The MTYAA Mountlake Terrace Honey Badgers are heading to Southern California this week to compete for a spot at the PONY 14U World Series next month in Pennsylvania.

The squad is made up of players from the Mountlake Terrace Youth Athletic Association (MTYAA) 14-and-younger division, most from Mountlake Terrace with a couple from both Lynnwood and Edmonds.

The Honey Badgers are representing the PONY Northwest Region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska) in this week’s PONY West Zone Tournament in Los Alamitos, Calif., and will go up against seven other teams from California, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii in the double-elimination tourney. The West Zone Champion will earn a berth to the PONY International World Series set for August 7-12 in Washington, Penn.

While many were surprised by the Honey Badgers effort to qualify for the West Zone Tournament, coach Steve Martineau pointed to the experience level of many of his players as a key factor for their success. “Most thought we wouldn’t win the Northwest Region, but we did,” Martineau said. “Two of our players played on the Terrace (Hawks) JV team this last season and one played varsity at Cedar Park Christian.”

The Honey Badgers won five straight games at the PONY Northwest Region Tournament this past weekend in Olympia to punch their ticket to this week’s West Zone tourney in California.

The Honey Badgers play their first game in the PONY West Zone Tournament on Thursday, July 30, at 2 p.m. against Scottsdale, AZ. The West Zone championship game is scheduled for Aug. 2.

– By Doug Petrowski