National Wiffle has announced their All-National WIFFLE Teams for the 2020 season. Ten Wiff is Life League players, Cole Lanni, Brice Clark, Austin Berger, Chris Sarnowski, Jake Davey, Gino Joseph, Steve Keelon, Rob Licht, Alex Miles, and Mike Sulllivan, have been selected. Lanni headlined the WILL group by being selected 1st Team All-Pitching, 2nd Team All-Hitting, and 1st Team All-Rookie.
National All-Pitching Team Representatives:
Cole Lanni (1st Team)
Lanni tossed 37 innings over the summer, all of the medium pitch variety, and went 6-1. He allowed 19 runs, which was good for a 2.57 ERA, had a fifth best 1.19 WHIP, and struck out 21, while walking just 3 batters. He was the winning pitcher throughout bracket play in his debut at the WILL, the Summer Showdown, for the tournament champion Big Baller Shot Callers. Lanni is the fourth WILL player to be selected to the first team All-Pitching, and first since 2018.
Brice Clark (2nd Team)
Brice Clark appeared at two WILL tournaments this past summer, and excelled from the rubber. The left hander threw 40 innings for the Mothmen, had the third best ERA (1.12), and the fourth best WHIP and strikeouts at 0.95 and 38, respectively. The West Virginia native helped propel the Mothmen to a runner up finish in the Season Finale Tournament.
Austin Berger (2nd Team)
Berger threw in all four tournaments at the WILL this summer, garnering 38.2 innings pitched. He compiled a resume that includes the second best WHIP, 0.83, third most strikeouts, 42, and fourth best ERA, 1.81. The right hander was the recipient of multiple tough luck losses in 2020, but ended the season on a high note, with a tournament championship at the Season Finale Tournament. This is Berger’s second time on an All-National team, the first as a pitcher.
National All-Hitting Team Representatives:
Chris Sarnowski (1st Team)
Chris Sarnowski cleaned house in the WILL awards, earning MVP, Silver Slugger, and Cy Wiff. He also won two tournament championships, and earned Opening Day Player of the Day honors, after he belted the walkoff home run in the championship game. He went 42-for-96 in the box, which was good for the second best average in the league, .437. The right hander led the league in OPS (1.651), and was atop the home run leaderboard until the last tournament, which he was absent at, which caused him to finish second, with 20. Sarnowski is the fourth player in league history to be named to the first team All-Hitting.
Jake Davey (1st Team)
Davey earned his first appearance on a National All-Hitting Team in 2020, after selections to the third team All-Pitching in 2017 and 18. The left handed batter parked 22 home runs to lead the league, and was second on the hits (43), at bats (107), and doubles (4) leaderboard. He hit .402 on the year and had a 1.498 OPS. Davey earned Player of the Day honors for the Battle in the Burg tournament, after hitting game winning home runs in both the semifinals and finals. He is the fifth player in WILL history to be named to first team All-Hitting.
Cole Lanni (2nd Team)
Lanni led all players in the WILL with a .535 average, had the second best OPS (1.581), tied a league lead with 5 doubles, and had the fourth most hits, at 38. Each tournament he participated in he had over a .500 average. Lanni had the tournament winning RBI in the Summer Showdown championship, which helped propel him to Player of the Day for that event.
Gino Joseph (3rd Team)
Joseph finished the season at the top in on base percentage (.578), third in OPS (1.547), fourth in average (.394), and fifth in home runs (12). He took home two tournament championships this season and was a nominee for Most Valuable Player. Joseph had a breakout tournament in the box at the Season Finale Tournament, when he hit .571 and hit half of his seasons home run total, to earn Player of the Day honors.
Steve Keelon (3rd Team)
Steve Keelon won the Opening Day Tournament and was a runner up at the Battle in the Burg. He had the second most plate appearances (126) and the second best on base percentage (.563) in 2020. During the championship run on opening day, Keelon belted 10 home runs. The Kent State business major finished the season fourth on the home run leaderboard, with 13, and posted a .385 average.
Rob Licht (3rd Team)
Rob Licht has made an All-Hitting Team for the fourth straight season. He was up to bat the most of any player in the WILL this year, with 142 plate appearances. He reached base 59 of those times, with 46 hits and 13 walks. The left handed hitter was nominated for the 2020 Silver Slugger award, with 19 home runs and a .359 average.
National All-Rookie Team Representatives:
Cole Lanni (1st Team)
Lanni was nominated for WILL MVP and took home the league’s Rookie of the Year award in 2020. Lanni’s selection makes it three straight WILL Rookie of the Year’s to be honored as first team National All-Rookie.
Alex Miles (1st Team)
Despite attending half of the tournaments, Miles made his mark in the WILL. He led all rookies in innings pitched and earned run average in 2020, with 44.2 innings and a 2.24 ERA, which were also good for third and fifth in the league, respectively. In the box, he hit for a .353 average, lifted five home runs, and legged out one of the league's four triples. Miles is the fourth WILL rookie to be named to first team All-Rookie, and first ever non-Rookie of the Year to make the top team.
Mike Sullivan (3rd Team)
Sullivan attended all four of the WILL’s tournaments in 2020, and led all rookies with 99 plate appearances. The left hander hit for a .341 average, doubled five times, which tied a league lead, and had eight home runs. At the Battle in the Burg, he reached the championship as a member of the Fingerballzzz.