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Curless wins Home Run Derby for 3rd time
Despite the wind howling in, 13 ORWBL sluggers battled it out in hopes of winning the Home Run Derby. Home Runs were very hard to come by with the wind blowing in around 15 mph at times. All 13 teams that had a player in attendance had a representative and here is how the 1st round turned out: (Top 4 advanced to seeded bracket)
Ben McDonald (Heat) 3
Jake Osborn (Goon Squad) 0
Matador Smith (Godfathers) 0
Danny Hernandez (Emery's Army) 1
Austin Traxler (BFAM) 2
Nick Wilson (Leprechauns) 1
Colton Boren (Kings) 2
Tyler Shupert (Cyclones) 5
Anthony Rieff (Meatspins) 3
Garrett Curless (Newts) 3
DJ Hill (Wildcards) 4
Jared Jonkman (Magic) 13
Lucas Oletti (Billy Goats) 1
Ben McDonald, Anthony Rieff, and Garrett Curless competed in a 30 second swing off with the top score advancing into the bracket as the #4 seed.
McDonald started things with 1 before Anthony Rieff blasted 4 out putting himself in nice position. But the hometown star Garrett Curless blasted out 5 Homers to advance.
In the first semifinal matchup, Flat Rock's Tyler Shupert took down Wildcards MVP candidate DJ Hill 3-2. Curless then kept his momentum as he outlasted Maple City's Jared Jonkman 10-8 in an exciting semifinals matchup.
In the championship round, it was New Carlisle's own Garrett Curless who came out on top as he became the first Newts player since Scott Soos in 2016 to win the Home Run Derby.
It was Garett's 3rd Home Run Derby title of his career and his first since 2009. This was the 5th time that a Newt went on to win the derby.
