Justin and Craig Hastings know. Time is of the essence. There may not be many seasons of HMWL wiffleball in the future. There’s even less opportunities to win HMWL Championships.

“We know that we complement each other. We’re both well-rounded, but also excel in areas that are vitally important in the postseason. I’m got the arm, while Craig’s the best clutch hitter in the league,” says Justin Hastings.

That may have sounded like crazy-talk two seasons ago (when Justin had a career worst 1-5 pitching record and Craig had yet to appear in the postseason), but after the book of 2005 was shut, it was the brothers Hastings that stood atop the wiffleball world.

“It’s the little things that win,” says Craig. “I don’t think you can look at one quality. You’ve go to base it on my overall impact on the team, on my morale. I’ve batted leadoff nearly every game in my career, getting the team started. That’s how we start winning championships.”

Craig Hastings knows what it means to come through in clutch situations.

That’s the how the family team got it done in last year’s 2005 HMWL Playoffs. Despite the many home runs hit throughout the two-game series, it was the details that brought the victory into the Hastings regime.

In the final inning of game one, Justin converted a game-clinching strike out of Fred Rogers with the tying run on third base. In game two, it was Craig Hastings hitting a game-tying home run in the fourth and his wak-off RBI-single that helped clinch the series. The defining moments of the 2005 season have the Hastings signature written all over them.

“It’s funny how the entire season can come down to just a few simple pitches,” says Justin, a veteran of the HMWL postseason. “You play your heart out for the entire season, but if you can’t come through in the clutch, the trophy will slip through your fingers. I never realized the moment until I won last year.”

In this year, the HMWL’s sixth season, the championship will undoubtedly come down to a few simple play yet again. Yet with the camaraderie of the brothers Hastings, it doesn’t seem like there’s too much pressure on their shoulders.

“When you put all my skills together, I may become the first to go back-to-back-to-back,” says Craig.

And the one-time bumbling postseason player echoes the sentiment.

“My career is obviously winding down. You’d be hard-pressed to bet on somebody else in clutch situations this year then the crafty veteran fresh off his first title.”