By: Rudy Lyon
“Post @NWLATournament Sunday scaries are all time.” - Tyler Flakne
Well, we’re a couple Sundays removed from NWLAT24, but the scaries still apply as we take a deep breath and look back at an amazing tournament gone by in the Twin Cities. And it was amazing for many reasons that a post-tournament recap article can’t fully encapsulate, but we will do our best to relive the moments that made it great!
2024 truly marked the first tour stop of the newly established NWLAT hosting system with the host site rotating every 2 years. This system was agreed upon in the fall of 2022 after Indianapolis opted to pass the opportunity to host the NWLAT to other eager leagues across the country. WILL hosted in Pittsburgh in 2023 and will do so once again in 2025, but that left the ‘24 campaign in the hands of the largest league in the country. On the back of that large player base and community support coupled with the natural beauty of Minnesota, HRL was a no-brainer to host an NWLAT at some point.
With that all in mind however, there were some moments when venue complications over the winter months left some mystery to whether Minnesota would get the chance to host. Thankfully, all things worked out nearly flawlessly. Over 60 players from across the country got to experience late summer wiffs in the Twin Cities for the first time while also seeing how wiffle ball is uniquely played at outdoor hockey rinks during Friday night’s Home Run Derby at Sky Hill. We also got to play on arguably the best all grass playing surface in NWLAT history with the pristine condition of the Harmon Park outfields and bore witness to the standard of excellence for custom fabricated lightweight K boards.
Once the first pitch of pool play finally thudded off those beautifully constructed K boards around 8:30 am Central on Saturday, we really didn’t know how much of a treat the 12-team field was in for in this year’s tourney. Gorgeous weather with cool mornings and comfortable afternoons graced our presence as one would expect in Minnesota in September. Teams eased themselves into the tournament flow in pool play as has been customary for years. Reducing pool play and tiebreaker complications this year, there were zero ties throughout the 18 pool play games! The host committee loves to see it. Reigning champ KWL, 2nd year team NWA, and legacy league SWBL all won their respective pools to secure top 3 seeds. Despite a pool play loss to NWA, CCW earned the fourth and final 1st round bye seed due to their run differential.
The magic really got going in DE with a handful of FANTASTIC contests between staple NWLA squads. In the four Saturday nightcap games, 3 were determined by 1 run. HRL defeated SWBL in front of what felt like a sellout Minnesota crowd. NWA battled newcomer Verona to a 1-0 win that included multiple immaculate peg plays on the bases. And CCW scratched across an early run against Leroy while Myc Witty threw 6 innings of 16K, 1 hit ball.
Sunday morning set the table for early elimination games that ultimately sent Shed, Yish, HRL2, and MNWA home despite MNWA holding a 2-0 lead late vs Skibbe. First time attendees Verona and MoWiff bowed out with respectable top 8 finishes in the following round.
Moving on to the final 4 were NWA, KWL, CCW, and HRL. NWA then advanced to their first ever championship game while ending Kzoo’s title defense with another top 4 finish. HRL and CCW faced off in essentially a 2-game series with the Dong Show winning a 5-4 slugfest that consisted of a 3 homer game by HRL’s Tyler Flakne and back-to-back-to-back home runs by the Skullcrushers loaded lineup. The Dong Show victory led to a rubber match between Flakne and Witty that would punch a championship game ticket for the winner. As one might expect the game was basically a hitless stalemate for 5 innings until CCW Commissioner Brendan Dudas hit a 2-run shot in the 6th that would put CCW ahead for good and into a 2nd championship game in 3 years.
That left the 2024 NWLAT championship matchup between NWA & CCW: the classic tale of a young and energetic team in only their 2nd year at the tournament facing off against a deep veteran-laden roster seeking its second national title. NWA made their run mostly on the arms of Landon Lawson and Patrick Baalman as they each threw 3 games across pool play and DE. Rarely has a team been able to make a deep tourney run riding just 2 arms, but NWA proved to be an exception to the rule. On the flipside, CCW had 5 different pitchers throw at least 5 innings throughout the tournament and that left the bulk of DE innings to the dual Skullcrusher aces, Myc Witty and Reid Werner. Notably, the CCW lineup and arsenal of arms were without reigning 2-time NWLA player of the year Will Smithey as he was reportedly sipping wine in Tuscany while watching tournament live streams.
Just like in the HRL-CCW semifinal, the championship was yet another 0-0 stalemate through 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, a pinch-hit single off the wall by Rudy Lyon set the table for yet another late game rally and clutch hit by Brendan Dudas. Just a couple pitches later, Dudas sent a slider over the right field fence to put CCW up for good on their way to a 2nd NWLAT cup. That home run by Dudas was his 4th on the day and 6th in the tournament overall- Those numbers would earn him tournament MVP honors. Werner did eventually slam the door shut on NWA in the 6th while striking out 15 batters and finishing off his second no-hitter of the day. By no means was it a perfect tournament like the 7-0 performance CCW put on in 2022, but the boys in the gold checkered pattern jerseys fittingly crossed the NWLAT 2024 finish line
We now turn our eyes back to the Steel City for 2025 as the host league WILL looks to capitalize on some new energy and momentum built in the Twin Cities this year!
Here’s a quick glance of some of the best games/moments/performances of the tournament. Of course these takes are all biased and one committee member simply cannot see ALL 41 games played during NWLAT weekend:
Best upset: Yish 4 HRL 3 beating host in opener with 5 guys (s/o MNWA vs SWBL too)
Best Pool Play game: SWBL 6 LWA 5
Best DE game: HRL 5 CCW 4 (8 homers: Flakne 3, Sibbet, Dudas 2, Jones, Alles (b2b2b))
Best individual performance: Werner’s no-no + GW bomb vs KWL in DE
Best moment: HRL over LWA in DE; home crowd was electric with host team down to the final out…Sibbet hits 3 run bomb)
STATS
Batting: Individual | Team
Pitching: Individual | Team
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