Aug 13, 2022 3 min read

If you live to be 100, you might never see a game like they played Saturday in the Pony League World Series.

If you do, you would have to see Johnstown build a six-run lead only to see it disappear in the top of the sixth when Hagerstown tied the game, 7-7.

What? Tie game? No problem for Johnstown. That’s why the team nickname is PittBulls. 

Johnstown scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to take a 12-7 lead, needing three outs for the win.

Down 5 runs? No problem for Hagerstown, which scored five runs in the top of the seventh and sent the game into extra innings.

Johnstown finally pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single by Grady Clark that scored Drew Irons with the winning run in a 13-12 victory over Hagerstown.

“What a game,” said Johnstown manager Bugsy Roberts. “We’ve never been in game like this but that’s because of (Hagerstown). That’s a good team.”

Hagerstown had the bases loaded in the top of the eighth but couldn’t push a run across.

“These guys have not usually had a game like this,” said Roberts. “They are used to being ahead.”

At one point the two teams combined to score 16 runs in an inning and a half.

“I’ve had some games like this, probably not coming back twice like that,” said Hagerstown manager Steve Berger. “That was a heck of a comeback, And it was the subs. I put them all in when we were down 7-1. Somebody said to me put the starters back in. I was like why would I do that. The subs just killed them.”

Center fielder Dante LaRocco went 2-for-5 and scored three times for Johnstown. Charlie Manzi went 2-ffor-4, scored twice and knocked in two.

Jackson Rise led Hagerstown, going 2-for-2 and driving in three runs 

The big blast in Johnstown’s sixth inning was a two-run home run by Brock Bryson. His towering drive over the left field fence scored Charlie Manzi and set off a celebration by teammates when he reached home plate.

The win moves Johnstown to Monday’s winners bracket game against New City Teipai, the Asia-Pacific Zone champion in this double-elimination tournament.

Hagerstown, Md., champion of the East Zone tournament, will play Monday morning at 10 a.m. Hagerstown was coming off a win against Bay County, Mich., the North Zone champion, in its first game.

Everything turned once the decision was made to remove Drew Irons from the pitching mound after throwing three shutout innings while Johnstown was building a 7-1 lead.

“We wanted to keep our Nos. 1 and 2 pitcher eligible for the next game,” Roberts said. “Hey we were up 7-1 at the time.”

Hagerstown wasted no time taking the lead in this game. Leadoff hitter Ben Sattazahn was hit by the first pitch of the game. He stole second base and came home on a single to center by Brooks Norris.

Johnstown came roaring back over the next three innings, scoring twice in the first and second and innings.

Dante LaRocco and Charlie Manzi hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game in the first. Manzi came around and scored on an error by third baseman Eric McCallister.

In the second inning, two errors by McCallister on a ball hit by LaRocco brought in two runs and staked Johnstown to a 4-1 lead.

A two-run single by Ethan Shank made it 6-1 and Shank came around to score when he stole home to make it 7-1.