Clutch Players added two of the game’s best talents for the 44th World Wiffle® Ball Championship, but it was Captain Rob Moore who came up “clutch” in a 7-5 nine-inning championship game thriller over Granger Panthers.
Moore hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to give Clutch the lead, and finished the game with 2 HRs and 5 RBI. A Granger groundout to left in the bottom half of the ninth gave Clutch their second World Championship.
Granger jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Moore got Clutch on the board with a solo HR in the fourth. After Granger added a run in the bottom half, Clutch tied it up in the fifth with four straight batters reaching base, capped by a two-run single by Moore.
In extra innings, both teams scored in the seventh, utilized their intentional walks to get out of the eighth unharmed, before Moore’s heroics in the ninth.
It was a balanced effort from Clutch in finishing the weekend 8-0. HOFer Andy Sieradzki sent Clutch to the Final Four with a walk-off homer over The M.O.B. Walt Griffin III homered and delivered a shutout in a 1-0 Final Four win over Wiffle Dees, and Brandon Terry played an exceptional left field throughout the tournament.
Granger came tantalizingly close to their first World Championship, finishing runner-up for the second time. They’ll look to win their third Hometown Cup next weekend in New Carlisle.
40 teams (from 9 states) participated in the 44th Annual World Wiffle® Ball Championship on Saturday, all playing four games. 27 teams advanced to the single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
Notes
*Thanks to all the wifflers that participated this weekend and those that purchased official WWBC shirts, $1,600 will be donated to South Suburban Humane Society. Since the tournament moved to Midlothian in 2018, $13,000 has been raised to help with the exceptional work that SSHS does for animals.
*Maple City Magic’s Ethan Bumgardner won Saturday’s HR Derby over Griffin in the Finals, 19-18. 46 entrants participated in the Derby, with Warsaw’s Nick Fritz and Dees’ Tyler Shupert the other semi-finalists.
*More information regarding the 45th World Wiffle® Ball Championship will be released in the coming months, with registration opening in January 2024.
worldwiffleball.org 