Chapel Hill Wiffleball League

Boss Squad

Dan Wentz Jon Wilson Ricky Peluso Mike Zelik Justin Brozick Greg Phieler

Tournament Runner Ups- Wins: 4 Losses: 2. Runs For: 33 Runs Against: 44

Tournament Road: W vs Generals 3-1 W vs Playmakers 10-5 F7 W vs USA 7-4 L vs Chapel Hill 6-16 F5 W vs Monstars 3-2 F7 L vs Chapel Hill 4-16 F4

Team Overview: The Boss Squad is the tale of two teams. Going into the tournament they were the #2 seed expected to give the Bombers a run. Early struggles almost proved fatal as the Boss Squad could have very easily dropped its first 3 games. The team barley ousted Patten’s Generals 3-1 in round one, were one pitch away from choking to Bianco’s team in round two, and without a Peluso grand slam in the 5^th, would have fell to USA in round 3. Critics said the Bombers faced no one to get to the semi final game so the showdown was on Sunday afternoon as the undefeated Boss Squad went toe to toe with the Chapel Hill Bombers. It was 5-5 after two and then all hell broke loose. The Bombers pounded the ball the next two innings and rolled along to a 16-6 victory. The Boss Squad didn't look the same the rest of the tourney. Once in the losers bracket they would have fallen to the Monstars if it was’t for Rata literally throwing the game away, but Boss Squad snuck by in 7 to force a rematch with Chapel Hill. This one was even worse as the Bombers put up a 9 spot on th top of the first and never looked back cruising to a 16-4 victory in 4. The Boss Squad played extremly hard though throughout the tournament winning one close game after another. When they were on the ropes they prevailed and one must give props to their leader, veteran Dan Wentz. Peluso and Wilson led the team offensively while Zelik and Wentz had good stuff on the hill but not as good as previous years and that was their downfall. Not enough offense and mediocre pitching. Captain Dan Wentz had this to say,” Fought hard but in the end we came up a little short. I cant seem to locate my knuckleball as well as I did in ’08 when the mound was shorter.”  Ricky Peluso added,” Boss Squad played with heart, we battled when we needed to and played our game. But our hats are off to the CH Bombers who just hit everything in sight in the final.

Monstars

Zach Jergan Mike Cammarata- Golden Shoe Pat Bradley Zach Stein Jergans Cousin

3^rd Place- Wins: 4 Losses: 2. Runs For: 43 Runs Against 31

Tournament Road

W vs Fightin Indians 8-2 W vs Hicks 10-1 L vs Chapel Hill 1-11 F4 W vs Pittsburgh Rangers 13-6 W vs USA 9-8 F8 L vs Boss Squad 3-2 F7

Team Overview: The Monstars finished right around where most wiffleball experts had planned. They went into the tournament as the #4 and puled a huge upset in the quarterfinals to send #3 USA home. Zach Jergan lead the Monstar offensive attack, putting up one of the highest averages in the tournament and although Rata did not play to expectations he came up with clutch plays at bat and on the bases to help lead this franchise to its best World Series finish in history. Between the Monstars, Team USA, and Boss Squad it is still questionable to say who truly is the #2 team in the land. Although Boss Squad came out on top the Monstars are a Rata bone headed play (trying to pick wilson off), from a rematch with the Bombers for the title. Rata tried to pick off the fastest player in the league when he was mere inches off 2^nd base. Wilson scored to tie the game and Rata later walked in the winning run. But not all the blame can be put on Cammarata’s shoulders, looking back one game his brilliant baserunning along with then coordinated fielding of Dan Lynch won the Monstars the game and Rata the gold shoe. Pat Bradley stepped in well as the #2 on the hill behind Jergan and cal lups Max Benner and Nick Basara pitched in as well. Rules clearly state that if you need a player you were able to call up players who had been eliminated Friday or Saturday. Players agreed that Benner was an ok sub for Stein but Basara was too good compared to Jergans cousin. With this in mind the comish said that if a team was uncomfortable with one playing they could decide which of the two would bat and both would play the field. USA let both Benner and Basara bat and as a result lost. Boss Squad on the other hand chose not to let Basara bat and he was rather frustrated. When asked if he would let Basara bat if the Monstars advanced to the championship game Bomber captain Sean Oglesby had this to say,” Hell yeah. You could put a dream team together of all the best here and they still wouldn't beat us. So I don’t feel Basara will phase us in the slightest bit.” Basara liked that response and hoped the Monstars could pull out the W but they failed. In response to the Boss Squad not letting him bat Basara had this to say,” All I gotta say to the Boss Squad is if you wanna be the best, ya gotta beat the best. Everyone east of the Mississippi knows if they let me and my hot bat step in the batters box, zero chance Boss Squad advances. If I were them, id feel like I cheated my way in just like they so passionately accused the Monstars of doing. But whats done is done. Just like Lebron im a free agent going into next year.”

Team USA

Mike Foglio Matt Ludwig Dan Lynch Max Mellott Evan Cullen

4^th Place- Wins: 3 Losses: 2. Runs For: 33 Runs Against: 18

Tournament Road

W vs Young Bucs 3-0 W vs Dunkin Donut Danglers 13-0 F5 L vs Boss Squad 4-7 W vs Playmakers 5-2 L vs Monstars 8-9 F8

Team Overview: Team USA was one of the top picks to win the title this year. The only question was are they going to be deep enough to compete with the Bombers. Early on all answers pointed to yes. Bomber captain Sean Oglesby had this to say,” All eyes were on the winners bracket quarterfinal Friday at 5. When I made the bracket I knew that game was set up for a showdown between USA and Boss Squad. I had my entire team watch that game closely because we knew who ever came out on top we would be seeing in the championship. I was impressed with USA’s play and believe after two games with the Boss Squad that they would have put up a better fight.” Team USA had strong pitching, only letting up 12 earned runs in 5 games. Foglio was nasty and Mellott stepped up nicely as the #2. USA lead most of that Boss Squad game and nearly won until Peluso hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 5^th to give them the lead which turned into the win. Lynch gave that inning new life for the Boss Squad having two errors. USA played tough in the losers bracket ousting a solid Playmakers team but then fell to the Monstars in extra innings due to another Lynch error. Overall USA had better pitching than expected, and an ok offense. Ludwig was expected to do more but in his defense some shots of his were brought back by the wind, finally wiffleball experts knew USA’s defense would struggle. Lynch is a solid offensive asset and came up with many clutch hits for the red white and blue, but quite honestly his defensive play cost USA a shot at the title. After the horrendous error at the end of the Monstars game captain Mike Foglio lay motionless in right field for what seemed to be an eternity. When tournament officals could catch up with him he had this to say about his teams performance,” Id first like to congratulate The Chapel Hill Bombers on an excellent tourney and the Oglesby family for all they did to make this thing happen. I was happy with the overall effort of Team USA, we just unfortunately could not overcome all odds to make the impact on the tournament that we would have liked. We will rebuild and come back stronger next season with the same intensity, passion and overall love of the game. Although many may criticize Dan’s performance I was extremely proud of the way he played throughout the tournament, as he came up with several clutch AB’s and plays in the field for us, and I’m proud to call him a teammate.

Pittsburgh Rangers

Dan Hammond Kevin Mills Matt Gaus Sean Oneil Ken Stanasolovich Jeremy Struhar

5^th Place- Wins:3 Losses: 2. Runs For: 28 Runs Against: 29

Tournament Road

W vs Dymeks 5-1 L vs Chapel Hill 0-11 F5 W vs Cleveland Steemers 7-4 W vs Fightin Indians 10-0 F4 L vs Monstars 6-13

Team Overview:Dan Hammond is a seasoned veteran who entering his fourth year of tournament play only had one win. That all changed this year when Hammond put together his most talented team in history. Matt Gaus led the way on the hill while D-ham set the the table in the lead off spot for his suprisingly powerful lineup anchored by big Ken Stanasolovich. Sean Oneil was runner up for the gold glove award catching everything in sight out in center field and finally veteran Kevin Mills turned his recent struggles around coming up with huge hits such as his go ahead double late in the game vs the Steemers. The Rangers exceeded expectations, as no poll had them ranked higher than 8^th. The team believes it could have gone farther too if Sean Oneil would have shown up for their Sunday morning game. “He is a vital asset to this team. We needed his defense and needed his trash talk even more. The Monstars did not deserve that win.”-Kevin Mills. Although the disappointing finish the Pittsburgh Rangers have made a name for themselves and now plan to compete with wiffleballs elite programs such as Chapel Hill, the Boss Squad, and former greats like the Magic Walri and Kekambas. Dan Hammond seemed very pleased with his teams performance and had this to say,” When you have a team who wants to win and wants to play…You’ll win. We kept our heads up and made one hell of a run.”

Playmakers

Anthony Bianco- Most Clutch Player Ben Colabrese Jack Counahan Dane Brawlich Rob Sittig- Gold Glove

6^th Place- Wins: 3 Losses: 2. Runs For: 20 Runs Against: 20

Tournament Road

W vs Green Street 4-2 L vs Boss Squad 5-10 F7 W vs Green Street 4-3 W vs Team FRESH 5-0 L vs USA 2-5

Team Overview: Going into the tournament wiffleball expersts had the Playmakers as a solid team but knew if they were going to make any noise, veteran captain Anthony Bianco would have to take the team on his shoulders. That’s exactly what he did. Most experts had the Playmakers droping their first round game to Green Street then making a little noise in the losers bracket finishing 2-2. Well Bianco made sure that wasn't the case hitting two walk off home runs both against Rookie of the Year Anton Constantino and his Green Street Hooligans. Bianco also had decent stuff on the mound holding powerful teams such as USA and Boss Squad to a low run total. The turning point in this tournament for the Playmakers was their round 2 match vs Boss Squad. The Playmakers had the #2 team on the ropes and Ben Colabrese was presented with a situation that most wiffleball players can only dream of. Tie game, bottom of the 6^th, 1 out, bases loaded, and a full count. The Playmakers are one pitch away from pulling the biggest upset of the 2010 tournament and Boss Squad is one pitch away from blowing the game, their title hopes, and their reputation. Colabrese had been hitting the ball well and homered earlier while Peluso was rather wild on the hill and had Wentz on the brink of an emotional breakdown. The wind and the pitch and the ball is coming in for a strike, Colabrese takes a hefty cut but misses and the game goes into extra inning where Boss Squad gets a few hits along with some Playmaker errors to send the Playmakers off to the losers bracket. The Playmakers played well with clutch hitting and pitching from Bianco along with some timely hits from Colabrese and Bralich who nearly hit a walk off HR himself. Sittig played the best defense of the tournament and Counahan improved his play as the games went on. The fact of the matter is the Playmakers were good but just did not have the talent or the depth to compete with the big boys.

Team Fresh

James Meeker Justin Datillo RJ Colabreese Jim Burnham David Severino

7^th Place- Wins:2 Losses: 2. Runs For: 13 Runs Against: 19

Tournament Road

L vs Dunkin Donut Danglers 6-9

W vs Young Bucs 1-0

W vs Dunkin Donut Danglers 7-5

L vs Playmakers 0-5

Team Overview: Team FRESH finished right around where most wiffleball experts had picked them to. Being ranked as high as 6^th and as low as 10^th in pre-tournament polls, FRESH had some pressure on them for being the youngest team in the tournament. The team was lead offensively by captain James Meeker and RJ Colabrese proved to be their ace on the Hill. Burnham brought some experience to the team while Datillo and Severino struggled at times but showed tremendous signs of improvement as tournament play progressed. After a disappointing loss and a comeback that fell short in the first round, team FRESH had little hopes of a championship run. Things looked even worse when they were tied 0-0 with rival Young Bucs in the first losers bracket game. A young team with so much hype now had a chance to finish in last place. FRESH managed to squeak by the Young Bucs 1-0 and a rematch was set with their new rivals, The Dunkin Donut Danglers. The Danglers once again were up after 4, 5-1 and decided to take veteran ace Dave Dunton out and pitch Benner. Benner was lit up and all of a sudden it was 5-5 when Dangler captain Dave Dunton turned to Kevin Kelly. Kelly was rocked for a few more runs and Colabrese picked up the win as the FRESH offense finally played up to its potential. FRESH had players leave though before its next game and had a chance to play into Sunday but got pounded by the Playmakers. Sources say that the league was impressed with FRESH’S play and some even say they have the potential to follow in the Bombers footsteps in years to come. Reportedly Sean Oglesby is contimplaiting the idea of signing team FRESH and turning them into a Chapel Hill farm system team. FRESH would still play at the same level as the rest of the teams, but would be owned by the Chapel Hill Bombers. Meaning their uniforms and lineup would be provided by Chapel Hill and their name would change from Team FRESH to the Chapel Hill Baby Bombers. Players for the Baby Bombers would have the ability to be called up to The Chapel Hill Bombers and it would be an all around win win situation for both clubs. Chapel Hill would be able to train young prospects and The Baby Bombers would be able to learn many things and improve their game from the 5 time World Champs. Only time will tell if this deal goes down though.

Fightin' Indians

Dave Bailey Kyle Schwemm RJ Steele Scott Crescini

8^th Place- Wins:2 Losses: 2. Runs For: 11 Runs Against: 22

Tournament Road

L vs Monstars 2-8 W vs Reefer 9-4 W vs Hicks Forefit L vs Pittsburgh Rangers 0-10 F4

Team Overview: Dave Bailey, an original Chapel Hill Bomber and tournament veteran was back once trying to prove once again that him and his boys can play with the big dogs. Last year Bailey B- Team was hammered in both games. This year they put up quite a fight. After hanging around with the Monstars the Fightin Indians wanted to prove themselves in the losers bracket. They pounded Reefer, who is a talented team and had tournament veteran and Hall of Famer Nick Basara on the hill. The Hicks forefit their game to the Fighin Indians and sources say they knew their team couldn't compete with the veteran leadership of Dave Bailey so they chose to concede. A good call in the eyes of most wiffleball experts. Finally though depth caught up to them Fightin Indians as they dropped their game to the Pittsburgh Rangers. It was a decent showing for Day Bay and his crew, and all of us here at Chapel Hill Wiffleball look forward to seeing him back next year.

Dunkin Donut Danglers 

Dave Dunton- Surprise of the Year Max Benner Tim Zahren Kevin Kelly Pat Lynch

9^th Place- Wins: 1 Losses: 2. Runs For: 14 Runs Against: 26

Tournament Road

W vs Team FRESH 9-6 L vs USA 0-13 F5 L vs Team FRESH 5-7

Team Overview: The Dunkin Donut Danglers were a team full of character. Captain Dave Dunton had nasty stuff on the hill shutting down Team FRESH not once, but twice. Dunton also had words with USA captain Mike Foglio while USA red, white, and blue the Danglers away. Sources cannot confirm what exactly was said but what is known is that the words were not friendly. Max Benner blew things on the hill but was an offensive powerhouse throughout the tournament, while Kevin Kelly opened some eyes as well with his impressive play at the plate. He hit leadoff and had power as well, look for him as a key pickup on a team next year. Pat Lynch showed he IS a better offensive threat than his twin brother, pounding the ball here in his Wiffleball World Series debut. Finally comes Tim Zahren. Zahren showed signs of Manny being Manny in this years tournament. He impressed wiffleball experts with his power at the plate, hitting multiple gap shots and balls to the wall, but what experts were not impressed with was his hustle. Zahren chose to watch his balls split outfielders and walk to first base instead of hustling for extra bases. One Wiffleball Today™ on-field annalist had this to say,”Zahren has raw talent. Im amazed by what this kid can do the bat but his lack of hustle is an absolute disgrace to the game. That kid dosen’t deserve to walk on the hallow ground that is Espe Park.” Another expert had this to say,” He’s simply not a team player. He’s getting all caught up in the hype and he just embarrassed himself on the biggest stage in wiffleball.” Although he has his critics, Zahren kept the Danglers in many games. Dunton put together one hell of a squad this year and if they don’t take Dunton out in that second game vs FRESH, and Zahren shows some hustle, the Dunkin Donut Danglers could have done big things this year.

The Hicks

Mike Locke Matt Locke Gary Allen Derrick Allen Mario Posteraro Zach Runzo Randy Morris

10^th Place- Wins: 1 Losses: 2. Runs For: 16 Runs Against: 12

Tournament Road

W vs Reefer 15-2 L vs Monstars 1-10 L vs Fightin Indians Forefit

Team Overview: The Hicks hands down had the most raw power in the tournament. This power showed in the 15-2 stomping of Reefer. The power was there obviously, the pitching lacked as one can see when the Monstars put up 10, and finally for the second year in a row the DEDICATION is lacking. The Hicks pay their $30 to get in but drop out after 2 games for the second straight year. When asked about his teams dedication, rookie Mario Posteraro had this to say,” You know im impressed by this tournament and I was impressed by our big win in the first round. But this team can’t pull this bull shit. I am the ALL STAR representative from the Hicks and I believe I deserve better. I wanna be on a team that actually plays next year so I can get my name in them Chapel Hill Record Books.” When asked if he thought Posteraro was an all star, USA captain Mike Foglio just shook his head and walked away in disgust. As for the rest of the Hicks both Lockes played well, Allen and Morris went yard, and Runzo made and unbelievable catch to rob Cammarata of a homerun. They were a talented team that simply lacks dedication to this great game.

Green Street Hooligans

Anton Constantino- Rookie of the Year Chris Conti Cliff Dietrick Mike Smolinski