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With Jet City, Galena Marsh, and Olive Township all folding, we will have 9 returning teams for the 2018 season. Â With wiffleball interest currently at an all time high, we had no issues finding expansion teams. Â
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In addition to the 9 teams returning, the league is thrilled to announce the addition of 5 new franchises to the Old Republic Wiffleball League.  Therefore, it is looking like we will be moving forward with an all time league high of 14 teams.  Here is a preview of the 5 expansion franchises!
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-Osceola Goats: Led by Manager Andrew Doran, the Billy Goats join the league with hopes of replicating what their friends over at the Granger Panthers have accomplished. Â The Goats will be heading to the National League and figure to be immediate contenders. Â In a small sample size, the Goats have had their success in tournaments and most notably took down Clutch Players in the FA Fall Classic. Â With some ex Panthers on the roster, this young team certainly will have a chip on their shoulder in their inaugural season.
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-South Bend Muffs: Â After a year off, the South Bend Muffs are back as Wiffleball returns to South Bend. Â South Bend teams like the Sour Wowers, and Cult West have had championship success and the Muffs are hoping to bring an ORWBL Championship back to South Bend. Â After playing a huge role in helping the Maple City Magic win their 1st ORWBL Championship, Anthony Rieff returns as the Manager of the Muffs. Â Rieff announced the return of the Muffs on twitter while also announcing that they had signed reigning NL MVP Aidan Cotter. Â If that holds true, the Muffs may end up being Maple City's greatest test in the American League. Â The Muffs also announced the signing of Zone 3 Captain Mark Richards who figures to play a key role for South Bend.
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-Saugany Lake Landsharks: Â After a year with the Hudson Lake Heat, Levi Miller has decided to create the Saugany Lake Landsharks. Â Miller will also bring along some of the Hudson Lake Heat reserves who will now have their opportunity to shine. Â The Landsharks will be heading to the National League but rumors are floating around that the Landsharks and Heat will be playing each other in an inter-league series in which old friends will become rivals.
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-South Shore Silver Sluggers: Also joining the National League will be the South Shore Silver Sluggers. Â This team has been known as A Case of The Wiffles during tournament play. Â Adam Cseh has been announced as the team's Manager. Â The Silver Sluggers will head into the 2018 season as one of the bigger question marks as they are a relatively new wiffleball team. Â However, we learned in 2017 that any team can come into the league and have immediate success like the Granger Panthers did.
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-Lake Michigan Mallards: The 5th and final expansion franchise for the upcoming 2018 season will be managed by Jeremy Ross. Â Ross who had tried creating Triple Crown in 2017 now gets his opportunity to run and manage a franchise. Â There is some uncertainty as to what the roster will look like, but the franchise is in good hands with Jeremy Ross who proved to be a valuable player in his rookie season with Great Lakes and Granger.