Texas eliminates Ponytails

By STEVE LEE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 10, 2001

The West Pasco Ponytails' season ended Wednesday with a 6-1 loss to Texas in the Dixie Softball League World Series.

That dropped West Pasco out of the double-elimination tournament in Spartanburg, S.C., and left the team of 11- and 12-year-olds in third place. That marked the Ponytails' highest finish since West Pasco won the 1980 World Series.

"We feel very good about our accomplishment of finishing third," West Pasco manager Randy Novotny said. "Our expectation coming up here was that we hoped to win at least two games at the World Series.

"We ended up winning three."

West Pasco went 3-2 to cap an 11-2 postseason run.

That included 10 consecutive victories, seven consecutive come-from-behind wins and district and state championships.

The beginning of the end for West Pasco came in the first inning against Texas, which took a 5-0 lead thanks to a home run and two errors.

Losing pitcher Christina Skulas allowed all six runs. Tricia Dobraski and Shawna Kinney combined for three innings of scoreless relief.

West Pasco's lone run came in the sixth when Rebekah Stockowski walked and scored on Chelynn Bell's single.

Bell, who went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and Skulas' double was West Pasco's only extra-base hit.

With seven 11-year-olds on the team, Novotny said he is optimistic about returning to the World Series.

"We have the potential to have a heck of an all-star team next year if everybody decides to play," Novotny said.

The last West Pasco team to win a World Series was the Belles (ages 13-15), who won their third in a row in 1983.

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