Rieff wins top rookie in 2014

NEW CARLISLE - With the eighth season of the Old Republic Wiffle Ball League in the

books, the league will recognize its top performers of this past season. Anthony Rieff of the Cult West Warriors has been named 2014 ORWBL Rookie of the Year. Despite rookie status in the ORWBL, Rieff is no stranger to the game. For years, he has been a star of The Muffs, one of the perennial powerhouses in the Hometown Days City Championship. Anthony, along with his brother Austin and Erick Mentock, signed on with the Warriors prior to the season. The trio of Muffs made an immediate impact from day one, strengthening an already stacked Cult West lineup. Rieff batted .475 with 25 home runs and 44 RBI in the regular season, and the Warriors tied the Newts for the league's best mark at 31-5. His "Rookie of the Year Moment" may have come in an early season matchup with New Carlisle. In the bottom of the seventh of a scoreless game, Rieff came all the way around from first base on a single to right field to score the game's only run. In the postseason, Cult West returned to the World Series to face New Carlisle. Even in defeat, Rieff's speed continued to make him an impossible out for the Newts defense and pitching staff. Rieff beat out teammate Blair Vandenburg and Hudson Lake's Jared Monhaut in the voting. Vandenburg hit .534 with 23 home runs and 34 RBI in 16 games this year. Monhaut managed the Heat in their inaugural season. All ORWBL awards were voted on by the managers of the league.