Pony League World Series canceled due to unplayable field conditions after days of rain

WASHINGTON, Pa. —

The final night of the Pony League World Series is canceled, with organizers saying they are “at the mercy of the weather.”

Historic Lew Hays Pony Field was deemed “unplayable” after days of heavy rain, according to the statement released early Wednesday evening.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 video showed a muddy mess at the ballfield, where Washington County and Chinese Taipei were set to play for the championship on Wednesday night.

“With the World Series scheduled to conclude tonight and teams scheduled to depart tomorrow, we also did not believe it was reasonable to ask families to absorb the significant additional costs associated with changing flights, extending hotel stays and altering other travel arrangements, particularly with additional rain in the forecast,” the statement said, in part. “In nearly 75 years of the PONY League World Series, we have never faced circumstances that prevented us from completing the tournament as scheduled. We recognize how difficult this is for everyone, especially the players who have worked and competed all summer for the opportunity to be here.”

The tournament was set to move to a single-elimination conclusion after officials said heavy rainfall and unplayable field conditions made it difficult to extend the tournament before all participating teams are scheduled to depart. Organizers made the call on Tuesday to cancel several remaining games for teams representing California, Maryland, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Volunteer grounds crews worked throughout the final day to prepare the field for the championship game between the undefeated teams from Chinese Taipei and Washington County 14U.

“It’s really unprecedented. We haven’t had this much rain in such a short period of time. We’re baseball. We’re outside. We’re subject to Mother Nature,” said Nathan Voytek, chairman of the Pony League World Series.

Viviam Salib, who traveled from Puerto Rico with her son, expressed frustration over the cancellations. “Our understanding is that there was no contingency plan. So we knew the forecast ten days in advance. So the tournament and the board of directors, which were the ones that made this decision, they didn’t plan ahead,” she said.

Salib described the effort it took for her family to attend the tournament. “We had to go to the Bahamas for the regionals to qualify for this tournament. So it’s a lot of money that we have been spending, you know, for our kids to get here,” she said, adding that after their connecting flight in Florida got cancelled, they had to drive 15 hours to get the kids to the tournament on time.

Local parents stepped in to organize a non-tournament game for the teams whose games were canceled. “They made this friendly game happen between us and Mexico. But they shouldn’t have done that. That should have been through the Pony League instead of the local team,” Salib said.

“We’re just happy to be representing our country, and we wanted the chance to do that. So it’s a shame that we couldn’t,” she added.

Voytek explained that the tournament could not be moved to another field due to the specific size requirements of Lew Hays Field, which is smaller than a high school or college field. “The World Series is meant to be played here. It’s always been played here, and it should be played here,” he said.

He also noted that extending the tournament was not an option due to international flights booked for many players. After the tournament concludes, Voytek said drainage issues at the field will be further investigated.

Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.