New name. Same old game. The captains of the former AWL voted unanimously for the league name change to the Black Top Wiffleball League. The league name change comes as a result of the lack of originality of the former name. The new name highlights the uniqueness of the league, seeing it is one of the few, if not only league in the United States that plays on the pavement.

With the new name and logo, the 2011 season is officially underway. As of now, the BTWL website is ranked #21 on the National Wiffleball website, and we are #1 in the state of Massachusetts. To be able to have nationally ranked teams and players, the league will need to be updated more than ever. Look for pre-season power rankings, columns, game recaps, videos, pictures and more.

With the season only a month away, here are some stories headlining the upcoming 2011 season.

1. Can the Chicago White Sox gain legitimacy?

After shocking the wiffleball world in 2010, the White Sox are out to prove that their BTWL championship was no joke. During the regular season, captain Jim Sarkisian had one his worst year’s at the plate and on the mound, falling way below the Mendoza line, and having an ERA over 5.00. The playoffs were a polar opposite not only for Sarkisian, but for the rest of the White Sox roster. Sarkisian allowed one run on three hits in 21 innings pitched during the 2010 playoffs. Greg Sullivan’s bat came alive in the playoffs, and his pitching dominance, which he had in years past, came back at the right time. The White Sox proved that they have the skills to win the championship, but can they translate those skills into a good regular season? The Sox have yet to have a regular season above .500 in their history, but getting above this line could prove that last’s years championship was no fluke.

2. Will the Nationals find a pitching staff that works?

Last year, the Washington Nationals struggled to find a pitching rotation, and this hurt them in the playoffs, as tired arms pushed them to the limit. Captain Tyler Galicia has been the ace of the staff since 2006, but struggled last year, posting an ERA well over 7.00. Antonio Leatham filled in for these duties last year, but failed to get the Nationals out of last place. Leatham did show some potential in his pitching abilities having an above-average pitching year, but does he have the skill set of the Nats’ number one? BTWL veteran Kyle Cross filled in for the spot start last year and showed some promise, although his history as a pitcher has not been as good. If Cross can pitch like he did in his starts last year, and Leatham can provide the team with six quality innings every start, this may be the staff that gets the Nationals back to the championship. Galicia went with this staff toward the end of 2010, so let’s see if he goes with them to begin the 2011 season.

3. Will the Padres, and most importantly Cayden, win a BTWL championship?

The Padres were the first team to win a championship in the BTWL (back in 2006), but have not reached the Promised Land since. The year after they won the championship, they signed Cayden Bengtson, who has been with the team since. Now with this signing, you would think the Padres would have multiple championships, but the exact opposite has happened. Is it a curse? Perhaps. But the 2010 BTWL MVP puts up the numbers every year. Bengtson and captain Dave Pierce have dominated the league since they came together in 2007, but the lack of championships makes you wonder if they will ever win. You can pencil in the number one seed this year to the Padres, but after that who knows?

4. Will anyone other than a Padres’ player win the MVP?

Dave Pierce’s run of MVP’s came to an end in 2010 when his teammate Cayden Bengtson won the prize, but can anyone else in the league win it? A few names on the short list of candidates that have the potential are Greg Sullivan, Antonio Leatham, and Detroit Tigers captain Tony Sciaraffa. Sullivan has had MVP-like years in the past, being able to dominate on the mound, and hit at the top of the league. These years were usually shadowed by Pierce in some way, which hurt Sullivan’s chances for MVP. Leatham also is an excellent candidate for the award, as in 2010 he was the first person to get the batting Triple Crown. However, his pitching needs to improve. If he can become the ace of the Nationals and lead them to a first or second place finish, he could capture the MVP. Sciaraffa also has a great chance to capture the award. He captured the Cy Young Award in 2010, having his best year on the mound, but his batting stats are just short of MVP numbers. With improvements to his batting stats, the chance is there for the Tigers captain.

5. Will the BTWL find a new field for the 2011 season?

After the 2007 season, the BTWL almost ended, but the use of North American Martyrs parking lot not only saved the league, but also gave them a place to play for future seasons. Little did the BTWL know, that 2010 would be the last season at NAM, as the field was demolished to build senior citizen housing for the church. The league is still in the process of finding a replacement field for the upcoming season. JB and Bethel will serve as the worst-case scenarios for the league, but two fields have the potential to be the new home of the BTWL. The league is looking into playing either at the St. Joe’s Rec Center parking lot, or at the Auburn Skate Park. The Rec Center is the more likely of the two fields, but the Skate Park provides the potential to not only be recognized by the town, but to have a permanent field for the league to flourish and to possibly expand. The captains are planning to meet with the Auburn Recreation Committee before the season starts to try to convince the town to invest in the league, and the sport.

-- Opening Day 2011 has come and gone, and the Detroit Tigers are the early season favorites right now in their display during the Kurt Bowes classic. The KBC is named after one of the best offensive players in the history of the BTWL, and this doubleheader tournament gives homage to the legend that is Kurt Bowes.

The highlights of the day's games include Tony Sciaraffa beginning the season reaching base nine times in a row. For the two games, Sciaraffa was 7-for-9, with five runs, three 2Bs, a HR, and five RBIs. He is currently leading the league with a .778 batting average, and a ridiculous .923 on-base percentage.

Another offensive highlight was the resurgence of Nationals outfielder Conor Rogan. Rogan went 5-for-13 with two 2Bs, 2 HRs and 7 RBIs.

As for the days best pitchers, Keith Leatham and Dave Pierce had the two best outings of the year so far. Leatham shutout the Padres in the KBC championship game, allowing three hits, while striking out five. Pierce allowed two runs in his defeat over the Nationals in the first round game, and he came in for an inning of relief in the championship game. In his seven innings pitched, Pierce struck out 10 batters.

Some milestones that were surpassed during the KBC were:
Keith Leatham's 10th win
Keith Leatham's 20th double
Greg Sullivan's 15th complete game
Conor Rogan's 75th RBI

**Just a reminder, the All-TIme Leaders will be updated after each game is put on the site.**

-- After starting the season 1-1, the Padres showed that they are still the best team in the BTWL by winning two games on Sunday. The first win was over the #43 ranked Tigers in extra innings, 2-1. Tom Sarkisian in his first game of the season hit a double to drive in Cayden Bengtson giving them the lead in the eighth inning.

In the second game, Bengtson pitched his fourth no-hitter of his career in a 6-1 win over the White Sox. Although it wasn't a great looking no-hitter (9 BBs, 1 ER), he shut down the Sox from any type of offense.

In the third game on Sunday, the Detroit Tigers looked to cruise to an easy victory after they took an 8-1 lead. The Nationals bats, however came alive, and tied the game in the bottom of the second. Conor Rogan had three home runs, while Antonio Leatham had two of his own. Rogan hit one of his homeruns, his 25th of his career, in the seventh inning to give them the 9-8 lead.

So after the KBC, the #43 Detroit Tigers will probably fall out of the national rankings, as they went 0-2 on the weekend.

Milestones that were passed during this weekend's games:
Jim Sarkisian's 30th complete game
Keith Leatham's 75th RBI
Conor Rogan's 25th homerun

-- In past years, the Washington Nationals have been the cellar dwellers of the BTWL. This year seems to be the year for the Nats though, as they won three games this weekend, and took hold of first place in the BTWL.

Their first win came in convincing fashion over the San Diego Padres, as Antonio Leatham spun a three-hit gem. Their second game seemed to be their second loss of the year, but a grandslam by Kyle Cross in the bottom of the sixth gave them the walk-off win over the White Sox. The third game of the weekend, had some thrilling aspects to it, as the Nats almost blew a six run lead. After Greg Sullivan hit a three run homerun to put the White Sox down one, it looked like a great comeback. Tyler Galicia, however, came in for relief of Cross and got the save.

In the other game of the weekend, the San Diego Padres won in walkoff fashion, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-1. Cayden Bengtson drove in the winning run, as Dave Pierce pitched a gem allowing no earned runs, while striking out 6.

Career RBI and HR leader Dave Pierce is still without either stat now six games into the season. He is the only player in the BTWL who has played a game to have no RBIs.

Milestones passed this weekend:

Jim Sarkisian's 300th Strikeout
Kyle Cross's 100th inning pitched

-- It took until the sixth game of the season, but the defending champion Chicago White Sox finally got their first win of the season over AL rival Detroit Tigers, 3-2. In a surprise move, manager Jim Sarkisian went to his spot/cleanup pitcher John Gasparoni needing to mix things up. Gasparoni came in for relief in the Sox last game, pitching two scoreless innings. His unorthodox pitching style baffled the Tigers hitters all day, as he went six innings, allowing four hits, while striking out one. Other than AJ Lindstrom's third inning homerun, the Tigers could not get anything going. Sarkisian and Greg Sullivan both had three hit games to help the White Sox get their first win of the year.

In the second game, the San Diego Padres and the #33 Washington Nationals went to a classic pitchers battle. Ben Rogan versus Conor Rogan. The RBI-less Dave Pierce finally broke the curse, getting his first RBI in the first inning of the game. Pierce had a great day offensively, going four-for-seven, with three 2Bs and the RBI. Reigning MVP Cayden Bengtson drove in two runs for the Padres, who did all of their scoring in the first inning. The Nationals hot bats, which got them their #33 ranking, cooled down immensely with the elder Rogan on the mound. Captain Tyler Galicia went 0-for-5, and Antonio Leatham and C. Rogan each went 2-for-5. The Padres went on to win the game 4-1.

With this weekend's pitching matchups, the question now is will slower pitching become the new trend in the BTWL? Two dominate performances by B. Rogan and Gasparoni seems to show that slower pitching can still be very effective. Pitching wins leader Galicia, who has a history of slower than normal pitching, is having his best year on the bump, with a 3-0 record and a save.

As the season passes the 1/3 mark, it will be interesting to see what will happen with regards to this new form of pitching.

-- After starting the year off slow, White Sox pitcher Greg Sullivan went back to his old form shutting down the #4 San Diego Padres by no-hitting them in the 6-0 win. Sullivan went six innings with no hits, no runs, eight K's, and four BB's. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a homerun, two RBIs and two runs scored. Free agent Andrew Nawn got two hits including a home run helping to pad the lead. The win gave the White Sox their second win of the season.

The other two big stories this weekend were the continued dominance of pitchers Dave Pierce and Tyler Galicia. Galicia pitched a complete game, 1-0 shutout over the White Sox allowing four hits. PIerce got his win thanks to his own bat. The BTWL career leader in home runs got his first two of the season in their 6-5 win over the Tigers. The Cy Young race is heating up between these two captains as they both are now 4-0 on the year.

In a makeup game on Thursday 6/23, the Tigers beat the White Sox 7-4. Free agent Kyle Reis, in his first BTWL game, went 3-for-7 with three RBIs including a two RBI double to put the Tigers ahead in the game.

Details about the all-star game and schedule will be out sometime later this week as a decision needs to be made about the error in the schedule.

**Also the Sunday games are always 12:00 and 1:30 not what the site says.**

After a brutal first inning in which sudden Cy Young candidate Ty Galicia allowed 5 earned, including a grand slam to Detroit role player Kyle Reis, he settled down to earn his fifth victory in as many starts. In a surprise move by captain Tony Sciaraffa, Reis took the bump to begin the game and got out of a bases loaded jam early in the first before being rocked for 7 runs in the 2nd inning. Perennial MVP candidate Antonio Leatham got the scoring started in second frame with a deep two-run shot to right and immediately followed that up with a grand slam later in the inning. Conor Rogan continued the scoring in the third, tallying his 6th bomb of the year with a 2 run shot to greet reliever Sciaraffa, who came in after Reis' struggles. Leatham capped the scoring in the top of the 6th with another two run shot to right center to send the Nats to 7-2 on the year.

Milestones Reached:
Tony Sciaraffa - 300 K's
Tyler Galicia - 30th Complete Game
-TG

On a scorching day at JB, current MVP frontrunners Antonio and Keith Leatham were matched up on the rubber for a game between the Nationals and Tigers. Both pitchers seemed on their game for the majority, until an errant throw led to the Tigers first run in the top of the 3rd. With a potent offense, the Nats figured to scratch back, but the elder Leatham led the Tigers to victory by continually quieting the Nationals bats and keeping them at bay while scattering only 5 hits, 3 from Ty Galicia. The game then got away in the top of the 6th, which saw AJ Lindstrom continue his bounce back season with a double and later a two-run shot off the foul pole in left.

Milestones Reached:
Antonio Leatham - 10th complete game
Keith Leatham - 100th career hit

-TG

Due to scheduling conflicts and makeups, the Tigers and Nationals were matched up for the third straight game. This put Keith Leatham on the rubber against the undefeated Ty Galicia, with the former just coming off a complete game gem vs the Nats a week prior. After a relatively quiet first in which Galicia allowed an RBI single to Leatham, the Nats quickly responded with 4 straight hits to lead off the inning and 3 runs of their own. Then it was all downhill for Galicia on the bump. The Tigers blew the doors open in a 7 run second which saw the first 9 runners reach base safely, including two-run homers by newcomer Kyle Reis, and rookie Paul Latino. Reis would later go deep again in the 4th, which subsequently ended Galicia's day on the mound, and potentially his run at his second Cy Young. AJ Lindstrom continued his surprising season with 3 more hits, including a solo shot in the 6th. Lost in all the flurry of the Tigers offense, MVP candidate, and potential frontrunner, Antonio Leatham continued his dominating season with another 3 home runs, 2 doubles and 6 RBI in a 5-6 day at the plate. This brings Leatham's HR total to 10, and with a potential 7 games left, this leaves the all-time single season HR record very much in sight for the reigning silver slugger. Additionally, he once again leads all triple-crown categories among those who currently qualify, as he tries to win that prestigious award for the 2nd straight season and consequently, the 2nd winner in BTWL history.

-TG

In the always classic pitchers duel, Tony Sciaraffa took on Jim Sarkisian. Sciaraffa led things off for the Tigers scoring from second base on a single by Paul Latino giving the Tigers the early 1-0 lead. The Tigers added another run on an error by John Gasparoni pushing the Tigers lead to two runs.

Sciaraffa performed well on the mound as well, going four scoreless innings before surrendering a run to Sarkisian with an RBI single down the third base line. Even after the hit, with runners on first and second, Sciaraffa got the next two batters out ending the White Sox only rally.

Sarkisian had a better than his normal performance on the mound, only allowing three earned runs, while striking out five. Sciaraffa ended his day with a two run home run in the top of the sixth inning. He was 4-for-5 on the day, with three runs, a double, a home run and two RBIs.

-JS

After a long break from their last game, the Padres took the field against the current power house team of the BTWL, the Washington Nationals. The Padres jumped on board first when Cayden singled in Davis from second to go up 1-0. That seemed to be all the Padres needed in this one as Cayden went back to his old form giving up just one hit and 3 walks. He shut down both potential MVP candidates Antonio, and Conor allowing himself to creep into the race. Cayden hit for the 2nd cycle in BTWL history only to be put in the record books with fellow BTWL slugger Keith. The game showed promise of a turn around for the Padres in the second half of the season.

Davis is 9 hits shy of 200
Cayden is 3 strikeouts shy of 200

-DP

On a perfect July evening at newly minted McCann field, the Padres thrashed the White Sox in a game that featured 17 hits by the 3 man Padres lineup. Due to the lack of their regular #2 pitcher, Greg Sullivan, the White Sox sent the easy-throwing John Gasparoni to the bump to match up against Cy Young favorite Dave Pierce. After a mishap on the basepaths in the first which saw Pierce bounce into an inning-ending double play, he would not be retired for the remainder of the game. He got the scoring started in the 2nd with a two-run shot to left, his 3rd of the season, and later followed that up with another tater in the 4th, and 2 more for good measure in the 6th off reliever Jack Rafferty, who experienced a rough go of it in his first BTWL appearance on the mound. Not to be outdone, Cayden Bengtson and Ben Rogan also homered off Gasparoni, and had 11 hits between the two of them. Bengtson also made BTWL history by being the first to hit a broken bat home run with his long drive to center. Pierce didn't let down on the mound either, striking out 10 and walking 3 in the complete game, two-hit gem. White Sox captain Jim Sarkisian made sure they at least got one run in, homering off Pierce in the 3rd with a solo shot to center. This sets the Padres at 9-3 and once again atop the standings in the BTWL, 2 games clear of the hard hitting Nationals. After the beatdown, Pierce's home run total jumped to 6 and suddenly found himself tied for second with Conor Rogan in the HR category. This game alone easily tossed Pierce into the MVP talks after a shockingly slow start to the season, despite his usual dominance on the mound.

Milestones Reached
Dave Pierce -50th Career Home Run

-TG

After an eventful weekend in the BTWL, the Padres, winners of 3 in a row and 7 of their last 8 find themselves once again clear favorites to take the league's best record as they now sit at 10-3. While the Nationals find themselves the antonyms of that story, having lost their grip on first and now 5 in a row.

In the first game of the weekend, the Nats matched up with the White Sox in what figured to be a potential chance for the Nats to end their skid. That quickly became a possibility after they jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the 4th. However, as Tyler Galicia continued to struggle with his command, the Sox waited patiently and struck for 3 runs in the 5th to take a late 5-4 lead. Captain Jim Sarkisian elected to go to lefty Greg Sullivan in favor of himself to close the game and seal the upset. The Nats, however, had other plans as they scratched for 2 runs and 2 hits off Sullivan to give themselves a chance for the win going into the bottom of the 6th. John Gasparoni then quickly added to all the drama and brought the game to an abrupt halt with a 2-run walk-off home run to deep left to give the Sox their 3rd victory of the season.


Not to be outdone, Cayden Bengtson and Tony Sciaraffa found themselves in a classic Padres-Tigers pitching duel in the second game of the afternoon. The game remained scoreless into the 6th and inevitably seemed to be going into extras, until Bengtson ended the scoring drought with a 2 run shot to right center to take the lead. The Tigers made things interesting in the home half of the inning, scoring one run, but having their rally cut short in the defeat. This is the third straight game in which Cayden has truly looked like his 2010 MVP-self, going 10-23 with 3 HRs and having gone 2-0 on the bump with a 0.50 ERA, 16 K's, 3 BB's and only 5 hits allowed.

In the weekend wrap-up, the Nationals looked to bounce back against the Tigers in a pitching matchup between Keith and Antonio Leatham. Ty Galicia quickly led off the game with a home run to right field on the 2nd pitch he saw, as the Nats hoped to nurse that lead to a victory. The one run stood until slugging rookie Kyle Reis tied the game for the Tigers in the 4th with a solo shot to left, and things all fell apart for the Nationals. After a walk and a double, Keith then helped his own cause by tripling in 2 runs, and then scoring on another homer from Reis to give the Tigers a 5-1 win in a fast-paced game which saw the Nats fall back to .500 after their hot start.

With only a couple games remaining, a few questions are coming about in the BTWL. Will the Padres regular season dominance finally translate to the playoffs? Will the Nationals and Antonio Leatham regain their early season form in time for the playoffs? And finally, with a suddenly wide-open MVP race, who will step up in the last few games to take the crown?

Milestones Reached:
Tyler Galicia - 30th career double
Cayden Bengtson - 200th career strikeout
Conor Rogan - 100th career hit

-TG

Check out the first ever episode of Non-Stop Blacktop. This will be a weekly show on the BTWL.

After being routed by them a week ago to the day, the White Sox tried their luck against the first place Padres by once again throwing John Gasparoni against Cy Young favorite and MVP candidate, Dave Pierce. And similarly to Round 1, this game was another rout with the Padres ending the day early by reaching the rarely used mercy rule. Early in the first frame, Pierce got the scoring started with his 7th homer of the season, belting a low liner just inside the left field foul pole to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Ben Rogan displayed some power by depositing a grand slam into the jungle gym, his 3rd of the season, and by this point the game was already out of hand. Gasparoni left the game prior to the bottom of the 3rd, with the game being 7-1, and handing the ball off to Sox captain Jim Sarkisian, who homered in the top half of the inning for the Sox' only hit and run. He didn't fare much better, by allowing 6 earned on 8 hits in his inning and a half of work. Some other highlights of the game saw the suddenly surging Cayden Bengtson collect 7 hits and 4 RBI to continue to boost his MVP candidacy, despite seeing his home run streak end at 3 games. Bengtson may be once again sitting in the drivers seat for the MVP run, as his sudden bounce back to form, both on the mound and at the plate, combined with the sudden struggles of Antonio Leatham place him in a good position to reclaim his title with either 2 or 4 games remaining, depending on how the captains choose to handle the scheduling conflicts from earlier. Also, check back early next week as we'll have the 2nd edition of Non-Stop Black Top, which will touch on these topics, as well as a segment on the impressive newcomer Kyle Reis, and an opinion segment from the one and only Tony Sciaraffa, which will likely involve him being a dick to everyone else.

Milestones Reached:

Dave Pierce -
200th career hit
150th career RBI
350th career strikeout

-TG

-- The #4 San Diego Padres may have started the year off slow, but they have won nine of their last 10 games. Their latest win coming against the #25 Washington Nationals, who have now lost five games in a row. The Padres started the scoring in the first inning, when Ben Rogan scored on a controversial play, leaving third base when the pitcher was on the mound. However, he was off of the base when the pitcher was going back to the mound, so the run is legal, giving the Padres the 1-0 lead.

The Padres put up another crooked number in the third inning. MVP candidate Dave Pierce hit a three-run home run putting his Padres up 4-0 in the game. Pierce drove in another run in the fifth inning putting his team comfortably ahead 5-0.

Pierce also pitched a stellar game as well, going six strong, allowing two hits, while striking out eight. HIs numbers in the last four games are 18-for-29, with six home runs, and 18 RBIs. He also has an 8-0 pitching record for the year, with a 1.40 ERA.

In the second game on Saturday, endurance proved key as the Tigers won the game, 1-0 in the ninth inning. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Keith Leatham hit a towering drive to left field walking off with the win.

The game was a pitchers duel between Tigers ace Tony Sciaraffa and White Sox ace Greg Sullivan. Sullivan got out of two bases loaded jams, while Sciaraffa worked his way out of one. Sciaraffa had to leave the game early, giving the pitching reigns to Leatham, who pitched two innings of relief, allowing one hit.

The BTWL would also like to congratulate Nationals player Antonio Leatham for becoming a father today. He is expected to make his next pitching start in this Sunday's game.

- JS

In the first game of the day on Sunday, the Nationals looked to end their tumultuous 6 game losing streak as they matched up against the last-place White Sox. They stormed out to an early 5-0 lead in the home half of the first behind 3 straight hits and 2 walks to lead off the inning, and didn't look back from there. Role player Kyle Cross looked strong on the mound for the majority of the game, and he was backed again in the 4th with a solo shot from Antonio Leatham, who ended his recent home run drought, and later a 3 run shot down the line in left from captain Tyler Galicia, who tallied 5 hits and 6 RBI on the day. The Sox tried to make things interesting during their last ups in the 6th, scoring 4 runs, but it wasn't enough. Despite the loss, Greg Sullivan had another strong day at the plate, going 7-for-9 with a homer, 2 doubles and 2 RBI.

In the second game of the day, we saw the rejuvenated Cayden Bengtson match up against the always dangerous Keith Leatham, in what was sure to be another Padres-Tigers pitchers duel. The game didn't disappoint as the Padres managed to take the game, their 6th in a row, behind the arm and bat of Bengtson, as he bombed a solo home run to center in the 2nd to help his own cause. Dave Pierce came into the game in the 6th to shut the door and preserve the win, earning his first save of the year in the process.

-TG

On a perfect Thursday evening at McCann field, Padres All-Star Cayden Bengtson found himself in an unexpected pitchers duel with fellow NL All-Star and Nationals Captain, Tyler Galicia. After a 1st inning solo home run by MVP frontrunner Dave Pierce, Galicia settled down and quickly got into a groove, striking out 5 and walking none in his finest pitching performance of the season. However, Bengtson was just a hair better, striking out 10 and not allowing a run until reigning Silver Slugger Antonio Leatham stepped up in the bottom half of the last inning with one out, sending a towering shot to dead center. Pierce chased the fly ball and dove into the grass, giving a valiant effort, but coming up just short as the homer bounced out of his hands, sending the game into extras. The game was seemingly going deep into extras, but as Galicia began to tire, Ben Rogan came up and sent a low liner just over the wall in left to give the Padres a 2-1 lead in the 7th. Pierce and Bengtson then followed that up with two eerily similar liners over the wall in left, their 11th and 8th homers of the season respectively. This marked the first time all season that any team in the BTWL has gone back-to-back-to-back, and it couldn't come at a better time as it ended the Padres season at 15-3, and once again in prime position as favorites to take the BTWL Championship.

-TG

Here's the much anticipated 2nd episode to the BTWL's new weekly show, "Non-Stop Black Top". Included are game highlights, interviews, news, and the new opinion segment, entitled Tony Reports.

-- With the No. 2 Detroit Tigers missing their MVP-candidate in Keith Leatham, captain Tony Sciaraffa needed to have a dominating performance to have his Tigers beat the No. 3 Nationals. The Nationals jumped ahead early, scoring their first run on an opposite field double by Captain and pitcher Tyler Galicia scoring Antonio Leatham and putting his team up 1-0.

Sciaraffa got his composure back and settled into a groove, keeping the score at 1-0 for the duration of the game while him and Galicia continued to duel on the bump. Both pitched brilliantly, allowing a combined 5 hits between the two teams. Then, with the game on the line in the bottom of the sixth inning, Sciaraffa approached the plate and hit a towering drive to left-center. The ball seemed to be headed over the fence for a game-tying home run, but Leatham came up with one of the top plays of the year. With one foot in play, he caught the ball and toe-tapped the remaining foot to assure himself of being in-bounds. The out was made, and the Nationals came out on top with the thrilling 1-0 win in game one of this best-of-three series.

FYI - game stats will be put in after each game, but player stats will be put into the site after the playoffs have ended. Season award ceremony is TBD.

-JS/TG

Week 3 of the new weekly BTWL show entitled Non-Stop Black Top. Topics include season awards, rookie Kyle Reis, and Tony's newly titled "Touching Bases".

When you think of the Tigers you think of one common thing....trash talkers. Tony ran his mouth before game one to Tyler and couldn't back up what he said. Before Sundays game Keith got into a little smack talking with other players in the league with the results being the same as when Tony ran his mouth. Game 2 was without Tony so all the pressure was on Keith. He struggled early on the bump, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. In the second inning Conor Rogan bounced back to his old form, smoking a homer off Keith into the jungle gym, then again in the 4th inning. The Tigers bats were silenced by the great pitching of Antonio Leetham. He allowed just 1 run on 1 hit taking Tyler and the Nationals to the finals.

-dp

Game 1
Game one of the Padres vs WhiteSox wasn't quite the matchup we would all expect. With Greg Sullivan out in the Cape and Davis' arm still bothering him you would think it would be a Jimbo/Cayden matchup on the bump. However Saturday's game featured 2-0 Ben Rogan vs. newly acquired Steve Sarkisian. Ben coasted thru the first inning while Steve struggled giving up a homerun to Cayden in his first homer of the post season. In the top of the second, Captain Davis Pierce had some fielding issues, botching 2 ground balls and dropping a fly ball to deep center off the bat of Eric Norman. He redeemed himself with the next batter by doubling up Jimbo to end the inning. From there on out it was all Padres, as the bats came alive. Cayden homered for the second time, and Davis homered as well. Ben just kept doing what he had been all season on the bump, striking out 2 and pitching a complete game 3 hitter. Final score Padres 7, White Sox 1.

Game 2
Game 2 was held on Sunday in the rain with Cayden on the bump against Jimbo and the game showed to be a surprising pitchers duel. Jimbo got into some early trouble with the bases loaded in the first, but struck out Davis to get out of the jam. Cayden was superb, breezing through the first 5 innings without allowing a run or hit. After the Padres scored on a Cayden single it was up to Cayden to shut the door on the White Sox. In the final inning of the game Cayden ran into some trouble walking the bases loaded with 1 out. Eric Norman worked the count and fouled off a few balls only to be struck out by the heat of the riseball to send the Padres into the Finals against the Nationals.

-DP

As Round 1 came to a close, the BTWL Championship round has been determined. With the Nationals sweeping the Tigers and the Padres sweeping the defending champion White Sox, the table is set for the Nationals and Padres to meet on the big stage for the first time in BTWL history. The Nationals (9-9, 2-0 postseason) led by Captain Tyler Galicia looked strong against the Tigers. They answered many questions by pitching two great games behind Galicia and Antonio Leatham, while only allowing the Tigers to score one run in the two games combined. Former Silver Slugger Conor Rogan looked like he did in the first half of the season, blasting 2 HRs to deep left. The two biggest concerns for the Nationals will be if they can continue to pitch well and limit the damage that can be done by the hard-hitting Padres lineup, and if they themselves can get on base and continue to drive in runs.

For the Padres (15-3, 2-0 postseason), it seems their biggest hurdle will be themselves. After a slow start to the season, they dominated the rest of the way, cruising to the #1 seed for the playoffs. They are led by former MVPs Dave Pierce and Cayden Bengtson, both of which are capable of taking over a game on the bump and at the plate. With that being said, the two of them have been together since the 2007 season, and that has resulted in zero championships. At this point the Padres must think they're cursed, but they find themselves back in the championship round with a chance to once again redeem themselves after handling the White Sox with relative ease, as expected. Another concern will be the health of Davis. He didn't pitch a single inning in the first round with back and shoulder pain after a sensational season, going 8-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 61.1 innings pitched. Will there be rust, or will he not even miss a beat?

Regardless, it should be a thrilling championship to cap off another successful season in the BTWL. Stay tuned and check back later in the week for Episode 4 of Non Stop Black Top, and game results from the championship.

-TG

After a long day of wiffleball down at JB, the Padres and Nationals find themselves each one victory away from hoisting the coveted BTWL Championship Trophy.

In Game 1, Captains Tyler Galicia and Dave Pierce took it upon themselves to try and steal a win and get the series started off on the right foot. In the top of the first after a walk to Antonio Leatham, the slugging Conor Rogan deposited a Pierce screwball into left for a 2-run shot and give the Nationals an early 2-0 lead. The Padres stormed back, however, with a Cayden Bengtson double scoring one, and a Ben Rogan sac-fly to tie up the game. The Padres would score a go-ahead run in the bottom of the 2nd with a Pierce double and give his team the 3-2 lead. That was all that Pierce and Galicia would allow, battling to the very end in a close game which saw the Padres hold on to beat the Nats, 3-2.

In Game 2, Leatham took the bump looking to save the Nationals season and title hopes, as he went against Bengtson. Both looked spectacular, dueling into extras with the game tied at 0. Leatham pitched 7 strong, allowing only 1 hit and zero runs with 6 K's; while Bengtson pitched 6 plus, allowing 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 9. The lone run came in the bottom of the 7th following a hit by Rogan, a walk by Galicia and then a Leatham rope up the middle which Pierce struggled fielding, giving Rogan enough time to round 3rd and score the game winning run in walk-off fashion.

The final game of the season is now upon us with Game 3, and the winner will be crowned the 2011 BTWL Champion. Game 3 is currently scheduled for Monday at 6PM at JB.

-TG

With a perfect evening for wiffleball, the Nationals and Padres battled for the 3rd time in 2 days to try and crown a 2011 champion. It was a rematch of Game 2 as the Nationals sent Antonio Leatham back to the bump, and the Padres looked back at Cayden Bengtson to try and seal the deal. After they both pitched brilliantly in a 1-0 Nats victory on Sunday, the two battled yet again. Antonio looked just as strong as he did Sunday, pitching 9 scoreless innings, walking 3, and not allowing a single hit to the strong Padres lineup. Cayden looked great again too, also going 9 scoreless while scattering 3 hits to the equally potent Nats offense. The Nationals, however, had a few more chances than the Padres. In the 4th, they left the bases loaded, and in the 8th they stranded Conor Rogan at 3rd when Antonio hit a deep drive to dead center which Dave Pierce managed to track down just in time before it fell for a hit. After Antonio struck out Dave to end the 9th, the teams discussed their options. With only a few minutes left of daylight, the captains reluctantly elected to conclude the thrilling championship game on either Tuesday, the 23rd, or Wednesday, the 24th at 6pm. Look for the captains, Pierce and Tyler Galicia, to match up in the 10th and perhaps beyond, as both Bengtson and Leatham have reached their innings limit. It should be an exciting ending to an equally exciting championship series.

-TG

After Game 3 was suddenly put on hold due to darkness, the Nats and Padres resumed their game on Tuesday evening in the top of the 10th inning, and if you blinked, you may have missed it. Captain Dave Pierce came on in relief of Cayden Bengtson and pitched a quick top half of the inning. He retired Tyler Galicia on a hard hit ground ball, walked Antonio Leatham, and then struck out Conor Rogan to end any sort of a threat. Then, Galicia came in for Leatham in the 10th. He quickly got Bengtson to fly out to center, but then walked Ben Rogan after a long at bat. Then stepped in now 5-time MVP Pierce. Galicia got him to fan at the first pitch outside for a strike, then threw a couple pitches around the plate to avoid any danger. But he made one mistake and left a fat riser right in the middle of the plate, and Pierce made him pay. He deposited his 2nd homer of the postseason to deep left, and just like that the Padres were 2011 champions on Pierce's walk-off blast. After perhaps the most exciting and nail-biting championship series in BTWL history, the Padres finally ended their 5 year drought without a championship, and Cayden once and for all captured his first championship. It didn't come easy, but Bengtson was up to the task. And because of his great pitching, he was rewarded with the 2011 Championship MVP.

-TG

After another highly successful BTWL season, it's the time of year that we all hate. We all have to go back to our respective schools/jobs/lives and forget about wiffleball until next season. However, we know none of us are actually gonna forget about the BTWL, and chances are we'll be counting down until the decathlon and the 2012 draft. With that being said, let's take a quick look back on the great season that was and get ready for a long offseason.

First, the Padres finally came together and won a championship with Cayden on their roster. After being the dominant force of the BTWL every season, the Pads finally broke their curse and captured their 2nd team championship and first in 5 years. The Nationals gave them all they could handle in the championship round, but the Padres weathered the storm and finally came out on top.

The White Sox dismal season. Captain Jim Sarkisian surely can't be pleased with the performance of his team coming off their first BTWL title the year prior and he definitely had high hopes and expected more from his squad. And quite frankly, we all did. I don't know if we would say that the Sox were expected to be a powerhouse, but we absolutely expected more than a 3 win season and being swept in the first round.

Tony's early prediction of the Nationals being the 2011 Cinderella team. We weren't sure how this prediction would live up to Tony's expectations, but the Nationals got hot quick and stormed out to a 7-2 start, looking strong behind the pitching of Tyler and the heavy bats of Antonio and Conor. They fell off at the end, but picked it back up in the postseason to sweep Tony's Tigers and come within mere inches of capturing their 2nd title in 3 seasons.

Speaking of Tony, his Tigers looked very average for most of the year. As usual, Tony and Dave lived up to their rivalry and battled in games all season long. But despite the Tigers efforts, they still only beat the Padres once, and that was in the KBC final. Other than that, the Tigers were steadily average all season. They finished 9-9 and never got more than 2 games above .500 and never more than 2 games below. Keith was strong on the bump all season long, and that led to serious MVP and Cy Young considerations.

And with that, here is the long awaited announcement of awards. Your 2011 BTWL Award winners are:

MVP - Davis Pierce, Padres
.422, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 43 H
8-0, 1.27 ERA, 75 K's

Silver Slugger - Antonio Leatham, Nationals
.406, 12 HR, 30 RBI, 10 2B, 39 H, 27 R

Cy Young - Keith Leatham, Tigers
5-4, 46 IP, 1.57 ERA, 12 ER, 10 BB

Gold Gloves - Conor Rogan, Tyler Galicia, Antonio Leatham, Dave Pierce

Comeback Player of the Year - Ben Rogan, Padres

Rookie of the Year - Kyle Reis, Tigers

Congratulations to all our winners, as each is very deserving. And don't forget about us! Keep checking back for news on the decathlon, the 2012 draft, a winter edition of Non-Stop Black Top, and some potentially earth-shattering changes for the BTWL. Never fret on the BTWL though, changes will only be for the benefit of the league and it's players.

-TG

This is Week 4 of Non-Stop Black Top. Our sincerest apologies that this couldn't be posted prior to the championship. But its still gold, Jerry. Gold.

With the 2011 season a little more than a month over, the BTWL has tournament teams in the Nationals Wiffleball League Rankings website. The BTWL Champions, San Diego Padres, are currently the number one seed in the Riser region of the tournament. The Washington Nationals also are in the tournament as the number seven seed in the curve region.

There are 32 teams in the small league tournament, so look for the BTWL to make a splash in the national headlines.

In addition, the Chicago White Sox were knocked out of the first round of the "Dangerfield 'No Respect' Tournament." This tournament goes to every league's last place team. The White Sox were the number four seed one of the four divisions, but were knocked out in the first round.

The fifth episode of the BTWL's show "Non-Stop Blacktop" is currently on hold, as missing tapes have caused a delay in publication. News on the final episode will be announced when it is available.

The career stats and all-time leaders will be updated in the upcoming weeks. Also, new for the league will be the archives. We will now keep game-by-game stats for every season from here on out. This also includes news items published during the season.

With the "Non-Stop Blacktop" program, the new stats on the site, and the national tournaments, it is safe to say that the BTWL is on the map for wiffleball leagues in Massachusetts. We are the #12 ranked website in terms of content and appearance, out of over 40 leagues.

Stay tuned for the tournament results with the Padres and Nationals!!

-JS

The first round of voting in the National Tournament took place this weekend, and two of the BTWL's four teams were involved. The Padres and Nationals. The No. 1 seeded Padres advanced to the round of 16 teams, while the No. 7 Nationals were knocked out of the 32-team tournament.

The voting for the next round of the tournament will take place this weekend.

-JS

Being ranked #2 in the rankings going into the Small League Championship Bracket, the San Diego Padres looked to go far in the field of 32. However, they were matched up with the #1 seed Rays and they were knocked out in the final four of the bracket.

The Padres represented the BTWL well making it far into the tournament, and with the Washington Nationals qualifying as a #7 seed, the BTWL is on the map. We also have the #12 ranked website on the leagues listed in the directory on NWLA.

More career stats will be done in the coming weeks and the fifth and final episode of the 2011 season is scheduled to come out by the end of the year due to major technical delays with the production of the video.

As of this update, the Hitting Stats are all done for the site.

-JS