100% Real Juice vs Sheryl Crows
The playoffs are here! With that comes a matchup steeped in history, grit, and respect. The third-seeded Juice will take on the sixth-seeded Crows in a series that’s anything but your standard 3 vs 6. Let’s break down the first matchup of the 2025 postseason.
Juice: Veteran Presence, Elite Pitching, and a Chance at Redemption
The Juice have been in this position before. They know how to make noise when it counts. This is a franchise that’s no stranger to deep playoff runs, championship contention, or carrying the weight of expectations. And in 2025, they’ve built their season on one core principle: pitching wins games.
Anchoring their rotation are Adam Brickett and Aaron Hunter, a one-two punch that’s as intimidating as it is seasoned. Brickett’s rising slider has given even the league’s best hitters nightmares, while Hunter (former MVP, Cy Young winner, and 2024 Hall of Fame inductee) continues to show his elite command looks as good as ever.
Plan B, of course, is most teams’ Plan A: Epo Olivares. Epo — whose mononym is up there with Bono, Ichiro, and Sheryl — is a Hall of Famer and the league’s all time strikeout king, ready in the bullpen and as dangerous as ever.
Where the Juice haven’t dominated in 2025 is with the bats, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective. Their team wRC+ is 102, almost perfectly average, which comes from savvy, situational hitting. They’re also remarkably balanced; while their top hitter has a lower wRC+ than the top hitters from the rest of the playoff field, they also feature a lineup with six qualified hitters above league average. They’re disciplined, experienced, and focused on execution. This team knows how to put runners on, move them over, and cash them in when it matters.
Gabe Showalter and his Juice will need to grind through at-bats and take advantage of key moments, especially against a Crows team known for its defensive stinginess. If they do, they’ll not only have a shot at advancing, but they’ll be eyeing a revenge series against the Bilabial Stops, whom they split with earlier in the year. That one’s been circled for a while.
Crows: Defense, Grit, and One Series Away From Belief Becoming Reality
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a team fighting for relevance. The Crows believe they belong. Every season, they hang around. Every season, they make you earn it. And now, once again, they’re back in the dance.
The front of their pitching attack has been Connor Donovan, their reliable front-mound anchor. Sure, hes a short-mound guy, but his stuff flashes all the same. “Furious Connor” has been calm under pressure all year, and when he’s attacking the zone, the Crows are tough to score on because of their sharp defense. Complimentary to Donovan, Evan Grey and Drew Helgren bring a different look from the back rubber. When they’re locked in, even in flashes, their stuff is filthy. But with any back mounder, it’s all about consistency around the strike zone. These guys are not looking for 12 perfect innings. They just need to piece together enough consistency to steal a game. If that newfound depth comes through, the Crows will have options most teams envy.
Offensively, the Crows post a team wRC+ of 97, just slightly below league average. The story is in their approach: They are great at spitting on sloppy pitching outside the zone, with relentless discipline. Then capitalize with contact when they get their pitch. The goal of the Crows isn’t to slug. Their goal is to fly, to expose your mistakes, take their bases, and let their defense win the day. Because if you’re hitting the ball near any of their defenders… Good luck.
The Crows are known league-wide for playing some of the most fundamentally sound, mistake-free defense in the league. Every out is earned. Every base is contested. And if they can take this first series, the confidence and momentum could be just enough to make the top-seeded Wiffle House sweat. A win here guarantees a matchup against the champs, and the Crows would love nothing more than to be the ones to take the crown off their head. Caw, caw, indeed.
The Matchup: Pressure, Patience, and a Clash of Styles
These teams split their regular season series, with the Crows having a slightly higher run differential in that series. The numbers between these teams are tight, but the matchups are what make this fascinating:
- Juice pitching vs Crows patience: The Juice lead with a higher strikeout rate, but the Crows are notorious for working counts and making you labor. If the Juice can live in the zone and force contact, they can limit free passes and lean on their defensive core to get outs.
- Crows pitching vs Juice execution: If the Crows can get competitive innings from their back mound, they might frustrate a Juice offense that isn’t built to blow games open. But if the Juice can extend at-bats and slug selectively, they may break the game open before the Crows can settle in.
- X-Factors: The key for the Crows is to make the Juice put the ball in play and lean on their defense. The key for the Juice is to work at-bats, and be aggressive with hittable pitches to generate some slug.
On paper, it’s a 3 vs 6. On the field, it’s two battle-tested teams with playoff scars and championship dreams. The series may come down to one moment, one inning, one pitch.
If the Juice win, they will be looking at a matchup with the Stops, who they split with in the regular season. They’d love nothing more than to knock them out. If the Crows win, they would land a matchup against the first seed, hoping to rattle the windows of Wiffle House and prove that in life, nothing can truly be 24/7.
Either way… buckle up. The postseason is here.
Swingdome @ American Dreams
Another chapter in one of Seattle Wiffleball’s most competitive and enduring rivalries is about to be written. The #4-seed American Dreams face off against the #5-seed Swingdome in a rematch that’s equal parts déjà vu and escalation. The teams split their 2025 regular season series, just like they did in 2024 (when, anathema to the spirit of the very game of wiffleball, both games ended in ties).
These teams know each other’s strengths. They know each other’s tells. They know what it takes to win in October (aka late-August). And now they’ll fight for the right to move one step closer to the World Series.
Swingdome: Built to Rake, Built to Rattle
It’s been a few seasons since the Dome rebranded, but their identity hasn’t changed — they hit the hell out of the ball.
This year, they’ve mashed their way through the schedule with a WRC+ that would make any pitcher nervous. Alex Hatch has emerged as the most feared hitter in the league, with tape-measure power and a swagger to match. Steve McGinley has been an OBP machine, grinding out at-bats and always finding a way on. And Captain Jimmy Froio continues to deliver pro-level approaches and timely hits.
But it’s not just those three. The entire Swingdome lineup is capable of clearing the fence, and clearing the bases. Their playstyle is simple and devastating: score early, score often, and force you to try and keep up.
On the mound, they’ve turned to Hatch as a back-mound shutdown specialist. He held a 0.00 ERA through the first half of the season, and when he’s locating, you might as well bring a paddle instead of a bat. Froio handles the front-mound duties with guile, deception, and just enough chaos. His mission? Confuse the hell out of you. Off-speed junk, sliders off the zone, fastballs that ride — all designed to make you chase, pop up, or whiff and walk back shaking your head.
However, without their other elite lefty, Nick Ludwig, who’s playing overseas (aka the badlands somewhere in Southern California), there have been questions surrounding Swingdome’s pitching depth. If Hatch and Froio can’t carry the load alone, it opens a door, just a crack, for the Dreams to break through.
American Dreams: Grit, Guts, and a Bulldog with a Fastball
The American Dreams may not have the deepest bench this week, but what they do have is Jeff Hanschmann, and that’s more than enough to keep them dangerous.
Hanschmann lead the league in strikeouts the the 2025 regular season… by a wide margin. His command, composure, and competitive fire are unmatched. Call him a bulldog, a surgeon, or a fire-breather — it’s all true. If you’re not swinging, he’ll paint the edges. If you are swinging, he’ll make you miss. And if the game’s on the line, you can bet he’s dialing up his best pitch. And he’s landing it.
Behind him, pitching depth is uncertain — but not untalented. If available, Cory Smith and Jake VanWolvelaere have electric back-mound stuff that can miss bats and change games. Whether they’re able to take the bump could swing the entire series.
Jeremy Salvo might also factor in from the front-mound. Like a true captain, he’s filled in when needed and his few stop appearances have been just what they needed (4 ERs over 8.1 innings). He’s methodical, he’s experienced, and when he’s on, he gives the Dreams a real shot at stealing a game with tight defense and tempo control.
Offensively, the Dreams carry a team WRC+ of 90, but don’t be fooled. This lineup has teeth. They know how to work counts and flip games with a few well-timed swings. Salvo leads the charge with his patient approach, while bats like Matt McGiveron, Zak Kosher, and Owen Shellhammer provide a little extra pop. And then there’s Jeff, bringing the all-or-nothing intensity. He swings out of his red, white, and blue socks, and it seems to always result in a swinging bunt that he legs out or the ball lands halfway to the Cowen Park playground.
They’ll need a short, tight lineup to execute. If they do, they could match Swingdome punch for punch.
The Matchup: Fireworks and Fragility
This series may be the most explosive, and the most volatile, of the opening round of playoffs.
- Pitching Matchup: If it’s Hanschmann vs Hatch, it’s a dream scenario: a league-best strikeout arm against one of the league's most feared shutdown pitcher. And don’t rule out the poetic possibility of a captain’s duel on the front mound — Jimmy Froio’s off-speed madness against Jeremy Salvo’s disciplined finesse. It’d be as Seattle Wiffle as it gets.
- Offensive Edge: Swingdome’s power numbers are undeniable. With their dangerous lineup, they can score in bunches. But the Dreams have a knack for staying in games. A few big swings could level the field quickly, especially if their arms show up and throw strikes.
- X-Factors: Depth. Both teams will be navigating unknowns with rotations and availability. But for all the talent, this series might come down to timing. Which team capitalizes on their chances, and which team walks away frustrated.
Swingdome is looking to blast their way back into title contention. The Dreams are ready to grind, claw, and bulldog their way to the semifinals. Two teams. One rivalry. One winner. Let the fireworks begin.
