MIDLOTHIAN, IL - The 43rd World Wiffle® Ball Championship looked a lot like the 42nd, except the New Carlisle Newts were sporting tremendous mustaches as they captured their second consecutive World Championship.
In the championship game, New Carlisle defeated Wiffle Dees, 9-7, jump-started by Garrett Curless’ three home runs in his first three at-bats. The Newts led rather comfortably throughout the game, with the Dees making it interesting in the top of the sixth with three solo shots. Aidan Cotter got J.P. Kehoe to ground out to left to end the rally, and start the party in Migleyville.
Cotter was a force on the mound all weekend, as he gave up only 12 runs in 8 games, backed by a suffocating outfield of Kody Webb and Noah Shail. The Newts have now reached seven Final Fours in eight WWBC appearances, a testament to the roster-building skills of captain, Koby Keck.
After an early exit on Sunday after grabbing the 1-seed in 2021, the Wiffle Dees rolled through the bracket in their second WWBC appearance with wins over the Warsaw Whitecats, the M.O.B. and Granger Panthers.
40 teams (from 7 states) participated in the 43rd Annual World Wiffle® Ball Championship on Saturday, all playing four games. 25 teams advanced to the single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
Notes
*Thanks to all the wifflers that participated this weekend and those that purchased official WWBC shirts, $1,800 will be donated to South Suburban Humane Society. Since the tournament moved to Midlothian in 2018, $11,400 has been raised to help with the exceptional work that SSHS does for animals.
*In addition to his Sunday heroics, Curless also became the 2022 Plastic King of Swing by winning the Home Run Derby on Saturday. Curless hit 19 home runs in the finals, outlasting P.J. Warmoth of the Balco Boys.
*One of the greatest streaks in sports was broken on Saturday, as Clutch Players lost a pool play game for the first time in over a decade to the Wiffle Dees.
*The dates for the 44th World Wiffle® Ball Championship are tentatively set for July 15-16, 2023. More information regarding the 2023 WWBC will be released in the coming months, with registration opening in January 2023.
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