 | Coffee Time | |
| by Carl Coffee |
For the third straight year and the fifth time in history, Wiffle in Southeast Michigan will bring a team down to London, Ohio, to play in one of the largest slow pitch wiffleball tournaments in the world. Captain Carl Coffee decided awhile back that they would not participate in this years tournament because of the date coinciding with WSEM's final regular season weekend. After changing some dates around, he realized they could go to London.
This years tournament format is different than in years past. Every team will play four round robin games and then will be seeded in a single elimination playoff. The tournament schedule has not yet been released.
In 2004 & 2005, the boys from Downrver Wiffle were the Lugnuts. Tournament Director Brian Wheeler gave the Lugnuts franchise to another group of guys, so when they returned in 2009, they became the Jammers. The Jammers only lasted one year however, because in 2010 they became the Flying Squirrels. This year, they return as the Flying Squirrels and will wear their WSEM light blue jerseys. Here is a year by year look at our tournament records.
2004 Lugnuts: 3-3
2005 Lugnuts: 3-3
2009 Jammers: 6-2
2010 Flying Squirrels: 2-3
Overall: 14-11
Once again, the roster will be different than the year before. Meet the Squirrels!
#18 Carl Coffee C - P (5th Year)
Carl Coffee will be making his fifth trip to London. He has been the starting pitcher every year and he will once again hold that position. Carl's veteran leadership is vital this year because he has two rookies on his roster. Carl also brings a solid bat to the lineup and will bat 4th. He can hit to all fields, and thrives when runners are in scoring position.
#17 Brandon Corbett A - SS (4th Year)
Brandon Corbett is Carl's only returning player from last years 2-3 team. He has been a part of every London team except for the 2004 Lugnuts. Corbett is the teams shortstop and is a vacuum when ground balls are hit his way. As the teams best all around hitter, he will bat 3rd in the lineup. Corbett has the bat speed to rack up a high home run total.
#0 Chuck Sharkey - RF (2nd Year)
Chuck Sharkey will once again be joining the boys from Michigan. Chuck was an important part of the 2009 team that went 3-0 in round robin play, and then won three more games in the playoffs. Chuck is from the Boston area which is known to produce top notch wiffle talent. He now resides in Virginia, and is excited to return to London. Chuck knows how to get on base and move runners over, so he will bat 2nd. He also is a great defender and covers the field very well.
#5 Alex Shore - LF (1st Year)
Alex Shore will be making his first appearance at London this year. He is the captain of the Westside Warriors and is an important part of WSEM. Speed and baserunning have always been a problem for the Flying Squirrels, so Captain Carl Coffee recruited one of the fastest guys in WSEM. Alex will be asked to play the leftfield, the most important position in the tournament. He also is going to bat leadoff. Oh, and did I mention he is a lefty?
#24 Matt Murtha - UT (1st Year)
Matt Murtha has been a consistent part of the Flying Squirrels in WSEM. He also has tournament experience. In 2009, he participated in Wifflefest, which is an overhand medium pitch tournament near Chicago. Murtha can play any position so he will move around and sub in for the other players at their respective positions. Murtha is also strong pull hitter with good extra base power. He will bat 5th for the Flying Squirrels.
This years tournament format is different than in years past. Every team will play four round robin games and then will be seeded in a single elimination playoff. The tournament schedule has not yet been released.
In 2004 & 2005, the boys from Downrver Wiffle were the Lugnuts. Tournament Director Brian Wheeler gave the Lugnuts franchise to another group of guys, so when they returned in 2009, they became the Jammers. The Jammers only lasted one year however, because in 2010 they became the Flying Squirrels. This year, they return as the Flying Squirrels and will wear their WSEM light blue jerseys. Here is a year by year look at our tournament records.
2004 Lugnuts: 3-3
2005 Lugnuts: 3-3
2009 Jammers: 6-2
2010 Flying Squirrels: 2-3
Overall: 14-11
#18 Carl Coffee C - P (5th Year)
Carl Coffee will be making his fifth trip to London. He has been the starting pitcher every year and he will once again hold that position. Carl's veteran leadership is vital this year because he has two rookies on his roster. Carl also brings a solid bat to the lineup and will bat 4th. He can hit to all fields, and thrives when runners are in scoring position.
#17 Brandon Corbett A - SS (4th Year)
Brandon Corbett is Carl's only returning player from last years 2-3 team. He has been a part of every London team except for the 2004 Lugnuts. Corbett is the teams shortstop and is a vacuum when ground balls are hit his way. As the teams best all around hitter, he will bat 3rd in the lineup. Corbett has the bat speed to rack up a high home run total.
#0 Chuck Sharkey - RF (2nd Year)
Chuck Sharkey will once again be joining the boys from Michigan. Chuck was an important part of the 2009 team that went 3-0 in round robin play, and then won three more games in the playoffs. Chuck is from the Boston area which is known to produce top notch wiffle talent. He now resides in Virginia, and is excited to return to London. Chuck knows how to get on base and move runners over, so he will bat 2nd. He also is a great defender and covers the field very well.
#5 Alex Shore - LF (1st Year)
Alex Shore will be making his first appearance at London this year. He is the captain of the Westside Warriors and is an important part of WSEM. Speed and baserunning have always been a problem for the Flying Squirrels, so Captain Carl Coffee recruited one of the fastest guys in WSEM. Alex will be asked to play the leftfield, the most important position in the tournament. He also is going to bat leadoff. Oh, and did I mention he is a lefty?
#24 Matt Murtha - UT (1st Year)
Matt Murtha has been a consistent part of the Flying Squirrels in WSEM. He also has tournament experience. In 2009, he participated in Wifflefest, which is an overhand medium pitch tournament near Chicago. Murtha can play any position so he will move around and sub in for the other players at their respective positions. Murtha is also strong pull hitter with good extra base power. He will bat 5th for the Flying Squirrels.
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