What to know about the World Series-bound Hagerstown PONY-13 All-Stars

After a dominant run through the East Zone Tournament, the Hagerstown PONY-13 All-Stars will fly to California to play in the PONY-13 World Series in Carlsbad starting Friday, July 31.

"I don't think it will set in completely until they get out to California and see the Dominican Republic, Japan, France, Mexico," said manager Jeff Mills. "When they start seeing these guys they get to play against, it's going to kind of hit them. But I don't think these boys will get nervous."

Hagerstown outscored its opponents by a combined 39-8 in the East Zone. Hagerstown broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of runs in the sixth inning of a 7-4 win over Athletix in the opener, then blew open its other two games with 10-run innings while defeating the Ohio Prospects 16-1 and Athletix 16-3 in the title game.

"They played great the whole weekend," Mills said. "They're very mature for their age. They never got down at any point in the tournament, just stayed strong. The pitchers threw great. Nobody had a really rough outing. Defensively, there were only two or three errors. They're solid the whole way around.

"When they put up 10 runs on Ohio, that was a big confidence boost because at that point they knew they'd have to get beat twice in the championship round. Then they put up 10 again."

Here's what Mills had to say for each of the 15 Hagerstown PONY-13 All-Stars:

Bryce Acre

"Great eye at the plate and plays great defense at first base," Mills said. "He's really matured in the last couple years. On the mound, he's really zeroed in and throws a lot of strikes. He's got a fastball that tails away, so it makes it really hard on the right-handed hitters."

Ethan Allen

"I've only coached him for two weeks, but I've seen him in travel ball," Mills said. "He's a great athlete in center field with a lot of range. He puts the ball in play and is a good contact hitter. On the mound, he throws hard so he gets a lot of balls by guys, a lot of swings and misses."

Greer Barkdoll

"He's a little scrappy player," Mills said. "He's a quick runner so we use him a lot in pinch running positions. He plays a great defensive second base, reads the ball well in the outfield and puts the ball in play."

Brinx Bonillas

"He catches for us and does a great job behind the plate," Mills said. "He's a lefty hitter who puts the ball in play and had pretty decent power. He's a smart ball player."

Gunnar Burton

"He's one of the most athletic when it comes to speed on our team," Mills said. "He can absolutely fly. In the field, he probably has the most range of anybody we have. He also pitches and has a very strong arm, throws maybe the hardest on the team. He hits a lot of line drives and has power and speed, so anything he puts in play is liable to be a base hit."

Carter Curfman

"One of the smartest baseball players I've ever coached, especially as a 13-year-old," Mills said. "I have had him since he was 12 and a lot of times you feel like you don't even need to coach him. He's willing to do anything it takes to help the team out -- play shortstop, pitch -- I'd feel comfortable putting that kid anywhere in the lineup and anywhere in the field."

Grant Eaton

"He pitches and plays first base sometimes, possibly some corner outfield," Mills said. "He's another one with a strong arm on the mound, throws hard and brings some power to the lineup. He hit very well (in the East Zone) and put a lot of balls in play, which made it hard to take him out of the lineup."

Cody Kelley

"He's another one of the most athletic kids on the team," Mills said. "He's typically a shortstop and he also pitches. He doesn't have quite the arm as some of the others but he has a nasty splitter. He's very smart on the mound, very composed, doesn't get ruffled at all. He has a lot of speed, puts the ball in play, one of the better hitters on the team as a lefty and drives the ball to all sides of the field."

Cody Mills

"He starts at third base for us and sometimes does some pitching," Jeff Mills said. "He plays very well at third base with good range. He puts the ball in play a lot and is very good hitting the ball up the middle and to right center, going the opposite way. He doesn't strike out much."

Matthew Remsburg

"He's another one of our catchers, very smart and very knowledgeable and handles the pitchers well," Mills said. "He also brings a little bit of power to the lineup from the left side, puts the ball in play and gives you very good at-bats. He can also play first base and maybe corner outfield sometimes."

Dominic Salfia

"He's a very mature 13-year-old who plays a lot," Mills said. "He plays up on the 14U team a good bit. I think he hit .600 in the (East Zone) tournament. He's willing to do anything the team needs, does anything he can to get on base. He's a great infielder who usually plays second base and sometimes slides over to short when the other shortstops are pitching. He also plays a little outfield and is a good glove wherever we put him."

Brady Swain

"He's probably the best teammate I have ever coached," Mills said. "I had him for a year in travel ball and have him here now. He typically plays the outfield and can also pitch. Good bat with decent power. Pretty strong arm from the outfield as well as the mound. No matter where he's at, he's cheering for somebody. You always hear his voice."

Max Walker

"He's probably one of the best second basemen I've seen at this age," Mills said. "He gets to pretty much anything. His size hasn't quite caught up to some of the other boys, but ...

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