. “This game, along with every other game the rest of the way, needs to be considered the championship.”