Every now and then, you stumble upon a feel-good story in this business — and they never feel old.

A few minutes after Cranberry Township won the Pony-13 East Zone Baseball Tournament at Graham Park last Tuesday, Ron Bondo broke into tears.

The Cranberry manager had just watched his boys beat Butler Township twice, 9-0 and 22-12, to complete a foray out of the losers bracket that earned his team a trip to Fullerton, Calif., for this weekend's Pony World Series.

Bondo's third son, Ross, plays second base for the team. He's not in the lineup because he's the coach's kid, either.

Ross Bondo batted in the leadoff position for Cranberry. In the two games against Butler Township, he collected four hits, scored four runs and knocked in three.

At first, his father didn't want to coach the team because he wanted to watch his oldest son play Palomino ball. His middle son plays hockey.

Ron Bondo accepted the position in February because the Pony-13 team needed a coach. Now Cranberry Township finds itself in the Pony World Series for the first time.

As he fought back tears, Bondo said: "To be able to do this with my son ... this is a dream come true for me."

Cranberry won its regular season league championship with a 20-2 record. It was able to participate in the East Zone tourney as the host team.

Every player in its starting lineup scored at least one run Tuesday. Eight different players had at least one RBI.

Cranberry had to play six games in three days to win this tournament. Tyler Tuite, a seldom-used player, had to gut out the final three innings on the mound because the team was out of pitching.

Baseball at this level is so pure. Catchers for both teams caught both games. Butler Township's catcher, D.J. Perez, came out from behind the plate to take over pitching duties in the fourth inning of the second game.

After the game, both teams stood alongside their respective foul lines, applauding each other as they received their medals.

Both coaches congratulated members of both teams as each player stepped forward to receive his award.

Sportsmanship isn't lost at this level.

Even when fans from one team began crossing the line by being critical of the opposition, they were politely asked to channel their emotions toward their own team in a positive way — by the coach of their own team.

Shaking hands with the other team after any sporting event at any level is a pretty good idea, really. Sadly, that's not always the case.

But that's a subject for another time.

Watching a father enjoy a triumphant moment with his son, embracing him while planting a kiss on his forehead, was a moment to savor.

Feel-good stories grow old.

Maybe that's because they don't happen often enough.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.