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National Wiffle Ball tournament coming to North Strabane

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The coronavirus pandemic caused the Pony League World Series in Washington to be canceled for the first time in its history this summer but Washington County will still host a national tournament played on a diamond.

However, instead of baseballs and aluminum bats there will be Wiffle Balls and plastic bats.

The National Wiffle League Association will be playing its ninth national championship tournament Sept. 18-20 at North Strabane Township Park. It will bring together all-star teams from 16 leagues, representing nine states ranging from Massachusetts to Missouri, for a series of games along with a home run derby and other activities.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be played this summer in Indianapolis, but when the pandemic hit the NWLA opted to delay the tournament. Eventually it was determined that the tournament could not be played in Indianapolis and the NWLA began looking for another site.

That’s where Washington County came to the rescue. Jake Davey, who is co-founder of the Wiff is Life League in Canonsburg, has played with the league’s team in the national tournament. The WILL has experienced tremendous success nationally, winning the championship in 2018 in Morenci, Mich., and finishing fifth last year.

Davey, who is on the national tournament committee, had teamed with the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency and made a presentation to host this year’s tournament. The decision came down to Indianapolis and Washington County but the former was awarded the event, in large part because it has a wiffleball facility.

With Indy unavailable, Davey went back to the tourism department and was told it was still interested in helping. Davey contacted the NWLA and the event was moved to Washington County.

“We’ll be playing at North Strabane Township Park, on the bottom baseball field,” Davey explained. “We will put four fields there with portable fencing. We have to play on grass because the fencing is designed to go into the ground. We couldn’t play on turf.

“The fields will be 90 feet down both foul lines and about 100 feet to center field.”

Davey explained that each team will have eight players on its roster. Only three will play in the field and six will bat in each game. The majority of players are in the 20-25 age group but some are older, Davey said.

Davey cautioned that these will not be your typical backyard wiffleball games.

“This is a competitive level. You’ll see guys throwing 95 mph from 48 feet,” he said. “There are a lot of strikeouts in these games. Pitching typically dominates, especially later in the tournament. But once the ball is put in play, a lot of action happens.”

Teams use the official Wiffle Ball, complete with eight holes on one side. They also use the long, thin yellow plastic bats. No thick-barreled bats for these guys.

Tournament events begin Sept. 18 with a home run derby and welcome festivities. Round-robin pool play begins the morning of Sept. 19 and bracket play starts in the evening. The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sept. 20.

Umpires will come from Canon-Mac Youth Baseball, the Chartiers Valley Umpires Association and Pittsburgh Umpires Association.

Davey, who is a former Canon-McMillan athlete and currently a senior at Pitt-Greensburg, said the event will adhere to the state’s outdoor gathering limit of 250 people.

“There will be about 150 players and 20 workers,” he said. “We will allow people in free of charge.

The Wiff is Life League will be one of three teams from Pennsylvania in the tournament. The others are from York and Ridley Park in Delaware County. The AWAA of Albany, N.Y. will be back to defend its national championship.

“I am beyond thankful to Washington County and the NWLA Host Committee for giving us the opportunity to host the event,” Davey said. “We are happy to give wifflers from around the country the opportunity to compete at a national level again this year. The tournament features the deepest field in tournament history and is more than likely going to be the most competitive, as well.”

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