Late Rally Dooms Diamond Bar in PONY Regional Title Game

WEST COVINA - After a pair of two-out rallies had the Diamond Bar Pony 14 All-Stars on the verge of a PONY Regional championship, the West Covina Orangewood All-Stars showed they can put together a two-out rally of their own.

Led by the standout pitching of Ryan Viramontes and a surprise rally, West Covina Orangewood stunned Diamond Bar for the East Region title with a 7-6 victory on Tuesday night at Walmerado Park.

"This is a tough loss," Diamond Bar head coach John Tweedie said. "West Covina never quit and showed they deserved to win."

Orangewood head coach Charlie Benedict was elated after his team's impressive come-from-behind triumph that will send them to the PONY Super Regional in Whittier, while Diamond Bar will now make the lengthier trip to Camarillo.

"We played it until the end and we're very fortunate to come out on top," Benedict said. "Diamond Bar is a great team. It's not easy to come back like that."

Holding a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning, things were looking good for Diamond Bar. They were looking even better after pitcher Alek Jimenez retired the first two batters on fly balls. But then things began to turn.

Jimenez walked three straight to load the bases. Orangewood closed the deficit to 6-5 after Corey Cadek hit a two-run single off relief pitcher Ryan Huey that snuck by a diving Josh Sanchez at third base. Another walk by Huey brought up Viramontes with the bases loaded.

The Orangewood pitcher hit a ball to deep right field that Brett Tweedie was unable to come up with as he was backed up against the fence. Orangewood's Zac Rojo crossed home plate for the game-tying run and Cadek followed for what was the winning run.

Viramontes closed the game out, striking out the side, including Diamond Bar's number three and four batters.

"(Viramontes) threw a great game," coach Tweedie said. "There were times when he was dominant."

Viramontes finished with 14 strikeouts and didn't allow a single extra-base hit against the powerful Diamond Bar offense that was averaging nine runs per game entering Tuesday night's contest.

"It was nice to be in the winner bracket and have him ready to go if we played a second game," Benedict said.

The second game was played after Diamond Bar dominated Orangewood 13-2 earlier in the evening. James Goodwin was dominant in the opener, pitching a complete game with nine strikeouts. He also went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a home run.

Diamond Bar could have used some of those runs in game two. They opened with three runs in the first inning, getting a run when Goodwin stole home and two more on a two-run single from Brett Tweedie.

Orangewood tied the game by the second inning, only for Diamond Bar to rally with three more runs in the top of the fourth. Brandon Buna's RBI single and Jimenez's two-run single came with two outs, the same way Diamond Bar scored its first three runs of the game.

Coby Myers and Brett Tweedie each had two hits apiece for Diamond Bar, which will now get ready for Saturday's Super Regionals. They will open play at 10 a.m. against Valley Wide, the runner-up of the Southeast Region.

The Super Regional is broken up into two eight-team brackets (one played in Whittier and the other in Camarillo) with the winner from each advancing to the Zone tournament.

"I think it might be an easier path," coach Tweedie said of the difference between the two brackets "Chula Vista is one of the teams in that (Whittier) bracket and they were World Series champs a few years ago. I feel good about our chances."

Correction: a previous version of this story spelled the last name of Brandon Buna incorrectly as "Buena." The story has been changed to reflect this correction.