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Presenting Your
2009 Wonders After a 3 year hiatus, the Wonders have announced their
comeback tour for the 2009 season.
12/15/08
Today marks a great day in Wiffle History, as one
of the nation's youngest teams has come to agreement in terms to take the field together one more 2009 Fast Plastic season.
Brett Morris, Jimmy Quartuccio and Dan Erhardt have all come on board for this momentus occasion, along with a new addition
to the old look: Joey Maduri of Gashouse Gorilla fame.
After the 2005 folding of The Wonders, Dan Erhardt was the only Wonder who continued his Wiffle
career, being picked up in free agency by The EC Brawlers and Gashouse Gorillas, each for 1 season a piece. He hopes to bring
his veteran experience and vastly improved pitching repitore back to the team which he started it all with.
Though Morris and
Quartuccio have not picked up a bat or ball in quite some time, do not think for a second that they will show any signs of
rust, as they expect to pick up right where they left off. Jim made a cameo last season in a fill in role for the Gashouse
Gorillas at the final two NJ NCQ's for the 2008 season. He was an integral role in both tournaments and has proven that there
will be no learning curve from being out of the game for such a span.
The season starts in just a few short months, will they be
ready to shock the world again? We can only Wonder...
Wonders Make Noise at NCQ #2
The Green shirts make
the playoffs for the first time; best finish in the team's short history.
5-20-06
It seemed that nothing could go right for the
Wonders earlier in the season, with their abysmal 0-3 start, and news of righty slinger Jim Quartuccio not being able to attend
the 2nd New Jersey NCQ on May 20th.
And then it all changed.
In a last minute move on Friday night, Brian
Erhardt committed to playing with the Wonders for the tournament the next day. With this pickup, Brett and Dan were more at
ease, knowing they wouldn't have to play a man down in the field.
Not that it mattered much this day. In their
first game of the day, a rematch against the rival E.C. WiffleBrawlers hailing from Toms River, NJ; Dan threw a 15 K, no-hit
gem. The game ended in a 3-0 decision.
In the next two games, they easily rolled the
new teams P-Town Nation and The Wolverines, 11-1 and 19-5 respectively. Brett Morris' bat exploded back onto the scene, hitting
5 home runs over the two games, all with men on base, including a mammoth Grand Slam to left against P-Town.
Going 3-0 into the playoffs, they recieved the
second seed. Poor pitching management made them sacrificial lambs to a superior Niff team, losing 10-0 in one inning. If Erhardt
hadn't pitched all 3 games to that point, the game could have been much more competitive.
All in all, the day was a big positive for the
team. It showed that they are capable of winning big games, and with a deeper pitching staff, they can definitely go places.
The Wonders finished 6th out of the 18 teams,
and recieved 14 FP3, bumping their season total to 17. They are currently tied for 14th in the NJ Region with Kane Park and
ECWB. Their next tournament will be June 17th, at NJ NCQ #3.
New Shirts, New Name, New Attitude
Recently spurning the
"Wiffled" from their title, the newly christened Wonders are looking towards the 2nd NJ NCQ on May 20th.
5-8-06
With 20 MPH winds, a 35 degree
temperature, driving rain and arguably the toughest draw of the tournament (Thunder, Mud Ducks, and Doom); the Wonders were
looking down the barrel of a very, very loaded gun at NJ NCQ #1 on April 22nd.
At least they looked nice
in their new jerseys.
Going into the tournament,
the Wonders knew they would have their hands full, but there were still high expectations for this precocious squad. Unfortunately
on this day, those expectations would not be met, but crushed. Shut out in all three games, there was not much to cheer about
from the Wonders camp.
The only positive taken out
of the day was the valiant pitching performance Jim Quartuccio put out against Doom. His pitching has vastly improved from
last season, and is now a respectable #2 man on the rotation.
Dan Erhardt has been making
some noise recently at Kane Park, with a stellar showing last Wednesday, his line was, 9 Innings Pitched, 14 K’s, 2 runs allowed, and hit 2 homers from the other side of the dish. If he can keep
it up, he may have an outside chance of securing himself a spot on one of the new 3 New Jersey Area FP PRO teams.
In just 12 days, the boys in green will be taking the field once again, with even higher expectations
and serious intent to do some major damage.
Off-Season Hot Stove Report
10-24-05
The Off-Season is just heating up in Wonder-Land, with potential acquisitions and a prospect for
a winter-ball indoor league.
Chris Vasilakis, righty slinger of the ECWB has made a verbal commitment to the WIffled Wonders,
pending on whether or not ECWB will be returning to FastPlastic action in the spring of '06. The thought of adding the established
pitcher to the Wonders already solid staff could be just the thing they need to avoid a dreaded Sophomore Slump.
The Wonders are also looking into starting up an Off-Season-Season with some teams from FastPlastic,
to play indoors at Grand Slam Sports Complex in South Plainfield. More information will be provided on that as it comes through.
Wonders Improve, Start Intrasquad Season
8-11-05
With how the Wonders' inaugural season has gone, some could venture to say that it was a blessing to
be over with it all at the fourth and final NCQ of the year, on July 30th. The Wonders had other ideas.
Opening their day with considerably easier competition in the Cracker Jacks, the Wonders rolled
to an easy 12-2, 4-inning mercy rule win, with Dan Erhardt leading the team with the bat, with two 2-run homers, a Grand Slam, and
on the mound, pitching a 10 K, 6 walk no-hitter.
After that victory, the Wonders were quickly taken off their high horse and were brought to understand
the harsh reality of an unbelieveably unlucky draw, facing the perrenial championship threat Hitmen, and defending champion,
Swingers, back to back.
Although they were beaten handily by both superstar squads, the Wonders took their lumps and played
some gutsy Wiffleball, highlighted by Jimmy Quartuccio's solo homer off of Swingers' ace, Anthony Balacich. And, although the 4th NCQ could have went better than it did, the Wonders did not let it get them down, as they
had shown much improvement since the first tournament back in April.
To keep sharp untill next Fast Plastic season, the Wiffled Wonders have recently begun their Intrasquad
Season. All players will play one another at least 3 times, and the player with the best record will get a bye to the championship,
leaving the other two to fight it out in a single elimination play-in game. The championship game which is slated to be played
on Labor Day, is a best-of-3 games format, with those games being played at both The Yard and The Grill. A special third venue
is in the works, but has not been confirmed as of yet.
Defending champ, Erhardt has taken the lead in the race for the bye, going undefeated in two mercy
rule games against Quartuccio and Brett Morris, respectively. Morris and Quartuccio have yet to play each other to complete
the first cycle of games.
Keep checking back in the News section for updates on games and other breaking information concerning
the Wiffled Wonders. You'll see it all here first!
Wonders Firing on all Cylinders at FP NCQ #3
6-27-05
Victory! The Wiffled Wonders have finally, after 2 excruciating NCQ's, tasted victory. And in rather
dramatic fashion, to boot. Coming from an early 5-0 deficit in the first inning, the Wonders battled back to win by the slimmest
of margins at the count of 8-7, against the E.C. WiffleBrawlers.
The whole team played as a unit for the first game of the day, with starter Dan Erhardt throwing
a a relatively solid complete game performance. Fielders Jimmy Quartuccio and Dan Rizzolo's bats could not be silenced, with
Rizzolo hitting the Wonders' first-ever homerun to right in the 2nd. Jimmy followed up the blast with a tape measure shot
of his own to left field, in the 3rd. Erhardt also had a good day at the plate, backing up his arm with his bat, by smacking
2 homers. The second put the Wonders into the 8-7 lead they would hold onto for the final inning. DH Brett Morris also contributed
with timely singles and doubles, his baserunners scoring 3 times, and knocking in an RBI or two. Homeruns aside, the team
hit very well and sprayed the ball to all fields with consistency.
Defensively, the Wonders were airtight, with minimal to no errors in the field. Erhardt could
have put together a more stellar performance than what he did, (5 runs in the first inning, 7 runs on the game) but it was
good enough to clutch the win in the top of the sixth.
All in all, the Wonders are glad to finally have that first win in the books. Although the rest
of the day ended in defeat, nothing could dampen the high spirits that were invoked after that first victory, they played
like a team and it showed.
July 30th cannot come soon enough.
New-Look Wonders Gearing Up for June 25th NCQ #3
6-11-05
Although the Wiffled Wonders' freshman season has not gotten off to the start that they would have hoped (a paltry 0-6), they've
been very optimistic as of late, with the recent addition of the stellar Hitter/Pitcher Dan Rizzolo as their new "go-to" guy.
The pressure doesn't seem to bother Dan, who is as cool under fire as they come. Rizzolo recently ended his baseball season
with second in the county, 7th in the state St. Joseph's (Metuchen) Varsity, batting in the 3 slot at a .374 clip. Rizz's
big bat is great news for the light hitting Wonders, who have sadly, scored the majority of their runs on walks.
Rizzolo isn't the only highlight on this newly retooled team, Dan Erhardt boasted a rate of 2 K's per inning (18 in 9) on
the mound at the last NCQ, on May 23rd. Although he suffered two losses, he pitched rather well, and only allowed 5 hits on
the whole day. Dan plans to rest his arm for the next 2 weeks up untill the June 25th NCQ, so he can be assured that he'll
have his best stuff for the day. Erhardt has been working on his control everyday, and in short time, he may be pitching with
the best of the Wiffle World.
Brett Morris and Jimmy Quartuccio both have improved their game from where they started the season this year. Brett's
power and batter's eye at the plate has only increased, and Jimmy's pitching and hitting has gotten exponentially better from
when he first broke into the league.
Overall, the whole team has improved from the opening of the season, and with every game under their belts.
The squad is planning for an open practice tomorrow, the 12th at The Yard, weather permitting.
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