Peninsula Kickball - End of Season Tourney Recap

The 24th season of CLUBWAKA Peninsula Kickball is in the books and a new champion was crowned on Saturday. It was an unexpected run to the Wentworth Trophy® for long-time vets RUMSPRINGA. I have some thoughts, so let's look at how everything unfolded at Ft. Monroe last weekend.

PBJT 9, Boos On First 8

This was a wild back and forth affair that highlighted stark contrasts in styles. PBJT is one of the most tenured teams in kickball and Boos on First, of course, were making their playoff debut. And what a debut it was. They took advantage of some Jelly miscues to match the 8 runs their opponents scored headed into the bottom of the 5th. The Jelly top of the order was not to be denied a third time through the lineup, however. Ryan Schmid's sacrifice fly to center field allowed Shane Chambers to score the walk-off winner.

No doubt Peter Murray and the rest of Boos probably felt a little disappointed at falling short, but there is really no shame in taking one of the eventual finalists to the limit. I've said it before, but BOF is the best pure rookie team I've ever seen. They have a solid core of athletes and have picked up some strategy nuances that some teams struggle with for years. All they're missing is the reps. If this group sticks with kickball, they'll be championship contenders by this time next year. (someone screenshot this and post it next November when I'm right). It certainly won't take 18 seasons like some other teams...

Yeah, it was that kind of morning for Mike Ragin and the Foulies.

Rumspringa 12, Foul Balls 0

I was really surprised by this game and how lopsided it was. These two teams played each other in October and 'Springa came away with a 5-2 victory in a fairly tight contest despite the Foulies missing some key players. This weekend the FB team lineup was loaded with talent, but came out very flat and just never seemed to get back on track. On the other side, Rumspringa was firing on all cylinders. The "Springa offensive attack buried Foul Balls early and often in the mercy-shortened rout. It was a promising sign for things to come. 

This was a matchup between the league's two most tenured franchises. Combined these two teams have played 39 seasons and over 400 games on #WAKAWednesday. This was the third time in the last four seasons that Rumspringa has defeated Foul Balls in the first round of the playoffs. 

How big did Sitch win by? 

Sitch 12, Fireballs 1

The Fireballs had a tough season, They only notching a single victory during the fall campaign. One wouldn't have blamed TJ Guarry's team if they decided to skip the tournament altogether with a first-round matchup against the powerful Sitch squad. The same Sitch squad that finished the regular season undefeated and just won a huge national tournament in Texas the week prior. But the Fireballs have too much pride and came to play. Sure, the game wasn't particularly close, but I was impressed at how hard Fireballs played, never giving up, and avoiding the mercy rule playing a full 5 innings. Which may have been a factor in wearing down a short-handed Sitch team for the next round... 

F3B 7, DCOMB 1

This Fall marked F3B's 6th season of Peninsula kickball and it was by far their most successful to date. They finished 7-1 and locked in the #2 seed for the playoffs. Prior to this season, their all-time record was 16-27-2, so this represented a huge step forward for the club. Their reward for all of that success? The defending champions, DCOMB, in the first round. 

No problem. 

F3B poured on the offense, aided by a couple of miscues in the outfield to eliminate the champs, 7 to 1. 

PBJT 5, F3B 1

No matter which way this matchup went, a team would earn their first Peninsula Kickball Finals appearance. When they clashed just two Wednesdays ago, F3B came out with a hard-fought 5-4 win to earn the 2 seed. The home field advantage wouldn't be enough in the rematch, however as the Jellies squeezed out a 5-1 win to punch their ticket to the finals. 

Rumspringa 4, Sitch 3

Fresh off a big national tournament win the weekend before, conventional wisdom was that Sitch was a lock to win their local league. But whether it was over-confidence, playing short-handed (Sitch only had 9 players available on Saturday due to other commitments) or just bad luck, it was not to be. 

Rumspringa was riding high after their 12 run explosion in the first round and the momentum carried over. 'Springa immediately jumped out to a 4 run lead against a Sitch team that only allowed 1.63 runs on average this season. 

In the bottom of the first, Sitch punched right back. After an intentional pass put Anthony Williams on first, rookie Jayce Beck made the defense pay with a deep kick to left center that cleared the bases and cut the deficit to 1 run. 

While Sitch had the disadvantage of playing with only 9 people, one plus was that it turned over their lineup more frequently. For Rumspringa to advance, they'd have to contain a top of the lineup with elite players like Jeremy Edge, Mario Sforza, Allie Segura, and Gene Efird two more times. Sitch certainly threatened multiple times, but each time 'Springa persevered and got out of the jam. The most notable was a 3rd inning line drive by Efird that went off two Rumspringa defenders hands before falling into David Lopez's hands as he slid in behind them. (Note: It was at that moment that I began to really believe we were going to pull this out.)

In one of the biggest upsets in league history, Rumspringa defeated Sitch, 4-3 to advance to their first finals appearance in 18 seasons. 

The Wentworth Trophy® Finals
Rumspringa 3, PBJT 2

This is another matchup between two veteran franchises, neither of which had previously appeared in a final, let alone won a Wentworth Trophy®. PBJT has a lifetime win % of .507 across 113 regular season games. Rumspringa is slightly ahead at .544% over 180 games. These teams have always played hard but had generally been in the middle of the table, unable to break through... until November 2018.

Thanks to some aggressive, but smart, baserunning by Ricky Holmes and David Lopez, Rumspringa took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

Going into the bottom of the first, PBJT lead off with a Shane Chambers single. There was some controversy a couple kickers later when Justin Schauf was retired after giving himself up when a bystander shouted 'foul' on a short bunt. This may not have made the difference in the end result, but certainly, PBJT would like that one back.

Newcomer Devin Lapp, who made his kickball debut this spring, kicked a hard grounder that found a hole up the middle of the Rumspringa defense to cut the Jelly deficit in half, 2-1. Both defenses would shut down the opponents' offense until the 4th inning.

Despite it being a tad chilly a good crowd gathered at Oozlefinch to watch the Finals.

Ryan Schmid, one of the few players in the game with a Wentworth Trophy to his name, tied the game up in the bottom of the 4th with a 2-out RKI double to right field. Schmid was clutch in the playoffs, as he was also responsible for driving in the walk-off run in the first round against Boos On First. This was the first time since the top of the first inning against Foul Balls that Rumspringa did not hold the lead, so it was a big test to see how they would handle the adversity. After a Casey Heck double, the dangerous Wes McClain came to the plate with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Knowing that he probably only had one opportunity to avoid an intentional walk, Wes chased the first pitch from Rumspringa pitcher Matt Wellbrock and stroked it into shallow left center. It was enough to burn the shortstop but David Lopez came diving in to grab the ball before it hit the turf and end the inning.

With the middle of the Rumspringa lineup coming back up to start the 5th, the team was confident they'd be able to regain the lead. David Lopez, David Merritts, and Brent Wentworth (3rd person alert!) each singled to load the bases for Mike Ramey. Ramey got just enough of his kick to shallow center for Lopez to tag up and score the go-ahead run. "Springa failed to add more insurance after Wentworth's slow fat ass failed to get back to 2nd when Justin Schauf caught a fly ball to left and doubled him off.

In the end, the one run would be all that Rumspringa needed as Wellbrock retired 3 out of the 4 kickers faced in the bottom of the 5th. Ramey softly tossing the final out to 1B Jason Finkel's sure hands. The sideline erupted and after 18 seasons, Rumspringa celebrated its first Wentworth Trophy®!

Some random notes: 

• As mentioned before, this was Rumspringa's 18th season of Wednesday Night Kickball. The team was formed in the spring of 2010. Matt Wellbrock. Brian Yohn, Angie Weatherhead, Ricky Holmes, and Kecia Holmes have been with the franchise since the beginning. It's really awesome to see them finally achieve the big one and I'm glad I was a part of it. 
• This is the first Wentworth Trophy® for 22 out of the 23 players on the Rumspringa roster. The only player with a Peninsula championship prior to this weekend was me. Speaking of... 
• Not to toot my own horn (says the guy who named the trophy after himself) but Saturday's win has brought me once again even with my former teammate Anthony Williams atop the all-time most-winningest players list. This is Wednesday championship #8 for me. 
• And to think I almost wasn't going to be there to experience it. My brother-in-law's wedding was scheduled at 3:30 on Saturday in Sandbridge. My original plan was t play in our first two games and then leave the tournament, shower at my parents, and meet Dottie to drive down there. Well, when we upset Sitch, the plans changed. Personal hygiene be damned, I asked Dottie to pick me up at the fields (she was not happy) where I changed in the car on the way down. Made it to the ceremony with 25 minutes to spare! It was all worth it. 
• It was a great day for Sara Ruch. Not only did Rumspringa win, but she also plays for Resting Pitch Face, which won the Thursday Night Williamsburg tournament on the same day. Double Champ! 

 

• Although it's not always the best measure of talent certainly, I thought it was noteworthy that Saturday's finals only featured 4 regular-active travel players (Heck, McClain, Travis Bryant, & Holloway). Often times this league's finals features a bunch of circuit players competing, but not this time. Perhaps a changing of the guard? 
• Shout out to Alex Jackson for all of the help on Saturday. He reffed all day long for us and did a fantastic job. Thank you, AJ! Also thanks to everyone who volunteered to help officiate. This was an extremely smooth tourney and a positive day of kickball (as they all should be). 

I've been in this league for a long time. Since the 2nd season as a matter of fact. And I still get up for #WAKAWednesdays. Thank you all for making this community of kickball players the best in the world. I already can't wait for next season! 

Cheap plugs! 

• Registration is open for the spring as part of CLUBWAKA's Black Friday Week Sale. There are a limited number of spots still available (less than 10 as of this post being published) for only $59, so sign up ASAP to claim one. Register at the new CLUBWAKA website: https://www.clubwaka.com/hampton-roads/kickball/wednesday/566 
• WINTER IS COMING! If you're like me, you can't wait until April to play kickball again. That's why we have a Saturday afternoon winter kickball league in Hampton. Games are played at Barron Elementary in the Fox Hill area and postgames are at County Grill. The season begins on January 26th. You can save $5 on your membership by registering before 11/30. For full details and to join visit https://www.clubwaka.com/hampton-roads/kickball/saturday/664
• If you want to try another sport, check out clubwaka.com/hampton-roads for more options. We have other kickball leagues, bowling, softball, dodgeball, flag football, volleyball, and more open now. 
• FREE BOWLING! UGLY SWEATERS! Join us on Sunday, December 2nd for our Ugly Sweater Bowling Party at Sparetimes in Hampton. All attendees will enjoy two hours of free bowling and we'll have prizes for the best dressed and raffles for CLUBWAKA coupon codes for anyone that brings a non-perishable food donation. Please RSVP on Facebook so we know how many lanes to reserve! https://www.facebook.com/events/763787513955006