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Two local youth baseball teams are trying to bring some hardware back to Long Beach this summer, as the 13-year olds and 14-year olds in the Long Beach PONY All-Star programs prepare for their upcoming Super Regional matchups on the road to the World Series.

In their respective leagues, both teams enter the Super Regional round as the #1 seed. The 13's kick off their first game at a park in Whittier on Friday night at 5:00pm against West Covina, while the 14's will play one week from today at Heartwell Park.

The PONY system works by setting up several rounds in a tournament that ends in an international World Series. Both local teams will need to win several rounds in the Super Regional to move on to the national bracket.

The Long Beach PONY program expects a lot in this tournament, as past teams were World Series runners-up in 2007 and champions in 2008. Last year there was a bit of a slip-up, but head coach of the 13's Ken Jakemer thinks this could be another good year for the kids. A 3-1 victory over Peninsula and their ace pitcher left him excited about the team's progression.

"I'm feeling very optimistic about our draw, winning the game on Saturday was key to getting the number one seed [in the Super Regional]," said Jakemer.

"It really gave us some good preparation to head into the Super Region. It's the toughest tournament that we'll probably play in, even if we go all the way. There's so much talent in the SoCal area, consistently every year so that if you win the West zone you're probably going into the Finals."

Jakemer praised the accuracy of pitcher Connor Donlap and said that the team came through with hits when they needed them most.

Led by head coach Roy Anglin, the 14's team is also the #1 seed in their Super Regional, but Jakemer says they still have a difficult road ahead and didn't catch much of a break by winning the top slot. They benefit from blazing speed on defense and will need consistent hitting to move on, also relying on the Wilson High pitching duo of Geo Higueros and Michael Semonson, one right-handed and the other a southpaw.

"They've got both sides of the plate covered," says Jakemer. "If they can get good consistent pitching, they can go far."

Want to keep up with the Long Beach PONY teams as they make their run at another World Series championship? You can follow their live game progress at this page set up by the live sports website GameChanger.

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