By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
The Palos Elite team played last weekend in the World Wiffle Ball Championship.
The tournament, which was held July 15-16 at Memorial Park in Midlothian, is composed of teams consisting primarily of adults; but Jack Burke, 14, was Elite’s senior citizen.
Some teams have a mix of adults and youths, and a handful of teams consist primarily of children. Elite, which is made up of players from the Palos Baseball Organization, tried their luck in trying to bring the trophy to the Heights.
When asked about playing against adults, one of the players wisecracked, “They are old — we can take ’em.”
Well, maybe next year. Elite did not make it to the round of 27.
Clutch Players from South Bend, Indiana, won the tourney with a 7-5 victory in nine innings over the Granger Panthers. Teams from Illinois Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin competed.
Elite also featured Everett Seitz and Cohen Steele, both 11, Anders Steele and Henry Burke, both 9, and Sullivan Steele, 4, who served as the team’s manager.
Warriors compete in Cooperstown
The Westside Warriors 12U team from Oak Lawn had some wild games at the 94-team tournament held July 9-15 at Cooperstown Dreams Park.
The Warriors opened the tournament with a 14-0 victory over the Clarkson (Michigan) Riverdawgs, then toppled North Country (California) Mavericks Green, 21-8, and Bolts Baseball (Florida).
It got little tougher with a 13-0 loss to the Clutch (North Carolina) and a 13-0 setback to Beaver White (Pennsylvania).
That put the Warriors as the 32nd seed heading into bracket play. They beat 33rd-seeded Canon Mac Blaze (Pennsylvania), 6-4, and then dropped a 6-2 decision in a rematch with the Clutch to end their tournament.
The Clutch finished second the tournament.
The Warriors’ Adam Wilk made it to the finals of the home run hitting contest and finished sixth. Mason Hedberg was a finalist in the Golden Arm competition.
TCC softball coach steps down
Trinity Christian softball coach Amanda Fazzari announced she is leaving the program after five seasons at the helm.
The Trolls had their first winning campaign since 1992 this season, posting a 25-20 record and reaching the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series championship game.
Thanks for the coverage of the Wiffle Ball Championship again, Jeff! Good story.