Braves, Conococheague & PONY: Answers to Washington County sports trivia questions someday

Talk about entering the Dog Days of Summer.

I find myself howling because there aren’t many subjects to fetch for a column.

Locally, it’s time to pass the baton. Summer activities are starting to give way to preparation for school and fall sports.

Yep, it’s that time already. Before long, beach chairs will give way to cold, hard bleacher seats.

Still, here are a pair of thoughts, aimed at keeping summer endless.

∎ Somedays, it’s tough to get through a day without wearing a couple of spots.

It’s even tougher for teams trying to live through entire seasons without any blotches, on uniforms notwithstanding.

Undefeated seasons aren’t the norm. Perfection is a rare thing in sports.

That’s because so many factors go into never losing — flawless play, teamwork, team chemistry, no injuries, confidence, unshakeable nerves and focus.

But most of all, luck has to be on your side. And even the lucky ones need to improvise at times.

The Hagerstown Braves have crossed off every line item on that checklist as they near this sporting pinnacle.

Look out, World ... Hagerstown Braves' youth serves notice in South Penn Baseball League

The Braves marched through the South Penn Baseball League regular season and are poised to complete a run through the playoffs with nary a loss.

If you don’t know, the Braves are this town’s adult baseball tradition. The team was created as a semipro option for guys who either still had pro aspirations or ones who keep playing until someone rips a uniform off their back.

These Braves are on the verge of becoming the best — and most dominant ever — of the bunch.

They stand at 37-0-1 after finishing a three-game sweep of Biglerville in the SPBL tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The Braves advance to the best-of-5 championship series, beginning Thursday at North Hagerstown. They are now three consecutive wins short of completing a run to local baseball glory.

Hagerstown’s season has been one of dominance, not only proven with its record but by outscoring its opposition 334-47. The only game preventing perfect perfection was a 1-1 tie with Cashtown on May 31.

The Braves reinvented the franchise with a team of “young” adults — a roster filled with the area’s best college talent.

Voice of experienceWith help of the Hagerstown Braves, former Sun Abreu tries to rise again

With wooden — not aluminum — bats and overpowering pitching, Hagerstown has had an unforgettable run through the stately old league that is based along the Maryland-Pennsylvania line.

Running the table would make sure these Braves stay in the memory banks.

∎ Behold, the Conococheague 10-12 Little League All-Stars.

Take a glance at Hagerstown’s PONY 13 and 14 teams, too.

Conococheague won the Maryland state title on Friday and will be advancing to Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bristol, Conn. If it wins there, it advances to the famed Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Meanwhile, Hagerstown's two PONY All-Star teams chased their versions of a World Series. The PONY-13 team played in its level of international championship July 22-24 in Modesto, Calif., finishing 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament.

PONY-14 will play in the East Zone tournament this weekend in North Carolina, vying for the right to advance to the World Series in Washington, Pa., Aug. 12-17.

It’s worth taking a second look at these teams. This might be one of the last times — if not THE last time — Washington County is represented in something like this.

Championship trail:Tourney updates: Conococheague dominates in Little League state final

Getting to the World Series has always been the Holy Grail of youth baseball. Now, the times are a-changing.

Thanks to a migration to travel baseball, the chances are getting slimmer every day.

Fewer young players are playing Little League, and PONY for that matter. What once was the grassroots for youth baseball, interest in both those institutions is waning.

The idea of weekly traveling the country, looking to catch a college coach’s eye, has become more the norm.

Every year now, both Little League and PONY battle a war of attrition as local talent — and their families — elect to hit the road for their summer.

Over recent years, Maryland District 1 — which had been Washington County’s grassroots for youth baseball — has been forced to consolidate a few leagues because of a lack of numbers.

PONY finds itself fielding fewer teams, just hoping to survive. Both have a bare minimum of players on their rosters.

Playing PONY used to be an honor. Now it’s an afterthought.

The most telling indication of this trend was best illustrated at Marty Snook Park, the home of Halfway Little League, in April.

On opening day, every team on all levels of play was introduced. The field was overrun by T-ball players, who were just starting to play baseball. But as each division was called, each age group had smaller representation.

The league finished by recognizing all the 12-year-old players for competing through the Little League system. There were only 10 of them.

What made that worse? It was for Halfway/National Little League. They are two District 1 leagues that had consolidated.

PONY has had a worse go of it and is facing extinction.

Local baseball is dying at its roots.

Looking ahead, some of that can be said for some high school sports.

There seems to be less participation and interest in varsity sports.

Travel sports have something to do with it, but there are some players extending themselves to participate in both at the same time.

Still, there’s a void that’s forcing schools to shelve junior varsity programs, just to keep varsity teams stocked. In many cases, stocked doesn’t mean successful.

JV sports allow young kids experience and playing time. And these days, if kids aren’t playin’, they aren’t stayin’, making travel sports a better option.

And if kids aren’t stayin’, the pipeline for varsity sports becomes a trickle.

That’s a pretty vicious circle.

Pretty soon, there might not be anyone to pass that baton to.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Parasiliti: Three ‘Boys of Summer’ stories could end vastly different