The WILL Waves rounded out their 2019 campaign in the same state they started in this past Saturday (October 26). They finished as runner-ups at the AWAA Black Bat Bash in New York. The go to medium pitch duo, Rob Licht and Jake Davey, were accompanied by Mike Sullivan. WILL went 1-2 in pool play and then rolled through the first two games of the single elimination playoff, before losing in the tournament finals.
The AWAA Black Bat Bash was a medium pitch, non-cut ball tournament. Non-cut meaning, players could scuff balls via rubbing them on surfaces, but not with a knife like traditional cut balls. Most teams threw clean balls. There was no base-running, as it depended on where balls were hit for the base runners to move.
In the opener, an 11 run first inning by the River Monsters made the Waves really have to climb back. That is exactly what they did, but came up just short. Sullivan, in his Waves debut, and Davey were on fire at the plate. WILL obtained its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third. The Monsters answered in the top of the fourth and final inning and made a phenomenal double play in the bottom half to halt the comeback bid by the Waves for good. Davey started on the rubber and didn’t get past the first, Licht relieved him and got tabbed with the loss in the 18-17 affair. Game two of pool play was all Waves. The three lefty bats combined for 19 home runs in the 36-2 win over the Zags. Licht won it from the rubber, and pitched all of the remaining games as well. Game three was not all Waves. Kyle Von Schleusingen was dominant from the rubber for TD’s, as the game went to them by a score of 9-1.
WILL got the six seed in the bracket and won a hard fought battle with WAAA, of Colonie Wiffleball, in round one. It was a back and forth game in the first two innings, but the Waves bats went off in the third and fourth for a 16-6 victory. The next two games saw opponents from the Mid-Atlantic Wiffle organization. Seventh seeded, Stompers, matched up with WILL in the semifinals. Rob Licht shut down their offense from the carpet, as he guided the Waves to a 6-2 win and a spot in the championship.
The championship wasn’t full of many highlights for the Waves. The Mid-Atlantic Wiffle veterans, Ryan and Tim McElrath, Connor Young, and Ben Stant, of Adderall or Nothing won the title game 19-3. Licht launched a solo shot to left and Davey hit a two run home run to center field for the lone runs of the game. Licht made one of the most impressive double plays of the tournament in the first inning of the game by hitting the zone from his backside beyond the pitchers rubber. Mike Sullivan patrolled the outfield in all six games, and made a multitude of diving or sliding plays on the day.
The tournament concludes the Waves season for 2019. WILL won 14 of their 19 games on the year over three tournaments. Nine players helped the team to a tournament championship, at OCWA, runner-up, this weekend, and a fifth place finish, at NWLA Nationals filled up the report card for the season.
The Waves page on the site is up to date. Highlights will be coming out over the course of the winter. Stay up to date on the latest news and info for the Waves and the WILL on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@wiffislife).