.png){kind=small}
2017 Team Recap: New Carlisle Newts
The New Carlisle Newts headed into the 2017 season fresh off of their 3rd ORWBL World Series Championship in 4 seasons after sweeping Maple City in the World Series.
Looking to repeat as Champions for the 2nd time, the veteran New Carlisle squad put together yet another excellent regular season. The Newts finished with a 22-8 record as they headed into the playoffs with a major target on their back.
With so many of their players having won multiple championships before, the Newts had just as good of a shot as anyone to win the World Series. New Carlisle once again received MVP caliber seasons from Garrett Curless and Scott Soos while also getting top notch production from Noah Shail when he was available.
The Newts coasted through the regular season but knew that the playoffs would be a different story. The Olive Township Mechanics gave the Newts all they could handle in the NLDS but the Newts were able to prevail as they took the series 2-1.
With that series win, the National League Championship Series was set to be one of the more hyped playoff series to date.
With the #1 seeded Granger Panthers coming in, the Newts came out flat as they fell behind 9-0 in Game 1. However, the Newts battled back just like champions do. New Carlisle set the tone for the NLCS right away by coming all the way back from 9 runs down to shock the Panthers. New Carlisle built off of that momentum and won Game 2 to take a 2-0 NLCS lead.
The Newts would then travel to Granger where they would capture a spot in the World Series for the 7th time in franchise history. While the Panthers gave the Newts all they could handle, New Carlisle's experience proved to be too much to overcome.
Looking to repeat as Champions, the Newts would battle it out with the Maple City Magic for the 2017 World Series. This would be the 3rd time that these 2 teams would meet up in the ORWBL World Series.
New Carlisle came out on top in 2013 and 2016 but things played out differently here in 2017. Maple City came out of the gates ready to go as they won the first 2 games at Magic Park pretty easily. With the series shifting to Migley Field, the stars aligned for more August Wiffleball at Migley Field.
Maple City stayed red hot as they won Game 3, 21-9 as the Newts were then on the brink of elimination. New Carlisle picked up a Game 4 win and held a Game 5 lead late until Maple City's Anthony Rieff put the Magic on top in the 6th inning of Game 5.
For the first time in quite some time, the Newts were simply outplayed and outmatched as they fell to Maple City 4-1 in the 2017 World Series.
While the incredible championship run by the Newts/Cult West players has finally come to an end, it would be a huge mistake to think that the Newts run has ended. This group of competitors will certainly be headed into the 2018 season looking to return to the top. With their core group returning next season, the Newts will once again be World Series threats in 2018.
