2024 ORWBL Regular Season Recap

The 2024 ORWBL regular season has already come and gone as we now gear up for the 2024 ORWBL Postseason in a year where the race for a World Series title is completely up for grabs. The league saw numbers go way down from 2023 as their were many days throughout 2024 with unfavorable hitting conditions. The league once again celebrated a great All Star Night at Migley Field as all 16 teams were represented in the Home Run Derby and All Star Game.

Kounty Line Knights slugger Adin Newman won his first ever ORWBL Home Run Derby title while his teammate Sam Bull is the current Hometown Days Home Run Derby Champion after ending Jared Jonkman's historic 6 year run in 2023. Bull will look to defend his title next weekend on Friday Night as the Home Run Derby kicks off the greatest weekend of the summer!

The American League All Star team won Game 1 of the All Star Game while the National League took Game 2. Due to some longer games, Game 3 was called off to due to darkness as we had our first ever All Star Game Tie. Newts Manager Koby Keck led the National League side while ORWBL veteran and co-founder Kevin May was the Manager of the American League All Star team. Lakeport Bombers member and New Prairie Baseball State Champion Brody Traxler took home All Star Game MVP Honors after hitting 5 Home Runs in Game 1.

We will now break down each team's success from the 2024 season while looking ahead to the 2024 Postseason which kicks off on Sunday with the Wild Card Round (Best of 3).

American League

1. Elkhart BFAM (25-5) After winning Back to Back World Series titles with the Truffle Butter in 2022 and 2023, the core from that roster headed back to Elkhart to bring BFAM back to the Old Republic Wiffleball League. The trio of Walter Griffin III, Brandon Terry, and Andy Sieradzki has been lethal as Elkhart finished the 2024 regular season with the most wins in all of ORWBL with 25. This group will now look to bring a World Series title to Elkhart for the first time as they head into the Postseason as the favorites to win it all. They dropped their only series of the season on the final week of the year to Lakeport and will now turn their attention to their former running mates as they will square off with the Valpo Vols in the Wild Card Round.

2. Mill Pond Pink Pandas (21-9) Just one year after emerging onto the ORWBL scene as legit contenders, the Pink Pandas followed it up by winning 21 games en route to earning the #2 seed in the American League. This group has been taking steps over the past few years but we really got to see Mill Pond emerge as World Series contenders in 2024. They received a breakout season from Clayten Strauch who emerged as the Pink Pandas top option on the mound while also having a great season at the plate. Todd Snyder took another step forward at the plate while also cementing himself as one of the top fielding options in the league. Zach Christy led the charge with MVP like numbers while their skipper Andrew Karsten came home not having missed a beat after graduating from Indiana University. All in all, this is an incredibly well rounded team who is entering their wiffleball prime and they are just as poised as anyone in this league to make a run at a World Series title. They will begin their Postseason quest as they host the Union Mills BS&B in what should be a fun day of playoff action for all of Union Mills.

3. Lakeport Bombers (21-9) The Lakeport Bombers put together quite an impressive 2nd half of the season as they finished 14-4 over their final 18 games. Lakeport's Aiden Traxler had his memorable Rookie of the Year season last year and followed it up with 50 more Home Runs. After finishing 2nd in last season's MVP race, Austin Traxler put together another impressive season but it was his younger brother Brody who stole much of the show. Brody finished the season as the league leader in HR and RBI just a month after taking home 2024 All Star Game MVP honors. All in all, it was a 2nd half to remember for the boys in Lakeport as they head into the Postseason as dangerous as anyone after taking 2 out of 3 from BFAM on the final week of the season. They will open up with the Green Stem Great Lakes Godfathers in the Wild Card Round.

4. Maple City Magic (20-10) The Maple City Magic head into the 2024 Postseason looking to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2021. After suffering ALCS defeats to South Bend in each of the past 2 years, Maple City bounced back with another 20 win season as they looked much closer to the version of Maple City we saw from 2017-2020 than from 2021-2022. Jared Jonkman was the workhorse for this team as he led Maple City in nearly every statistical category, garnering MVP and Cy Young attention. It was an incredibly well rounded season for Jonkman who has grown into one of the top 2 way options in the game as he was selected by the Managers as the American League Starting Pitcher in the All Star Game. The Magic also saw the return of Wes Ellis as he was a staple in the Magic lineup, putting together another great season in what has been one of the most storied careers we have seen. Ethan Bumgardner put together a stellar Sophomore campaign despite missing 6 games with an injury and received top tier defensive play from Jeremy Ross, Jake Osburn, and Collin Babcock. Maple City has arguably one of the top trios in the league while they will also look towards their depth to round out a talented lineup. They will open up with a tricky Wild Card round matchup against the 5th seeded Flat Rock Cyclones who took 2 out of 3 from Maple City in Week 9, so this is definitely a first round matchup to follow closely.

5. Flat Rock Cyclones (15-15) Flat Rock finished the 2024 regular season at .500 and head into the Postseason as a sneaky pick to play spoiler. They were the 5th seed that teams wanted to avoid in Round 1 as they had series wins over Maple City and Flat Rock to close out the year. The additions of Jackson Buzea and 2x World Series Champion Ryan Voges have been huge as those guys have really helped round out a solid lineup. Buzea, the reigning Leroy MVP put up ORWBL MVP like numbers in 2024 as he hit .603 while quietly blasting 54 HR. With Froedge, Howell, and the Satoski brothers doing their thing, this is a team that is built to bust some brackets. They remained pretty under the radar for most of the year but after series wins over Maple City and Mill Pond to close out the season, this is a team to watch out for heading into the Postseason as they will look to play spoiler on Sunday at Magic Park.

6. Green Stem Great Lakes Godfathers (6-24) After losing Andy Sierdazki and other key members from the 2023 squad, Green Stem Great Lakes made some changes and found a way to play in 2024. Whitt Huffer and Matador Smith made a few changes to the roster and everyone got their chances to shine in 2024. Matador Smith had one of his best seasons at the plate while also emerging as a solid fielding option. He stunned the crowd at Magic Park as he became the first player to completely vault the Magic wall attempting to bring back a Home Run in what was a freak of nature attempt from the wiffle legend! They received quality and consistent play all season from Scott St. Germain and Gino XL and it is no secret to everyone, this team has the most fun of anyone, no matter the result! They will look to play ultimate spoilers in the Wild Card Round as they will travel to take on the red hot Lakeport Bombers.

7. Union Mills BS&B (5-25) It was a season of growth over in Union Mills as this team saw their win total rise to 5 as they looked much more competitive this season. They were on the brink of pulling off a couple of big upsets and saw Rookie Garrett Remkus and Cadin McCarty named to the All Star team. Ashlen Strauch took things to new heights in 2024 by hitting 12 Home Runs and finishing 2nd on the team in Batting Average at .356. She continues to set the bar incredibly high and it was undoubtedly the greatest ORWBL season ever put together by a female player! This group will look to pull off a big Wild Card Round upset against their friends over from the Mill Pond Pink Pandas.

8. Valparaiso Volunteers (4-26) The first year ORWBL squad struggled to find the win column for much of the season which came as a shock to many. They headed into their final series with a 1-26 record but could not have ended the year in a better way as they pulled off not only their first series win but their first sweep. This is the most talented team under 5 wins in ORWBL that you will ever see as this group has some experienced and talented wifflers from Leroy Wiffle Association. While they struggled in the slow pitch scene this year, this is a talented team that has the ability to pull off a Wild Card Round upset over BFAM. They will need great performances from guys like All Star Kyle Gagliardi, Mason Kapouch, Cole Deardorf, and Ian Garavalia but this is a group that has the potential to do it. A good chunk of this roster was on the South Bend Truffle Butter, so they would love nothing more than to stun BFAM with a Wild Card round upset.

National League

1. Granger Panthers (19-11) Granger came into the league and won 6 consecutive NL regular season titles before finally falling short by one game last season in 2023 to Twin Branch. It looked like the Goats were on their way to a 2nd straight regular season title before Granger slowly inched their way within 3 games ahead of their regular season finale against each other. Granger went on to win all 3 games en route to their 7th National League regular season title as they will be the top seed in the National League yet again. They were able to do this after losing Austin Williams to the Billy Goats over the offseason in a signing that made massive news. Granger saw Brandon Campbell and Tyler Sceroszynski take on larger roles as both players had many key moments throughout the year and will play a key role to their postseason success. Granger will open up their playoff run against the Hudson Lake Heat who could be a tough out if they are able to get their full lineup. With the core of Griffin Smith, Daivyn Davis, Seth Campbell and Alex Zarazee in tact, Granger has a 2nd World Series title on their minds.

2. Twin Branch Billy Goats (19-11) The Billy Goats got off to a high flying start and looked poise to win the NL regular season title for a 2nd consecutive season. They dropped 2 out of 3 to Kounty Line in Week 9 before dropping all 3 to Granger on the final week of the season. That dropped them down into the #2 seed as they will host that same team that just beat them a few weeks ago in the Knights. This group has all the talent in the world to get their revenge on Kounty Line and get back on track towards their goal of a World Series title. It really was a great season for these guys as Austin Williams proved to be a great addition just as many people figured it would. The Billy Goats are loaded with pitching depth as Manager Andrew Doran will have some tough decisions to make on the mound in the Postseason. The ultimate key to success for this team will be its playoff success and they will look to get back on track in the Wild Card Round against the Knights.

3. Glen Lee Skeeters (19-11) The Glen Lee Skeeters head into the Postseason as the hottest team in ORWBL as this squad won 9 consecutive games to end the season. They finished the 2nd half of the season with a 13-2 record and put together the winningest season in Glee Lee history. Manager Peyton Doran transformed into an All Star while Nolan Crail emerged into one of the top young players in the league. 2023 Home Run Derby Champion Kade Stone put together an MVP like season as this group has as good of a chance as anyone to go win the Pennant. Just one year after making a Final Four run at the Hometown Cup, the Skeeters are in search of hardware in 2024.

4. Mishawaka Meatspins (16-14) This veteran group put together a scrappy winning season after coming out of the gates a bit slow. The Meatspins went 10-5 over the 2nd half of the season as they are playing their best wiffleball of the summer at the perfect time. Anthony Rieff and Ryan Warmoth led the charge once again as they will look to make some noise in the 2024 Postseason. They will open up with a Home Series against the defending National League Champion New Carlisle Newts in a matchup that could truly go either way.

5. New Carlisle Newts (15-15) The defending National League Champs started off 2023 with a hot start as they looked like the favorites to do it again. New Carlisle struggled over the course of 2nd half of the season as they dropped 9 straight games before winning the night series over the Knights in Week 10. Noah Shail has been as key as ever to the Newts success in 2024 so his Postseason availability might play a big role in how far this team can go. They have all the talent in the World to go win the World Series but open up the Postseason with a tough Wild Card round test against the Meatspins.

6. Lynn Street Leprechauns (14-16) After putting together their first ever winning season in 2023, Lynn Street made another run at doing it in back to back seasons. After a really slow start, Lynn Street turned it on as the Leps set a franchise record by winning 9 straight games ahead of their regular season finale. Garrett Ruiz was the anchor to the ship all season long as he led the Leps in every hitting category. They dropped all 3 games in their regular season finale to Glen Lee but will immediately get their shot at revenge as they will look to pull off the Wild Card round upset on the road against the Skeeters.

7. Kounty Line Knights (11-19) This is another team that is playing their best wiffleball of the summer at the perfect time as they took 2 out of 3 from Twin Branch in Week 9 in what they hope will be a preview of what's to come in the Wild Card Round. After making a run to the NLCS in 2023, this team certainly feels that they can do it again despite the regular season record. Manager Cam Bashaw used 2023 to get all of his guys an equal opportunity as this roster is loaded with depth. After taking 2/3 from Twin Branch in Week 9, this group is as confident as ever as they will look to play spoilers in the Wild Card Round. With 2 of the top young players in the league in Sam Bull and Adin Newman (2024 ORWBL Home Run Derby Champion) along with a great cast of players around them, Kounty Line has their eyes set on pulling off the upset.

8. Hudson Lake Heat (10-20) Hudson Lake put together another Hudson Lake-like season as they were very rarely ever swept and usually always very competitive in every series in which most of their players were there. Attendance has been the issue for this team but as long as their core group is there, we all know this is a team that can beat anybody in this league on any given day. They will have their work cut out for them in the 2024 Wild Card Round as they will travel to take on the top seeded Granger Panthers.