2025 National League Team by Team Recap

The National League could not have been more competitive this season as all 8 teams had legitimate chances to finish the regular season with records over .500. The NL was jam packed from start to finish as we saw loads of movement in the standings each and every week. We saw the Olive Township Mechanics and Glen Lee Skeeters pull away from the rest of the pack at the midseason mark as both teams battled for the top seed down the stretch. Both teams finished with 19-8 records as the Mechanics earned the tiebreaker by taking 2 out of 3 vs Glen Lee in their regular season matchup. Behind those two teams it was complete pandemonium all season long as we saw the Granger Panthers and defending World Series Champion Newts flip flopping back and forth for the 7th and 8th seeds for a few weeks. We also saw County Line Knights Rookie Delvin Zinn take the league by storm as he won the 2025 ORWBL Home Run Derby, defeating Aiden Traxler 17-16 in the Finals. The Knights also saw their young 1st year skipper Cade Skornog take home ORWBL All Star Game MVP honors as he played a huge role in the NL winning the series after dropping Game 1, 22-21 to the American League on an Aiden Traxler walk off Home Run. With all that said, let's take a look at at each National League team heading into the Postseason.

1. Olive Township Mechanics (19-8)

This year we saw the return of the storied Olive Township Mechanics franchise but under new leadership with Sam Bull at the helm. The Mechanics picked up right where they left off as they re emerged as legit World Series contenders just with a near completely different look. We saw the County Line Knights split into two as the 2024 Knights roster was able to play without looking over their shoulders by forming two teams. Olive Township skipper Sam Bull made a strong MVP case as he led the team in HR (52) RBI (69) and Runs (67) while their other star Adin Newman led the team in AVG (.520) while also leading the team on the mound with a 10-1 record. The Mechanics also saw Jarrod Michael go 8-4 on the mound as he was selected as one of the 3 Pitchers on the National League All Star Roster. Garrett Ruiz is one of the returning Mechanics and he put together another great season with 36 HR and a .466 AVG. They also saw Jacob Meyers hit 34 HR as he put together a 2nd consecutive All Star campaign. Olive Township will also look to Grady Lapcynski who hit 20 HR in just 51 At Bats as he could be a secret weapon for this team come playoff time. All in all, this team had 6 guys finish with 20+ HR as they have a deep lineup that has proved to be a great combination all season long. With the National League as competitive as ever, the Mechanics have their work cut out for them but if they are able to carry over their same consistency from the regular season, they have all of the pieces to go win the National League Pennant as one of the league's top young teams in the league.

2. Glen Lee Skeeters (19-8)

   After falling just 1 win shy from a trip to the World Series in 2024, the Glen Lee Skeeters came into this season with expectations high as ever. After going through a couple of tough seasons during the franchise's early years, Glen Lee has evolved into a National League powerhouse over the last two seasons as they are as good of a threat as any to go win their first ever National League Pennant. After taking the Newts to 5 games in the NLCS last year, the Skeeters fully have their eyes set on a trip to the World Series as their journey will begin at home vs the Mishawaka Meatspins in what is not your regular 2 vs 7 matchup. While the Meatspins will come ready to pull off the upset, Glen Lee has a deep team that saw Casey Shultz emerge as an ORWBL young star. The 2nd year ORWBL player took on a full time role this season and he surely made the most of it as he led the team in every hitting category in a lineup that features the reigning NL MVP Kade Stone. Shultz and Stone finished tied with 49 HR while Shultz led the way for Glen Lee in RBI (76) and Batting Average (.642). Shultz made a strong case for MVP as he led the National League in Batting Average while playing a key role in Glen Lee finishing 19-8. As mentioned, Kade Stone blasted 49 HR while Peyton Doran continued to evolve into one of the top hitters in the game as he has already been one of the top pitchers in the game over the past few years. PD finished with a .544 Batting Average (2nd on the team) 43 Home Runs (3rd on the team) while leading the team in Runs with 78. The Skeeters skipper went 6-6 on the mound while Kade Stone put together a fantastic year on the bump, going 11-2. Glen Lee also saw Jason Migas hit 27 HR while Nolan Crail finished 4th on the team in HR with an impressive 35. They also saw the return of Alec Holland who missed the first half of the season with an injury. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year winner made up for missed time as he hit 22 HR in 14 Games while hitting at an impressive .489 clip as he really helped round out the lineup down the stretch. With Glen Lee at full strength heading into the Postseason, they have as good of a chance as any to win their first National League Pennant as they will look to get things started vs. Mishawaka in the Wild Card Round.

   
   

3. County Line Knights (15-12)

   The County Line Knights 2nd half surge propelled them all the way up to the 3rd seed in the National League as this was one of the most impressive teams in all of ORWBL in 2025. After a great run in 2024, County Line lost nearly half of their roster who left for the Olive Township Mechanics as both teams decided to split into two teams to get everyone playing time. With Sam Bull and Adin Newman being two of the departing players, many counted this team out before the season even started. They had a tough start to the season and then received news that there Manager Cam Bashaw was moving to Pennsylvania. County Line announced Cade Skornog as the new Manager of the team as he did a great job rallying the squad after the departure of Bashaw who still made multiple returns to the lineup throughout the summer as he hit 31 HR in 17 Games. Skornog had his moment during the ORWBL All Star Game as the 1st Year Skipper earned 2025 ORWBL All Star Game MVP Honors after he played a key role in the National League's Game 2 & 3 victories as the NL took the series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. Skornog hit 35 HR throughout the year while Gavin Peters belted 34 as both players brought loads of power to the lineup throughout the season. County Line also saw Rylan McBride emerge as an All Star Pitcher as he was selected as one of the three National League Pitchers in the ORWBL All Star Game as he was the Winning Pitcher in Game 2. McBride went 9-4 on the mound while also hitting 25 Home Runs in just 83 At Bats. Behind those guys, the Knights also saw Nick Boyd hit 22 HR as they had 6+ players above the 20 HR mark. With all of that said, the biggest story of the season for County Line was their Rookie Delvin Zinn who put together an MVP worthy campaign in his first season. The ORWBL Rookie joined the Knights for the 2025 season and he put together one of the best Rookie seasons in ORWBL history as he led the loaded National League in HR (61) RBI (80) and Runs (79) while finishing 3rd in Batting Average (.545) finishing behind only Austin Williams and Casey Shultz in that department. He was a fantastic addition not only for County Line but for ORWBL as well as the former member of the Chicago Cubs Organization stole the show at the 2025 ORWBL All Star Saturday Night Festivities. Zinn took down the 2025 HR King Ethan Bumgardner in the Semifinals before taking down Aiden Traxler 17-16 in the Championship as Traxler led the league in HR at the Break. It was a great moment for Zinn as his electric performance in the Home Run Derby led to a massive celebration from the National League side as it was a memorable Derby all around. Zinn will now look to continue his magical Rookie season as the 3rd seeded Knights get set to host the defending World Series Champion Newts as they look to end their hopes of back to back World Series titles.

   
   

4. Granger Panthers (14-13)

   The Granger Panthers unusual struggles served as one of the top surprises in the National League this season as Granger had finished either 1st or 2nd in the regular season each year since entering the league nearly a decade ago. It has truly been a storied run for Granger who you could essentially pencil in as the top seed in the National League each and every year. 2025 was a much different story for Granger who is now in their 2nd season without Austin Williams after he jolted for Twin Branch after the 2023 season. All eyes will be in Granger on Sunday as the Panthers will welcome their former ORWBL mate A-Willy for their first ever Postseason battle facing off against each other. It is viewed by many as the matchup of the first round as this storied rivalry will write it's next chapter on Sunday as Twin Branch looks to finally break through and eliminate Granger. From looking at the numbers, it is obvious that the Panthers had the wind blowing in essentially all season as they had to battle the elements weekly. Despite tough hitting conditions, they saw Tyler Serosynski earn an All Star selection for the National League as he put together a great all around season for Granger. Playing in the loaded National League, the Panthers were not able to run through their regular season schedule like they have in past years. With that said, they were still able to go on a nice run to end the season as they were sitting in last place just two weeks ago. They appear to be picking up steam at the perfect time as the 2021 ORWBL World Series Champions will look to make another run at the Pennant. They have an extremely tough path to the World Series but if there is any team that can do it, it's the Granger Panthers who are hungry to reclaim their spot atop the National League after New Carlisle took it back in 2024 en route to winning their 4th World Series title.

   
   

5. Twin Branch Billy Goats (14-13)

   The Billy Goats will look to hit the reset button with the 2025 ORWBL Playoffs set to begin. Twin Branch was rolling for a good chunk of the season before fluttering a bit down the stretch. They were still able to finish over .500 in what was the toughest National League field from top to bottom that we have seen. While they were hoping for a higher win total, Twin Branch has all the pieces in place to make a deep run this August. They saw their 2022 NL MVP winner Lucas Oletti put together another great season as he hit 42 HR to go along with a .411 AVG. They received quality contributions at the plate once again from Andrew Doran and Frankie Minerva as both players hit 28 HR on the season. Meanwhile Andrew Doran was selected as the Starting Pitcher for the National League All Star team, finally getting the nod over Granger's Griffin Smith. The biggest story of the year for Twin Branch was the success from Austin Williams at the plate. The entire Twin Branch lineup had batting averages in the 200's - 400's but it was A-Willy who led the way with a head turning .607 AVG. He put together an MVP worthy campaign at the plate as he led the team in all hitting categories with 47 HR, 61 RBI, and 62 Runs Scored while also once again doing his thing for Twin Branch in the field. The former Granger Panther will now get quite the opportunity in Wild Card weekend as A-Willy will go up against his former team in the Postseason for the first time since departing Granger after the 2023 season. This is one of the top rivalries in our sport and tensions will be high in Granger on Sunday as one of these teams season will come to an end heading into Hometown Days.

6. New Carlisle Newts (13-14)

   The New Carlisle Newts head into the 2025 ORWBL Postseason looking to repeat as World Series Champions after claiming their 4th title in 2024. The veteran ballclub came out flat early but nearly worked their way back to finishing over .500. Playing in an extremely competitive National League, the Newts can't be too unhappy with their regular season performance as they did everything that they needed to do to put themselves in position to repeat as Champions. New Carlisle clearly dealt with tough hitting conditions for the majority of the season but they were still able to put together a respectable campaign as new Manager Tyler Shupert will look to inspire his guys in hopes of winning a record setting 5th ORWBL World Series title. They have all the talent needed to make another World Series run but they will have a tough test in Wild Card weekend as they will have to travel to take on the Delvin Zinn led County Line Knights. If New Carlisle is able to get past County Line, they will take on either Mishawaka or Glen Lee in what would be a rematch from last season's National League Championship Series.

7. Mishawaka Meatspins (12-15)

   After coming out of the gates hot to start the season, the Meatspins suffered a couple of close losses which sent them quickly down the standings. Despite their slower end to the season, Mishawaka heads into the Postseason as a dangerous 7th seed as this group of ORWBL veterans always seems to fully hit their stride later in the summer. This is a deep roster as they have loads of guys who can fill in as they had 13 guys suit up for them throughout the season. When Joe Stratton played, he was a game changer as he led the team in AVG (.494) HR (28) and RBI (39) despite playing in just 18 games. Stratton earned a spot on the 2025 American League All Star roster along with teammates Ryan Warmoth and Anthony Rieff. The Spins received quality power numbers throughout the season out of a couple of former Cabo Yabo sluggers as Grant Duncan finished Tied for 2nd on the team in HR with 20. The other former Yabo All Star Nick Thoman finished 4th on the team in HR with 18 while also blossoming into a true workhorse on the mound as he went 5-11 while pitching the bulk of Mishawaka's Innings with 97 IP. This is a tight knit group who is a threat to make run each and every time they suit up as they will look to give the Glen Lee Skeeters all they can handle in the Wild Card Round as they look to pull off the upset.

   
   

8. Hudson Lake Heat (11-16)

   Although Hudson Lake heads into the Postseason as the 8th seed in the National League, they were able to turn back the clock at various points throughout the season, showing glimpses from their early days in the league. Hudson Lake led the National League early in the season and sat in 4th place well into the year. They had a couple tough series' to end the season as they were right in the heart of the National League all season long. With the Lynn Street Leprechauns folding shortly before the start of the ORWBL season, the addition of Levi Miller certainly played a huge role as the former Gold Glove winner fit perfectly into the Hudson Lake lineup. It appears that they have the gang back together with Jared Monhaut, Ben McDonald, and former MVP winner's Bob Bushman and Bailey Rhed. With Hudson Lake at full strength, they have the ability to beat anybody on any given day as they could not be a more dangerous 8th seed opponent for Olive Township. While the Mechanics have their eyes set on a trip to the World Series, Hudson Lake will look to play spoiler on Wild Card weekend.