Wiffleball makes its return this weekend

The White Lightning Wiffleball Tournament made its debut to a modest reception in the summer of 2005 and held a steady participation rate over the next two summers.

During county budget cutbacks last summer, the tournament was dropped from the schedule, but it will make its return this weekend.

"It was cut last year, but I was asked if I could do it this year as a contract event," said tournament founder J.P. Albert. "There are a lot of people excited about it.

"We've got four confirmed teams already and about six or eight more in the works. We'd love to have as many as possible. 10 teams would be a great turnout, but we'll see."

The fourth running of the tournament will start Saturday morning at Stodick Park with pool play and conclude Sunday with a single-elimination bracket.

Cost is $150 per team for teams of up to six players each. Players must be 13 years old or older to participate.

"We're calling it a four-game guarantee, but I think in all honesty you're going to see at least eight games per team," Albert said. "It's not that much work to get some extra games in there, so we'll just see how many teams end up registering."

The tournament has annually showcased the popular backyard game on small fields constructed in the grass at Stodick. The basepaths measure 40 feet in length, the pitcher's circle is 40 feet away from home plate and the outfield dimensions run 80 feet to right and left and 100 feet to center field.

Teams put four players on the field at a time with one pitcher and three fielders.

No catchers or umpires are needed as the pitcher aims for an 18-by-24-inch "strike plate" behind the batter. Any pitch not swung on that hits the plate is ruled a strike and any pitch that misses the plate is a ball.

Albert said he is toying around with a number of minor rule variations for this year's tournament.

"I'm thinking about just painting the bases into the grass, as opposed to putting rubber ones out there," Albert said. "I'm thinking about throwing an inning limit in there for pitchers so that a team can't just trot one guy out there for the whole tournament and dominate the whole thing. We'll see if that adds a little more fun and competition to it."

Another new feature this year will be a home run derby, set for the middle of the day during pool play.

"Teams will select their best hitter and each one of those will get 10 outs to hit as many home runs as they can, just like the major leagues," Albert said. "We'll take the top five from the first round and the top two from the second. Guys will get pitches from their own team. Hopefully it works out to be a fun thing."

Albert played for the tournament-winning team in each of its first three years but said he is taking this year off to simply run the event.

"We'd still love to have some more volunteers out there to help us run this thing," he said. "It's a good tournament, people have a lot of fun and it's been a success every year we've done it.

"It sounds like we might have a couple of new teams this year, which should be fun."

Teams can register through the Douglas County Parks & Recreation Department at 782-9828 through Friday at 5 p.m. Participants are encouraged to bring shade shelters, sunscreen and water.

A mandatory team meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at Stodick.