Wiffleball Wednesdays

Brian Furness wound up and fired the Wiffle Ball toward home plate, leaving Donny Irving spinning in circles and swinging too hard for a pitch that was too fast.

That’s the story for almost every batter who steps to the plate against Furness, a Cornerstone University sophomore, as he blazes fastballs past timid batters during Wiffleball Wednesdays.

Some batters blink. Others jump back thinking the pitch will hit them, only to see it drop into the strike zone. And many look foolish after chasing pitches outside of the strike zone with ridiculous swings.

That’s the case almost every Wednesday when Furness takes the mound and seems to dominate every pitch of every inning. He’s on a different level than everyone else when it comes to pitching a Wiffle Ball.

“Some of the pitchers are pretty good,” senior Matt Ward said. “It’s surprising actually how fast they can throw. It’s a lot harder than a regular baseball. It’s less predictable. The wind will take it more, and just because of the holes in the ball it’s a lot more conducive to spinning or wobbling around.

“Some of the pitchers throw sidearm and it will drift upwards or to the side. A lot of times the pitches will sink really quick at the end too, so it’s hard. You got to see how they’re throwing it.”
But that doesn’t stop other Wiffle Ball players from playing and enjoying themselves.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Ward added.

Wiffleball Wednesdays started this spring when several students realized how much they missed baseball. Cornerstone doesn’t have a varsity team for them to try out for and watching the Detroit Tigers wasn’t enough. So Wiffle Ball was the next best option.

“I wanted to do something that was related to baseball,” sophomore co-founder Darren Bennett said. “I thought it would be fun to get a whole bunch of people together and just have fun playing some Wiffle Ball and the community aspect.”

The league has grown from five to as many as 20 players at some points this season.
“The best part is the people who have been showing up and good, clean fun,” Bennett said.

Clean, and competitive.

Junior Kyle Cohen is one batter who’s had mild success against Furness, including a game-winning homerun against him early in the season.

“I feel like I’m from the Major League Baseball, and every time I go up to bat I do the Manny (Ramirez) approach,” he said. “My favorite homerun was my first one, because I’ve never really had a bunch of people to play with in Wiffle Ball. (When I hit that walk-off homerun) I thought I was the man.”

Cohen is also the league’s second-leading pitcher. While he doesn’t have Furness’ speed, Cohen has mastered the craft of pitching a Wiffle Ball and controls a variety of pitches, including a fastball, splitfinger and slider.

“If you can take advantage of the wind and still throw strikes, then you’re really good,” he said.
While yesterday was the last Wiffleball Wednesday of the spring, the players expect to have a stronger league running next fall when they return for school.

“Wiffleball Wednesdays…is a hit!” Dave Murdoch said, associate dean of leadership development.