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St. Cloud State University
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Sports
Wiffle ball takes flight at SCSU
By Ben Birnell
Published:
Thursday, September 26, 2002
Media Credit: Jason Risberg
Stacey Trushenski gets ready to hit the ball in the first intramural wiffle ball game Monday night in the Halenbeck Fieldhouse. Games are played Monday through Thursday nights.
The pitcher sets, checks the runners, and throws a slow floater toward home plate.
The batter watches the pitch get closer and belts the ball 50 feet over a 30-foot wall for a home run.
Sounds like a normal game of baseball right? Well, the answer would be no. Usually baseball fields are bigger, and stadium fences a lot shorter. So what is this mystery game? It’s your ordinary run-of-the-mill Wiffle ball game. The game made popular in backyards and sandlots is alive and well running as an intramural sport presented by SCSU Campus Rec.
Think back to elementary school, do you remember playing Wiffle ball in gym class? It’s bringing back great memories isn’t it. Wiffle ball consists of five innings played on a small field of play. The makeshift fence is 25-30 feet high, and if a ball is over the fence it’s a home run. If the ball bounces off the makeshift fence it can be caught, but not for an out (think Metrodome baggy in right field). What makes the game interesting though is that if the ball is hit up into the ceiling, it can bounce around as much as it wants and when it comes down it can be caught for an out.
Only in its second year as an intramural sport, Wiffle ball is just getting off its feet.
“Generally we have a league in the fall and a tournament in the spring,” Aaron “Butch” Fealy, Coordinator of Intramural Sports and Special Events said.
Fealy also stated that because the sport is in its infancy, it has not been a very big draw so far.
“We have six teams right now,” he said. “Ideally we want more teams. But as word spreads, and the more people that find out about Wiffle ball, that many more will be down here playing.”
The season runs three weeks and teams play every night. Fealy also said that the Wiffle ball league is a great time because anyone can play, and it’s a lot of fun.
Fifth-year student Jeremy Kiffmeyer agreed with Fealy’s comments.
“It’s a lot of fun because other intramural sports cause a lot of stress and frustration.” Kiffmeyer said. “With this sport, it’s really laid back.”
Kiffmeyer also said that with other sports you try to find as many decent players as possible, which can cause a lot of hardship. However, with Wiffle ball, you just throw a team together and go out and play.
“All we do is have a lot of fun,” he said. “Men and women are on an even playing field here.”
Senior Lief Wiechman agreed with his comments.
“I thought it’d be the easiest way to pick up an intramural t-shirt!” Wiechman said jokingly.
Wiechman went on to say that the biggest reason why Wiffle ball was so much fun was because all the other sports are so competitive, whereas Wiffle ball is relaxing and stress-free.
“It’s a lot of fun because there’s a lot of [trash] talking that goes on and no one takes it seriously,” he said. “It’s kind of a free-for-all out here, and it’s all just so much fun.”
According to Fealy, the league is very female participant-friendly.
“We allow co-ed teams and everyone’s level of play is different.” Fealy said. “We even have a pregnant woman playing, so it’s pretty much like your regular backyard game.”
Fealy also stated that an added bonus for the female players is that a run-batted-in counts as two runs.
“If she hits a grand slam, it would be worth eight runs,” he said.
Kiffmeyer knows all too well how that the eight run bonus can affect a game.
“The last game we played we were winning, and one of the girls came up to bat in the last inning and hit a grand slam,” Kiffmeyer said. “Of course we lost the game.”
