BY TIM IRVING
The Shallow Creek Conquistadors will have a little more incentive in this week’s Webster Major League Wiffleball game.
The league started with about 30 players from Webster in 2016 and has grown into 24 teams since then. The team names are based on the neighborhoods the owner lives in.
Joshua Honebrink grew up in the Shallow Creek neighborhood and was diagnosed with brain cancer at a young age.
“He beat it and everyone thought, hoped it wouldn’t come back, ” Hector Vargas, who founded the WMLW league said. But it did return last year, attacking his brain stem to the point of being inoperable.
Vargas and the rest of the league had formed Team Josh as a fundraiser and scheduled it last year for July 3rd. Josh passed away on July 2nd.
Josh receieved treatment at the U of R’s Golisano Pediatric Brain Cancer Center and the league benefit is for the Bright Eyes Fund to help families going through the same thing.
Wiffleball combines some baseball and kickball rules in the 30 minute contests. They play “pitcher’s poison” where, if the ball enters the pitcher’s box before the runner reaches first, the player is out, you can also hit the runner with the ball to get them out.
And with several former and current Webster baseball players (the league is open to ages 14 and up, male and female), there are home runs.
There are eight games on Friday as part of the final week of the regular season and sponsors can pledge money per home run, accumulated all evening. Vargas said, “we had 24 home runs last year so that’s a big part of it.”
The Shallow Creek team plays in the finale at 8:45pm against the Buttermilk Beets. The Conquistadors will wear special orange (Josh’s favorite color) uniforms. “We have about 70 uniforms made, so the extras are sold along with t-shirts and wristbands, “Vargas said. They will also have a 50-50 raffle and raffle baskets along with concessions.
All to remember Josh.
“He would have graduated this year and his parents were going to bring him out to watch some games last season before his condition worsened, so Friday is important to them and to everybody, ” Vargas said.
The first game is at 5:00 on the Webster Thomas football field and games run every 30 minutes until the final game.
For more information, the WMLW Twitter and Instagram handles are @WMLWiffleball
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