WFL CO-ED ​​SOFTBALL LEAGUE
 

WFL: A HISTORY

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The League started out with 7 teams to form the original Co-Ed league in the Spring of 2006.  The original members were the Bandits, Gold Rush, HereforBeer, Renegades, Sluggers, Stallions and Wranglers.  Comprised of WF employees scattered across the Carolina Campus working for HCS Subprime, Retail Prime, Wholesale, Collections, Loss Mitigation and Bankruptcy, the inagural season featured many competitive games and much excitement across the board.

 

Early on, Gold Rush and HereforBeer became instant rivals.  HereforBeer won the initial contest in a tight game, while Gold Rush took the 2nd regular season meeting to close out as regular season champs.  Gold Rush followed their regular season up with a tournament champion to capture the 1st of their 3 Regular/Tournament wins.  The runner up in the tournament was the surprising Stallions.  The Stallions suffered through a 2-6 regular season only to get hot in the tournament and upset the #2 seeded Bandits in the semi-finals.  The Championship game was a close one as Gold Rush scored in the bottom of the 7th inning to win the 2006 WF Tournament Championship.

 

Spring, 2007, saw much change in the league as WF outfitted only 5 teams for the 2007 season.  The Bandits, Gold Rush and Stallions returned for 2007, but gone were HereforBeer, Wranglers, Renegades and Sluggers.  Starting their first season were the Reversibles, captained by Dane Bayag.  With their debut in 2007, the Reversibles stand as the longest, continuous running WF team in league history.  The league included 2 independent teams for the first time in its history.

 

The story of the sesaon was much the same as the 2006 season.  The Gold Rush finished with a perfect regular and tournament records to win the combo title for the 2nd consecutive season.  The Reversibles and Gold Rush became instant rivals as they battle twice in the regular season and in the tournament championship with Gold Rush winning them all.  Once again, the Tournament title was a very tight game with the Gold Rush coming from behind to win by 1 run over the newcomer Reversibles.

 

2008 saw another year of the league being merged with independent teams.  For the 2008 season, Gold Rush returned with its most talented team ever.  Some consider it the greatest WF team in league history.  Several current HOF inductees were on the team as they rolled to another undefeated regular and tournament schedule.  With their wins, the Gold Rush finished with 3 consecutive Regular/Tournament Title combos...the only team in the history of the WF league to achieve that feat.  2008 would be the swan-song of Gold Rush as they disbanded after the 2008 season.  They finished with a 29-1 record with a WF winning streak of 25 games in a row.  All represent WF league records - unofficially.

 

Newcomers to the league in 2008 were the Loan Rangers, Low FICO and Chiefs.  The Reversibles and Stallions returned to round out the WF participants.  The Loan Rangers finished as runner-up to Gold Rush and was the only team to come within 10 runs of Gold Rush all season.

 

The WF league experienced huge growth in the Spring of 2009.  WF outfitted a total of 7 teams and for the first time in 3 seasons, the league did not include outside independent teams.  Newcomers that year were the Bail Out$ (merger of Gold Rush and Loan Rangers of 2008), Generals, Knights, Regulators, Wells Express and Young Guns.  The Reversibles returned for their 3rd season to represent the only team from the 2008 season playing in 2009.  The Bail Out$ picked up where the Gold Rush left off by taking both the Regular and Tournament titles.  The upstart Young Guns formed an instant rivalry with the Bail Out$ by winning their first game against each other.  For many of the Bail Out$ (who played for Gold Rush), it represented their 1st league loss in 28 games of league play.  The Bail Out$ would regroup to take the 2nd meeting of the regular season culminating in the 2009 Regular season championship.  The Bail Out$ would follow that up with a victory over Wells Express in the tournament final.  This season actually saw the Young Guns and Wells Express become a rivalry, as well.  Wells Express beat the Young Guns during the regular season and in the tournament to take the season series.

 

Spring, 2010, saw a little bit of consistency for a change.  6 teams from 2009 returned for the 2010 season.  The league had a total of 8 teams with the addition of Mortgage Mayhem and the Bandits (returning after a 2-year hiatus).  The rivalry between the Young Guns and Bail Out$ grew to epic proportions during the 2010 season.  Mortgage Mayhem made an early statement by upsetting the Young Guns in week 8 of the regular season during a 3-game win streak.

 

The Bail Out$ and Young Guns were originally slated to square off in the regular season during week 4, but a timely rainout pushed the game to the final week of regular season play.  The Young Guns entered with an 8-1 record, while the Bail Out$ had steamrolled their way to a 9-0 record.  In a winner-take-all game, the Young Guns prevailed in extra innings by the score of 8-7.  Some call it the greatest game in WF league history and it is difficult to argue as the game went 9 innings.  The Young Guns scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th and held off the Bail Out$ to take the regular season title.  Both teams would advance to the tournament final and the Bail Out$ extracted their revenge with a solid win over the Young Guns to take the tournament title.  It was the 5th Tournament Title for many of the Bail Out$ that played on the Gold Rush prior to the formation of the Bail Out$.

 

The 2011 season saw much of the same as the Young Guns and Bail Out$ staged a pair of great games to add to their rivalry. The season introduced some changes to the league with the 8 teams being split into 4-team divisions.  The League also held its first-ever All-Star Game.  The GOLD Division took the initial All-Star game by the score of 18-7.  Michele Wilson (Reversibles) and Coby Prondecki (Mtg Mayhem) - both from the GOLD team were named MVPs of the game.  In addition, Lauren Yanik (Young Guns) and Steve Downs (Reversibles) won the 1st ever HR Derby, while Lapriesta Ramsey (Young Guns) and Justin Porterfield (Bail Out$) won the Fastest Runner competition.

 

The 2011 season was highlighted by an undefeated campaign by the Bail Out$, who finished with a 13-0 record.  They ended the season on a 15-game win streak dating back to 2010.  In addition, the Bail Out$ ran their tournament winning streak to a league record 8 games.  The old record was held by the Gold Rush from 2006-2008.  Joining the Young Guns and Bail Out$ in the tourney final four were Wells Express and Mortgage Mayhem - both of whom finished as runner ups in their respective divisions.  SDA, Titans, Bandits and Reversibles lost in the 1st round of the tournament.  The RED Division took inter-league play as they bested the GOLD Division in 10 of the 17 games pitting RED vs GOLD teams.

 

While the Bail Out$ completed the 2011 season with a perfect record, they were certainly challenged along the way.  Wells Express took them to extra-innings during the regular season, but lost by 1-run after 9 innings (the Bail Out$ never held the lead until they won it in the bottom of the 9th).  The Young Guns held late leads in both matchups against the Bail Out$ - including the tournament title game - only to see the Bail Out$ pull out dramatic wins.

 

Many things changed in 2012, but mostly a lot stayed the same.  Some teams had to convert their names to a more politically correct name.  So...the Bail Out$ returned to their roots and became the Gold Ru$h.  Mortgage Mayhem became Play2Reign and went on to have one of the greatest regular seasons in WFL history becoming only the fourth undefeated team through the regular season.  The Young Guns made a slight change to become the Young-Uns.  Finally, the Bandits became the Blue Heat.

 

In addition to the name changes, the Titans returned for season #2 under Ryan Revier and everyone realized they had a budding superstar in Tabitha Wood as their SS.  Wells Express returned without HOF Don Ramadan but still proved to be a tough opponent for many and established one of the all-time greatest batting performances in league history with a 17-run barrage in the first inning in their Week 10 matchup against the Blue Heat (all but 2 runs scored before the 1st out was recorded by the Blue Heat).  A team from the Uptown location was established as the footprint of the WFL reached beyond the Ft Mill campus for the first time ever.

 

The season debuted on a somber note as HOF member Lauren Hodges suffered a season-ending knee injury that hit the Young-Uns lineup pretty hard.  The Young-Uns had an uncharastic season struggling to barely finish at 0.500 for the season.  They made an improbable run to the tournament championship game only to face their nemesis in the Gold Ru$h in a losing effort.  One of the bright spots for the Young-Uns was the emergence of Kerri Metzker who will form a solid core with Hodges upon her return to play in the 2013 season.

 

The class of the league in 2012 was not the Gold Ru$h.  Play2Reign ramped up its lineup created a buzz saw of the regular season.  They beat the Young-Uns twice and snapped the second longest win streak in league history when they defeated the Gold Ru$h in Week 6 of the regular season.  The Gold Ru$h had won 19-straight games up to that point.  Play2Reign's run would end as the Young-Uns gutted out a tough 12-10 win over them in the semi-final round of the tournament.  Play2Reign's 11-game win streak remains the Third longest win streak in league history.

 

Other notable teams in 2012, the Uptown Ballers quickly became a legitimate threat to the league by finishing the regular season with a 6-4 record and made it to the semi-final round before losing to eventual champs, Gold Ru$h.  The Gold Ru$h won their 7th tournament title and ran their tournament record to 18-0.  The Titans finished with an 0-11 record, but amazing led in all but two of those games...they just could not hold onto their leads.  Blue Heat started off with some success and then someone turned off the light switch as they finished 4-6 winning only 2 of their last 8 games.  Wells Express was probably the most entertaining team to watch in 2012.  Besides their offensive blasting in Week 10, they played in some of the most competitive games of the year.  They lost 4-3 to Play2Reign, lost to the Young-Uns in the 1st round of the tournament 11-10 among their tough losses.

 

As good as 2012 was...2013 may top them all.  The league's expansion has reached the CIC campus and it appears poised to add teams #9 and #10 to the mix in 2013.  Jeff Greissinger explains, "We placed a couple of postings on the campus pages for Ft Mill and Charlotte and I was overwhelmed with people interested in being a part of our league.  It is really quite amazing that we have grown from those 5 or 6 teams way back in 2006.  We probably had a total of 30-40 people playing tops in 2006.  Now we are looking at over 200 WF team members participating in 2013."

 

Greissinger tries to make sense of all of the logistics, "I hated to think that we would have to turn away people that are interested in being a part of the league.  Potentially, I was going to have to tell 40 people that we just had no room for them in the league until next year.  Hopefully, Mecklenburg County Parks and Rec will come through for us and we will be able to complete expansion to 10 teams in 2013 with the hope of expanding to 12 teams in 2014.  I believe that will be all that we could handle quite frankly.  Again, it is really exciting to see how much we have grown over the years."

 

Jeff Brown, captain of the Young-Uns, "It is definitely a huge success story..." when asked about the growth in the league.

 

There you have it...the WF League history from 2006 to today.  We enter the 2013 season with our highest number of players in the history of the league. We begin play with 10 strong teams that ensures that the competition level will be at its all time highest level.  With the addition of two teams from CIC and a second team from the Uptown locations, the league has extended its footprint beyond the Ft Mill Campus.

 

The year 2013 saw a changing of the guard in terms of the tournament title.  Gold Ru$h suffered their first tournament loss ever at the hands of the Wells Express in the semi-finals.  That set up a match up between the Young Uns and Wells Express to determine a new champion of the WFL.  With a dominant 22-11 performance, the Y0ung Uns cruised to their first tournament title and became the only team not named Gold Ru$h or Bail Out$ to win it all.  Play2Reign won its second consecutive RED divisional title and Gold Ru$h repeated as the GOLD divisional champs, but it didn't matter as the Young Uns dominated down the stretch and ended up with the big trophy.

 

The 3rd Annual All Star Game also saw a change with the RED taking home its first All-Star Game victory in 2013.  Led by Coby Prondecki, the heavy underdogs never trailed in an 11-8 win over the supposed heavy favorites from the Gold division represented by players from the Young Uns, Gold Ru$h, Wells Express and Hit-N-Run.  The Red fielded players representing Play2Reign, Stampede, Uptown Ballers, Blue Heat and Wells Sox.  Steve Downs of Stampede and Meghan Oldis of Uptown Ballers were named MVPs of the All-Star Game.

 

The surprise night was topped with the induction of two new members to the HOF - Lapriesta Schifferle and Ontrell McCray.  Other awards that were announced were the WFL League MVP awards with Nicole Miles-Todd of Gold Ru$h and Derek Hilst of Uptown Ballers taking home those honors.  In the All-Star Skills competition, Lauran Hodges (Young Uns) and Steve Downs (Stampede) won their second HR Derby (2011 and 2013 for both).  In the Fastest Runner, Lapriesta Schifferle (Young Uns) won her second title, while Jason Ma (Blue Heat) unseated 2-time defending champ, Justin Porterfield (Play2Reign) in the men's division.

 

Overall 2013 was a great success with the most teams participating at 9 full teams and the crowning of a new champion - Young Uns.  It will be difficult for 2014 to be better than 2013, but returning will be 7 teams from 2013 - Young Uns, Wells Express, Gold Ru$h, Blue Heat, Wells Sox, Uptown Ballers and Play2Reign.  The Stampede are being rebooted by Steve Downs into the Sidewinders for 2014 and the Big Red piloted by Nathan Smith will make their debut in 2014 as well.

 

Entering the 2014 season, a couple of teams were pegged as front-runners:  Young Uns and Sidewinders.  But the tournament ended with a surprising result as Play2Reign ended up as tournament champions after an incredible run.  For the 2nd year in a row, Wells Express finished as runner-up in the tournament.  This was the fourth runner-up finish for the Express in their history.  With a final score of 14-9, Play2Reign laied claim to their first ever tournament title and became the fourth team to win a title - joining Gold Ru$h, Bail Out$ and Young Uns.  They became the 3rd different team to claim the title in the past three years.  Parity...has now joined the lexicon of the WFL.

Coby had this to say about winning the tournament, "We kept improving each week down the stretch and played our best when it mattered most.  Getting Brandon Reidmiller back was huge, but every single team member played a huge role and they are the reason why we were able to come out on top.  It's been an incredible season!"

 

Play2Reign were led by their perennial All-Star SS, Coby Prondecki.  Prondecki finished a fantastic 2014 season by adding a Hall of Fame induction to his tournament title.  Joining Prondecki in the HOF was Kerri Metzker of the Young Uns.  Prondecki is the first player from Play2Reign to be inducted into the HOF, while Metzker is now the fifth Young Uns to be inducted into the HOF.

The fourth All Star Game was held this season.  The Gold Division All Stars won their third AS Game with a 14-9 victory over the Red Division All Stars.  Gold now has a 3-1 edge in the All Star game.   Brian Parker (Young Uns) and Tabitha Wood (Gold Ru$h) were named as AS Game MVPs for their performance in leading the Gold All Star team to victory.

 

As with previous AS Games, the Skills Competition led up to the big game.  Winning the Fastest Runner Competition were:  Jazmine Fields (Gold Ru$h) and Robbie Redic (Wells Sox).  Both posted record times in winning their first title.  Jazmine posted a time of 13.74 seconds, while Redic rounded the bases at an astounding 12.18 seconds.  In the HR Derby, a couple of new champions were crowned as well.  Meghan Oldis of Sidewinders and Lathan Washington of Wells Express claimed their first HR Derby titles.  Lathan add to go to overtime to outlast Mark Lisk of the Sidewinders.

In the All Star PreGame Ceremony several awards were given out to appreciative and deserving individuals:

 

• WFL Spirit Award (new!) - Tippareth Piper (Big Red)

• WFL MVP Award (F) - Tabitha Wood (Gold Ru$h)

• WFL MVP Award (M) - Jeff Brown (Young Uns)

• Commisioners' Achievement Award (new!) - Jeff Greissinger (Gold Ru$h)

 

So now we look forward to Spring, 2015 which will be the 10th year of the WFL.  Incredible to think that we have lasted a full decade.  It is a testament to those players that continue to return each year to square off with their co-workers on the softball diamond.  Look for some special recognition to commemorate our 10th anniversary of the WFL.

On a sad note, the league did lose a player during the season.  The Uptown Ballers team member, Crystal Robbins, passed away unexpectedly on May 7, 2014.  She will always be rememberd by those of us that were fortunate enough to know her and play alongside her or against her. 

 

Updated Feb, 2016:

 

The 2015 season opened up to 11 teams to kick off the 10th season of the WF League.  Returning teams were Play2Reign, Uptown Ballers, Big Red, Gold Ru$h, Blue Heat, Sidewinders and Wells Sox.  Two storied rivals were not able to return, so the Young Uns and Wells Express ended their long run in the WFL.  Young Uns won the league title in 2013 and was a frequent visitor to the tournament title game.  Wells Express was a 3-time finalist, but was never able to grab the tournament title during their history.  

 

With the loss of Young Uns and Wells Express, several new teams made their WFL debut.  One Hit Wonders, Wells Royals and Wells Angels were created out of the CIC site which was thus far an untapped resource of talent.  Finally, Airport Flyers joined the league to make 11 teams.  This was the biggest total of teams ever for the WFL in their decade of softball.  

 

The season did not disappoint as it contained many dominant performances and many surprising results.  After the dust settled in late June...Gold Ru$h returned to prominence with their 8th tournament title.  Uptown Ballers made it to the final on their upset victory over undefeated Sidewinders to match up with Gold Ru$h in the tournament championship.  Sidewinders had rolled through the regular season and first two rounds of the tournament with relative ease, but Uptown Ballers squelched the Sidewinders powerful offense in the semi-finals with a dramatic 4-2 win over the #1 seed.  

 

2014 champion Play2Reign made a good showing by winning the RED Division and making it to the semi-finals of the tournament.  Ultimately, they could not recapture that magic from the 2014 post-season run as they ran into a mirror of their 2014 run in Gold Ru$h.  Gold Ru$h suffered three defeats during the regular season which was their worst regular season record in their history (7-3).  They absorbed close losses to Sidewinders (who won it in walkoff fashion) and to Play2Reign.  Those tough losses seemed to help them during the post-season.  They avenged their loss to Play2Reign with a convincing 14-3 win in the semi-finals and then closed out Uptown in the finals, 8-4

 

As always, the All Star Night festivities were held.  This is always a big night of awards, competition and, of course, the All Star Game itself.  This was the fifth All Star Night and it did not disappoint.  The Gold AS Team won its fourth AS Game with a 7-2 win.  Captains Steve Downs and Justin Porterfield were the victorious captains from Sidewinders.  Sidewinders were well represented in the AS Game honors as well.  Brooke Norris and Mark Lisk both were name AS Game MVPs for their outstanding defensive and offensive performances during the game.

 

In the Skills Competitions, Redic won both the Fastest Runner and HR Derby.  Jordan Duvall won her first HR Derby, while Malai Walker was the female Fastest Runner.  Both Jordan and Malai set new records in the femal Skills Compeitions.  Redic recorded the first sub-12 sec time in the male Fastest Runner to be the 2nd repeat winner (Justin Porterfield).  Redic also sealed his first HR derby in 2015 to become the first person to sweep both competitions.

 

The traditional pregame ceremonies recognized several players for their outstanding seasons in 2015.  Courtney Buchanan and Robbie Redic were names WFL MVPs for 2015.  Buchanan ripped through the offensive season by garnering the women's triple crown in batting (AVG, OBP, RBI).  Redic set new standards in RBIs and Slug % during the regular season to become the league's male MVP.  

 

The WFL Hall of Fame also inducted its 2015 class with Tabitha Wood (Gold Ru$h) and Steve Downs (Sidewinders) both being inducted.  Tabitha has long been considered one of the best female players in WFL history with her defensive ability and offensive prowess.  Downs has been one of the premier sluggers in our league through many years.

 

The Spirit Award was renamed in honor of Crystal Robbins in memory of her passing during the 2014 season.  A league newcomer came in and was recognized for her plucky spirit and demeanor throughout the season.  Dairelyn Glunt of Wells Royals received the first ever Crystal Robbins Spirit Award for her great attitude.

 

The Commissioner's Award was given to two individuals that have been incredible resources in promoting the league throughout the years of their participation.  Jeff Brown (Uptown Ballers) and Justin Porterfield (Sidewinders) both received the Commissioner's Award for 2015.  Their efforts are usually not appreciated as they have worked with the commissioner behind the scenes in helping get the league organized and running smoothly throughout the season.

 

A return to prominence by Gold Ru$h, stunning losses to the defending champion Play2Reign and undefeated Sidewinders.  A team taking the next step towards a championship in Uptown Ballers reaching their first tournament title game.  6 of 11 teams finished with better than 0.500 records.  New blood being infused in the league with the creation of teams out of the CIC site.  2015 represented a lot of growth in dhe decade of the WFL.  From humble beginnings in 2006 with 7 teams (only 1 team remains from that inagaural season - Gold Ru$h) to 11 teams battling it out for the coveted WF Cup.  

 

The 2016 season opened with 12 teams, a brand new ballpark setting and a clear cut pre-season favorite in the Sidewinders.  The season proved to be the most competitive season ever for the WFL.  The biggest rivalry in the league played out one of the most exciting games of the regular season.  The Royals and Angels both battled each other for bragging rights at the CIC campus.  The Week 4 encounter lived up to the billing in a thrilling 5-3 game that was won by the Royals.  Other big encounters of the season involved Gold Ru$h defeating Sidewinders in a late season tune up for the tournament.  It proved to be the lone loss for the #1 seeded Sidewinders after a 9-0 start.

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Coming in Gold Ru$h was the defending champions which has proven to be a tough task as of lately with Play2Reign and Young Uns found out.  In fact, Gold Ru$h is the only team to successfully defend the tournament title in the history of the WFL.  The regular season saw 5 teams finish with 7 wins or better.  Play2Reign, Blue Heat and Collateral Damage joined Sidewinders and Gold Ru$h in the Top 5.  Gold Ru$h finished as #2 seed despite losses to Blue Heat and Collateral Damage in a crazy finish during the stretch drive that saw Blue Heat lose 2 of 3 down the stretch to finish as the #5 seed.  Play2Reign and Collateral Damage finished strong to capture the #3 and #4 seeds respectively.

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The tournament proved to be the most anticipated and competitive ever.  Round 1 set the tone with a big upset as favored #5 Blue Heat fell to the #12 seeded Wells Angels in a 16-12 affair.  The Angels continued that run with a stunning 9-2 upset of #4 seeded, Collateral Damage, to reach the SF round of the tournament.  Airport Flyers scored a mild upset over #3 Playe2Reign with a dominant 13-3 win.  #2 Gold Ru$h and #1 Sidewinders took care of business in Round 2 with easy wins.

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In the SF round, Airport Flyers seemed to have all the momentum and nearly took out defending champion, Gold Ru$h, in a dramatic 14-13 loss that came down to the last at bat for Gold Ru$h in extra innings.  Sidewinders battled the upset minded Angels in a tougher than expected 6-4 win.  That set the stage for a #1 vs #2 matchup in the finals.  Both teams had split their regular season matchups over the 2015-2016 seasons and everyone expected a tight, explosive game.  They did not disappoint.  In a tight, drama-filled affair, Gold RuSh was able to successfully defend its 2015 title with a 15-12 win.  Sidewinders finished the season with a 10-2 record with both losses coming against Gold Ru$h.

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The 2016 All Star Game saw the Gold AS win again to push their advantage to 5-1 over the Red All Stars.  This year was an open draft as divisional play was abandoned prior to the season in favor of round robin play.  The score was 11-9 and proved to be one of the most competitive AS Games to date.  Clint Layton of Wells Royals and Allison Koehler of Play2Reign were named AS MVPs for their efforts during the game.  Clint played on the winning Gold AS team, while Allison played on the Red AS. 

 

Other award winners were:

• Crystal Robbins Spirit Award:     Erika Garcia (Wells Royals)

• Female WFL MVP Award:          Tanya Wiley (Wells Sox)

• Male WFL MVP Award:             Zack Nichols (Uptown Ballers)

• HOF Class of 2016:                     Meghan Oldis (Sidewinders) and Joel Gearhart (Blue Heat)

• Commissioner's Award:              Nate Smith (Big Red)

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With the close of the 2016 season, long time commissioner, Jeff Greissinger, announced that he was stepping down.  After a decade of running the league, it is time for a fresh perspective on managing the WFL. 

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