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2017 Tournament Recap: Magic claim Grand Slam
2017 Grand Slam Champions: Maple City Magic: The 2017 season was an unforgettable one for the Maple City Magic who finished the summer with a 70-18 record. Those 70 wins were the most by any Wiffleball team in the country in 2017.
On top of league play, many ORWBL teams compete in tournaments throughout the midwest. On top of the 4 Grand Slam Tournaments, ORWBL teams also participated in the Cam Snead Memorial Tournament, the World Wiffleball Championship in Skokie, and the Friedman & Associates Fall Classic. Here is a look at how ORWBL teams fared in the 2017 tournaments!
Wifflehawks: Champion: Granger Panthers
In the first tournament of the year, Granger battled through a rainy weekend en route to their first Wifflehawks Championship. The young Panthers kicked off the 2017 season right where they left off after winning the HD Classic, and the Grand Slam in 2016. This one had to feel extra sweet for Granger who was playing their first tournament without Cam Snead.
Cam Snead Memorial Tournament: Champion: Grandmother's Quilt
Grandmother's Quilt took home the inaugural Cam Snead Memorial Tournament Championship trophy as the Quilt continued to shine under the bright lights of tournaments. While the Quilt is not an ORWBL team, all 5 players played for the Cabo Yabos in ORWBL play.
HD Classic: Champion: Son of a Pitch (Defeated Jet City in Championship)
The 2016 Hometown Cup Champions returned to Northwest, Indiana as they participated in the HD Classic. These guys continued to show just how good they are as they went on to win the HD Classic in an epic Championship game over ORWBL's Jet City. Let by Nate Arndt, Tony Koch, Drew Luther, and Garrett Ruiz, Jet City rolled to the Championship game with ease. Unfortunately for Jet City, a late defensive mistake would prove to be costly as they would finish 2nd.
World Wiffleball Championship in Skokie: Champion: Cult West Warriors
The Cult West Warriors represented ORWBL extremely well in the World Wiffle Ball Championship as they repeated as Champions out in Skokie. The Cult West core 4 and Maple City's Wes Ellis will look for a 3 peat in 2018. This was just the start of some summer fun for this Cult West team.
Hometown Cup: Champions: Cult West Warriors
On the grandest stage of them all, it was the Cult West Warriors who took home Wiffleball's most prized cup. After a let down 2016 tournament, the Warriors silenced any doubters by winning their 4th Hometown Days Championship. In what may go down as the best HTD Championship game of all time, the Cult West Warriors survived a late push from the Maple City Magic en route to a 7-6 victory. Ellis proved to be a difference maker as he blasted 3 Home Runs in the Championship game against his Maple City teammates. Captain Scott Soos was quoted after the tournament stating that "This one is extra special."
Peacefest Tournament: Champions: Maple City Magic
Grand Slam Champions: Maple City Magic
Just 2 weeks after winning their first ORWBL title, the Maple City Magic followed it up with another championship. After coming from behind in 5 of their 8 games, Maple City clinched the Peacefest Championship with a drama-filled championship win over Clutch Players. With the win, Maple City also clinched the Golden Ticket and were named 2017 Grand Slam Champions.
Friedman & Associates Fall Classic: Champions: Maple City Magic
The Maple City Magic stayed red hot as they won their 2nd consecutive Friedman & Associates Fall Classic after taking down Grandmother's Quilt in the Championship game. Unlike last year, Maple City was able to maneuver their way through the winners bracket and therefore did not have to play as many games. That certainly helped as this tournament may have had the hottest weather of any of the tournament played this year. With it being a 1 day, double elimination tournament, endurance is key and Maple City proved just that. The Magic players took home the FA Gold Cup while getting to split the Grand Prize of $1,000. This tournament concluded the wiffleball season in Midwest, Indiana.
Wifflin' For Water Tournament in Indianapolis: Champion: Maple City Magic
After winning their 1st ORWBL Championship and following it up with a Peacefest Championship, a Grand Slam Championship, and an FA Cup Championship, Maple City decided to make 1 last road trip to end the season. Maple City traveled to Indianapolis where the Indianapolis Southside Wiffleball League hosted a Fall tournament. As seen in the picture above, the main field was definitely one of the better wiffleball fields in the country. With 2 party decks out in Center Field, there was a nice atmosphere on a lovely October day. Maple City stayed hot as they went a perfect 6-0 on the day as they won the Championship by taking down members of the University of Indianapolis Baseball team by the score of 21-7. Maple City certainly represented ORWBL well as they matched up against some teams from ISWB.
That officially closed the books on the 2017 Wiffleball season. All in all, ORWBL teams had an incredible amount of success in tournaments as Granger kicked off the year with another championship. The Cabo Yabos players from Grandmother's Quilt added another Championship to their name by winning the Cam Snead Tournament . We saw the veterans over at Cult West continue to dominate by winning in the World Wiffle Ball Championship and the Hometown Cup. And lastly, we have the Maple City Magic who finally got themselves an ORWBL Championship and followed it up with 21 consecutive wins en route to 3 Tournament Championships and the Golden Ticket. Congratulations to all of the 2017 Champions!
