TWINSBURG, Ohio — After a year on hiatus, the World Series of Wiffle Ball returned to Twinsburg at Liberty Park this weeked with 114 teams turning out to take a swing at the title across six different age divisions in the two-day tournament.
“Everybody started probably on a wiffle ball field,” said Twinsburg Baseball League president Chris Hojdar. “The thing is, that’s why we have grown men playing because it’s something they can continue playing as well.”
For the last seven years the tournament has helped provide funding for the Twinsburg Baseball League, from equipment to facilities.
“It was basically a bunch of us sitting at the board looking at ways to increase our revenue for the league because we knew we needed more field space,” Holder said. “It allowed us to raise enough money to put a field in. It took us about five solid years to raise the money, but we were able to build that field. Now we’re looking to turf one of these fields because we live in Northeast Ohio.”
Each team is made up of three to four players, competing in four-inning games on 11 different fields set up across Liberty Park in Twinsburg. Age groups were 7-9 years old, 10-12 years old, 13-15 years old, 16-29 years old, a 30-plus age group and a women’s group.
“It’s just fun. You don’t have to worry. It’s just waffle ball,” said 9-year-old Salvatore Gliozzo. “It’s surprising. I never thought that I’d meet people and play wiffle ball with them in the future.”
Every team started the weekend with two random pool-play games. Teams from Saturday that went either 2-0 or 1-1 got seeded into a bracket for Sunday’s competition.
“Wiffle ball, it’s just a game, but it’s awesome,” said Drew Flemming from Medina. “Everything about it. The sliders move more and it’s easier to throw crazier pitches at younger ages without consequences permanently. And hitting bombs, who doesn’t love hitting bombs?”
Teams from seven different states showed up for the event that had to actually turn away teams this year because of space. The World Series of Wiffle Ball started with 70 teams and could expand beyond its current footprint in the future.
“We look at Twinsburg baseball as an opportunity to play youth sports. If anything, just to get active,” Hojdar said. “Especially, after a COVID year. This was a great opportunity to get kids outside doing something that’s fun.”
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