JCC Softball Cincinnati

Good morning everyone

Sorry for the late post I forgot to do it over the weekend. I guess I had a bad case of World Cup Fever.

On Field 1 we had Team Krantz vs. Team Stu

Landon for the winners:

After getting blanked 13-0 the first time these teams met, Team Krantz came into Wednesday with a little extra motivation, leading to a win in emphatic fashion and knocking off Team Solomon 15-6.

The offense came out swinging early and never really let up, piling up 23 hits and putting together rallies throughout the lineup. A six-run fourth inning cracked the game open. A 5-run fifth from Solomon put the pressure on, but Krantz responded again with a 5-run sixth to match.

“Super Sub” Chris Kunkel showed up for Team Krantz, going a perfect 4-for-4. The Hot Stove rumor mill heard whispers of trade talks over Kunkel. Ryan Marcus continued to set the table all night with four hits of his own in the leadoff spot. Mark Wolfe stayed hot at the plate with another strong hitting performance (two liners), while Jamey Drennan did a little bit of everything, delivering key hits and turning in an outstanding game on the mound. On defense, Norm Frankel provided one of the night’s highlight-reel moments with a full-extension diving stop at first base before flipping the ball to the pitcher for a huge out.

Captain K collected 3 hits and six RBIs, Griffin went 5-for-5, and a true team effort led to the win.

Team Solomon had plenty of bright spots despite the loss. Alex Kraus was locked in at the plate all evening, consistently finding barrels and keeping innings alive. James Swan was rock solid in right-center field, making every play that came his way and taking away extra bases with flawless defense. Kade Carlyle supplied the biggest swing of the night for Team Solomon with a three-run homer in the fifth inning, briefly giving Solomon hopes of a comeback before Team Krantz answered in the sixth.

Team Krantz is now 3-1 in the second half and will take on Team Groh next week at home. Team Solomon goes on the road against Team Silverman.

On Field 2 it was Team Simons vs. Team Wolf

Wolf won 30-21. Please ask Wes for an explanation when you see him

On Field 3 it was Team Silverman vs. Team Fogel

Jeremy for the winners:

On a day that can only be described as hot as Team Fogel’s bats, Team Lox took the field against a Silverman-less Team Silverman, out for revenge after a first-half Sunday morning loss — one that a couple of folks were technically there to witness, though it doesn’t count in my book. Rather than warm up with batting practice, players from both squads instead gathered in the shade of the Lox dugout to bitch about the Reds. Intelligent discourse, or possibly group therapy, depending who you asked.

The scoring started quickly with three runs Team Fogel runs in the top of the first, which has become par for the course given how Sparky, Dave, and El Capitán have been swinging it lately. Sparky in particular has been red-hot over the last three games, reaching base safely in 10 straight at-bats and fueling the run scoring. Team Silverman answered fast with a wall-clearing shot to deep left by Anton, followed by a string of extra-base hits off the southpaw. Thereafter the bats dried up just as quickly. Jimmy started working them in on the hands, turning good swings into weak grounders and lazy fly balls.

On the Lox side, it was a full team effort: every player recorded a hit, and 8 of 11 finished with multiple. El Capitán led the way with four extra-base hits, with Brad Gallop, Ian Conwell, and Eli Gould (RIP his nuts) all hitting well too, alongside another clutch outing from Dr. Bob, who’s been as much a steady bat as a vocal leader all season. Team Lox moves to 9-2.

Finally on Field 4 it was Team AJ vs. Team Brafman

AJ for the winners:

Another great night for Team Orange as we took out Team Brafman 18-6 in 6 innings tonight.

A great team effort again tonight as we got contributions up and down the lineup and out in the field. We started slow going down 2-1 after 2 innings, and then in the third inning the bats started showing up. We scored 9 in the 3rd inning with big hits from everyone especially Mike Gray who had a 2-RBI single.

We scored six more in the in the sixth with doubles from Stansbury and Meisner, and then Jeremy Dock hit his 3rd inside the park homer of the year to cap off the win.

On the stat sheet everyone on the team got at least 1 hit, led by Harry Meisner at 4-4, Eric Zied 3-4, Tyler Stansbury 3-4, I went 3-4 and Mike Gray went 2-3.

We are looking to keep up the good vibes and energy as we roll into next week to play Team Simons.

League Notes

Notable birthdays from the last week:

Jon Ruben

Mark “The Purple Haze” Levine

Taylor “May the” Schwartz be with you

Oren Shmoel

Ryan Small

How do you know when an organization has no plan, no depth, and no idea what to do? You release a CF and then try your 2nd basemen who hasn’t played CF since playing 2 games in college out there. Never mind that your second baseman can’t hit enough to keep him in the lineup. If you ever want to look up a team that has no clue look no further than the Reds.

I don’t know about all of you but I love the World Cup. Last night the Mexico/England game was as good as it gets. Let’s hope Team USA takes care of biz tonight. 

Roger has a lot of interesting books for sale if you want to check out his web site. We are all waiting for him and Rick Lefton to sit down to write the history of the JCC Softball league. 

Speaking of writing I know I have brought this up before but if you are not subscribed to Charlie Goldsmith substack you really should. The guys writes all the time about the Reds and Bengals and has good insight. 

Finally, I saw a stat yesterday that was crazy. As a rookie, LeBron played against Kevin “What you talkin’ ’bout” Willis who was born in 1962. This year he played against Cooper Flag who was born in 2006! That’s a 44-year gap…Crazy!

Before we get to the action on the field a big tip of the wing to “Big” Gig Franklin for not only being our sponsor but for also sponsoring wing night. Thanks again Gig it was great to see ya. Now stay away from my Mom 🙂

Let’s get to the action on a great night for softball

On Field one we had Team Stu vs. Team Groh

Stu for the winners:

Game 1

Team Solomon 3 Team Groh 2

For the first time ever there was a Stu vs Stu pitching battle which rivals 17th Century Great Britain. For those who don’t understand that reference, read a book. The game was a real back and forth with solid defense all around. Honestly, I do remember the last game that was this low scoring. The scoring started with Seth “Seether” Berland sac flying to deep left and Stuart “Hinder” Solomon tagging up from 2nd to score. Team Solomon was able to tie the game in the bottom of the 4th with clutch two-out hitting. Alex “Creed” Kraus laced a triple into left field followed by Zach “3 Days Grace” Michelson placing a seeing-eye single up the middle to tie the game. Team Solomon would strike the final blow in the bottom of the 5th as Drew “Nickelback” Hart ripped a double. Team Groh Intentionally walked both Kade “Puddle of Mud” Carlyle and Stuart “Hinder” Solomon to load the bases for Seth “Seether” Berland. Seth hit a single right over the second base bag to win the game on a walk off.  

Game 2

Team Solomon 10 Team Groh 8 (In 7)

What a game this was. Ken Groh took the mound for the second game and did not disappoint. A two-out two-RBI single by Seth “POD” Berland put the visiting Team Solomon up in the first.  Team Groh’s bats started to wake up as the home side scored 3 runs in the first. Keith “Papa Roach” Kombrinck had himself a game going 2-3 with a double. Keith came around to score on the sac fly from Kade “Disturbed” Carlyle. The pitching duel continued until the top of the 5th inning. Team Solomon was down 5-3. Drew “Chevelle” Hart provided the bloop (it was actually a sharp single but that does help the alliteration) and Kade “Disturbed” Carlyle provided the blast. Hitting a two-run homer to left center field to tie the game up at 5. In the top of 6, James “Buckcherry” Swan started the inning off with a triple, scoring on Zach “Fuel” Michelson’s fielders choice. Team Groh tied the score in the bottom of the 6th to send it to the 7th. This is where things went well for Team Solomon. Drew “Chevelle” Hart started it off with a sharply hit double and came around to score on a double by Carlyle. Then Stuart “Drowning Pool” Solomon hit a laser over the fence for a two run home run, extending the lead to 3. Berland added on a 4th after a double and scoring on a sac fly by Alex “Modest Mouse” Kraus. 

After the game an ecstatic Berland had this to say about his former college roommate Nick O’Brien. “It brings me such joy to perform better, in all aspects of the game, than Nick. He provided me and the team a lot of bulletin board material. It feels great to get these gutsy wins against him.”   

On Field 2 it was Team Fogel vs. Team Simons.

Game 1 – Team Fogel 11, Team Simons 3

The smoked salmon bats were alive early in the top of the first. Joel “Sparky” Fogel and David “Slim Shady” Wertheim were a true 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup across both games, accounting for 10 of the team’s 18 runs. David broke things open with an opposite-field JCC home run to bring in Joel, who reached and scored in all 6 of his plate appearances on the day. “Blazing” Brad Gallop continued to step up at the plate with 3 timely hits and runs in game one. Besides the final out coming via baserunner interference (that must be a league first) at second base, this was a pretty routine game. Jimmy Lefton continued to bring “The Heat” and turned in another efficient gem on the mound to help seal a crucial win for Team Fogel – the first half title will be up for grabs when we resume our Week 8 meeting with Team Solomon later this summer.

Game 2- Team Fogel 7, Team Simons 6

The second leg of this doubleheader was nowhere near as straightforward as the first. Jeremy “Cap” Fogel plated Joel on a knuckling triple to the right field warning track before scoring himself, then Simons answered in the second to go up 3-2. Joel poked a ground ball through the infield to spark a two-out rally in the third that ultimately gave us a 6-3 lead, but Jamey Kurtzer knotted things up on a clutch piece of hitting in the fifth with Team Simons down to its last out. Props to Eli for getting us out of the jam with a big stop at second base, where he made several “Gould-blooded” plays throughout the day. A perfectly placed bunt from Ian “Icy” Conwell and a few base knocks set the table for a walk-off single from Slim Shady in the bottom of the fifth to push Team Fogel to 2-1 on the second half.

On Field 3 it was Team AJ vs. Team Krantz

AJ for the winners

Another beautiful night out on Field 3 for Team Orange Crush playing Team Krantz.

Game 1

We were able to jump on them early in this one and score 9 runs in the first inning and we really never looked back winning 17-4. This was a total team effort with hits all across the board.

Notable Stats

– Ian Segall 3 Hits 1 HR and 4 RBI

– AJ Goldhoff  3 Hits 2 RBI and 3 Runs

– Tyler Stansbury 2 Hits 4 RBI

– Harry Meisner 4 Hits and 3 Runs

– Matt Miller 2 Hits 2 Runs and 2 RBI

– Eric Zied 2 Hits 1 RBI

– Todd Wasserman 2 Hits and 2 runs

– Jeremy Dock 1 Hit 2 RBI

Game 2

Much tighter game here as we were able to go up 4-1 in the first but Team Krantz fought back. We were able to finish though with an 8-4 win. Another big game from our Big 3 with Ian getting 3 more hits, Tyler having 5 more RBI and Harry hitting another dinger over the fence. Also shoutout to Todd for another 2 hits in this one. Lastly, I want to make sure to mention our pitcher Mike Gray. He continues to take a beating on the mound and fighting through. He is the engine of our team and we are behind him.

Finally on Field 4, it was the only split of the night as Team Brafman took on Team Wolf.

In game one Team Brafman won 12-7. the top of Team Brafman’s order (Joel “Hallelujah” Buckley, Mark “Big Blue” Tenenholtz and Michael “The Quiet Assassin” Askin each collected multiple hits. Not to be overlooked Gary “Coach” Fisher and Mark “The Purple Haze” Levine each moved the order along to get back up to the top. Both Spencer “RTR” Suggs and Ethan “Fluffhead” Zinn also had big hits.  The big blow of the game through was from Jon Ruben who had a bases loaded double that cleared the bases and gave Team Brafman a nice lead they never gave back. For team Wolf, Wes, and Landon “Over the Top” Hawkins each homered and Matt “Bobcat” Brodof played a great 3rd base in his first game back. Howie was Howie on the mound for Team Brafman to help with the win. 

In game two Team Wolf won on a walk off two out bases loaded single by Zach Hoffman for a 9-8 win. In a back and forth game Team Brafman took a two run lead into the bottom of the 5th thanks to a triple by Joey Hiudt, a Rick Tenenholtz sac fly and another hit by the bottom of the Brafman lineup. Team Wolf started their comeback down 1 with two outs and no one on. Singles by Mark Weisser and Duffy Wolf and a walk to their 10 hitter set the stage for Hoffman’s hit. If I remember correctly Hawkins homered again in this game and Matt “The Newlywed” Brodof in his first game back had a couple of hits and played a great third base robbing Capt. Brafman of at least 3 hits (not that I was counting).

Reminder we play this Sunday 

League notes

As mentioned above a big shout out to Matt Brodof for getting married this off season (sorry for the late post).

Birthday’s the last couple of weeks

Scott “Hungry Like a” Wolf. The cool thing about Scott’s birthday is that it falls on the anniversary of Tom Seaver’s only no-hitter a game that Scott was at and kept score of, a very cool story that he is happy to tell you about.

Jared Kamrass

Joel Buckley 

Marc Brafman the big 5-0 for me

As a former die-hard Knick fan it was exciting to see them win but I got a bigger thrill out of watching the fan video’s react to the win. Not the posers on the street who couldn’t tell you John Starks from Tony Stark but the old school Knick fans like my Dad who have stuck with this team for over 50 years since their last win. Makes me think there is hope for us Reds and Bengals fans even if it’s between slim and none.

I’m not one to hold a sports grudge (unless it’s Cam Newton or the entire Nevada basketball team) but man I am not shedding a tear over Brendan Sorsby’s tale of tears for not being able to play in the NFL next year. Learn the rules and play by them or else pay the price. Simple as that.

You have to give David “Slim Shady” Wertheim credit for one thing. The guy never wears a hat on the field yet every time he’s on TV promoting a local festival here in town he’s got a chicken on his head or a taco or a pizza hat on. Then to top it off on Wing Night he has a Yankee winter hat on sitting outside in the heat. 

I was beating myself up over a really dumb throw I made on Wednesday night and then I was once again reminded that we play once a week and are old and Jewish. The Mets, yes the METS, committed 6 errors on the infield in ONE GAME this week vs. the Cubs. I think I would rather be a small market cheap team like the Reds who stink than a big market RICH team that stinks like the Mets.

If you are a music fan, I would suggest watching the Earth Wind and Fire doc on HBO that came out last week and the one on the late great Clive Davis on Netflix. Both are really good.

Let’s figure out a way to watch the USA in the World Cup on Wednesday and play at the same time. Can we get a big ass TV out on the fields to watch?

See ya Wednesday and drink plenty of water. It is going to be HOT.

If it’s not raining it’s 100 outside but we will take the heat over the rain. Let’s get right to the HOT action on the field. On field one we had Team Brafman vs. Team Fogel

David for the winners:

David Wertheim subbing in as the blog writer again this week. On a hot night at Triple Creek, Team Fogel pulled off a cool two-game sweep over Team Brafman.

Game 1 featured utter dominance from southpaw Jimmy “The Heat” Lefton, coming off a visit to St. Louis for his son “Big Al” Alex Lefton’s wedding. Jimmy hurled a gem, allowing just 1 run. After the first two batters of the game reached for Team Brafman, and one scored, Jimmy and the very solid Fogel defense didn’t allow another runner to pass second base. The highlight was an absolute dot on the outside corner by Lefton, channeling his inner Randy Johnson, to strike out the big power threat Mark Tenenholtz.
Howie “Tom Brady” Schwartz did Howie things, keeping the Fogel bats quiet and impressively snagging a line drive off the bat of this writer. However, Team Fogel did enough and won the game 6-1.

Game 2 featured Brafman getting on the board first but Team Fogel quickly answered and never looked back. The stars of the game were Lefton again for his pitching and hitting, “Big Game”Bob Pelberg for a couple hits and a great play at catcher to throw out Jon Ruben who tried to get greedy, Brad Wagner for breaking out of his slump with a few hits, Mark “Morf” Franklin for a couple great swings and a nice catch in RF, and this writer, who was on base all 3 times (including a bunt single after chirping Joel Buckley and Brafman for their propensity to lay one down… rules for thee but not for me). Team Fogel won this game relatively stress free in a 10-5 victory that looks closer than it really was.

Team Fogel now gears up for a showdown against Team Solomon next week in a game that may just decide who wins the first half.

On field two Team Groh vs. Team Silverman

Roger recaps the action:

TEAM GROH split with TEAM SILVERMAN. losing the opener, 10-9, and coming back in the nightcap with a 5-4 victory……

In the opener, TEAM GROH was up the whole game until the end when TEAM SILVERMAN got four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to notch the win…..

“Tough loss for sure, but give credit to them for staying with it until the end to pull out the win”, captain KEN GROH said afterwards.

DAN MCGRATH, ADAM CRONSTEIN, DAVID SNYDER, GROH and NICK O’BRIEN each collected three hits with MCGRATH and CRONSTEIN hitting homeruns…..

In the second game, the game was nip and tuck the entire way until the least likely candidate, ROGER ROSENTHAL, who in the past has been known to hit to rightfield laced a two out game wining RBI single down the right field line to score the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning…..

“It’s about time I came up with a big hit. I’m just glad we could pull out the second game after a tough loss in the opener, ” ROSENTHAL said while being mobbed by his teammates.

“I knew I picked Roger for a reason. His BIG mouth and his one BIG hit of the year,” GROH said afterwards.

STU WEINSTEIN pitched well and got out of three bases loaded situations without giving up a run and GROH came in to relieve, after pitching the entire opener, to notch the win…..

Hitting stars were….MCGRATH, BRYCE ANSLINGER, CRONSTEIN and O’BRIEN…..

Of note, O’BRIEN was thrown out of the game, and will be forced to miss one game, after disputing a call at third base…he’ll be docked one game’s salary of $50,000.00.

“I guess I’ll have to not buy that new car I wanted for at least another week or so,” he said afterwards from the stands.

TEAM GROH is now 4-2 in the first half and 2-0 in the second half and have another twinbill next week vs. TEAM GOLDHOFF.

The doubleheader will be televised on TBS with STEVE JARNICKI and BEN SCHREIBER doing the play-by-play and color.

The first 10 fans in attendance will receive an 8 x 10 autographed photo of former JCC softball legend, DAN CRONSTEIN, father of ADAM CRONSTEIN.

On field three it was Team Krantz vs. Team Wolf

Landon chimes in

Game Recap: Team Krantz 11, Team Wolf 4

On a muggy, humid evening that may have affected both hydration levels and the scorekeeper’s memory, Team Krantz earned an 11-4 victory over Team Wolf.

Team Krantz jumped out early, scoring three runs in the first inning and four more in the second to build a 7-0 lead. Leading the offensive charge were Ryan Marcus and Dee Harris, who put together outstanding nights at the plate, going 6-for-8 and 6-for-7, respectively.

Team Wolf refused to go quietly. Landon Hawkins continued his impressive season by lacing line drives all over the field—sometimes with just one hand on the bat—while Ben Charlton turned in a flawless defensive performance in left-center field. David Solomon also crushed a triple at some point during the evening, though the official historian cannot confidently confirm which game it occurred in.

With Team Krantz holding a 7-4 lead entering the fifth inning and wary of a trademark Team Wolf comeback, Mark Wolfe delivered the play of the game. Wolfe launched a triple to the left-field wall, sparking a four-run rally that provided all the insurance Team Krantz would need and sealed the 11-4 final.

Finally, on Field 4 it was Team Solomon vs. Team AJ

Stuart “MVP, Most Valuable Person” Solomon drove in five runs on one hit to lead Team Solomon past The Orange Crush 8-5 on Wednesday. Solomon hit a grand slam to center field in the first inning, scoring four runs, and hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning, scoring one.

The Orange Crush got on the board in the first inning after Tyler “Soon to be Father” Stansbury tripled, scoring one run.

Team Solomon flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the first, scoring seven runs on eight hits to take the lead, 7-1. The biggest blow in the inning was a grand slam to center field by Solomon that drove in four. Another huge hit was the bases clearing triple by “Dangerous” Danny Meisterman to cap off the 7-run inning.

Team Solomon added one run in the third. Solomon hit a sacrifice fly, making the score 8-5.

Solomon earned the win for Team Solomon. The starting pitcher surrendered 13 hits and five runs over five innings, striking out one and walking two. Solomon got out of a bases loaded, no out jam to strand all three runners. The inning was capped with a massive strike out of Matt “Mr. Bearcat” Miller.  Mike Gray took the loss for The Orange Crush. The starter went four innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits, striking out one and walking none.

James Swan “Dive” and Kade”llac” Carlyle each collected two hits for Team Solomon. Adam “Pacman Jones” Heldman turned an amazing double play in the game. Heldman dove to his left to snag a sharply hit ground ball, tagged 2nd and threw the runner out at 1st.  Team Solomon was sure handed in the field and didn’t commit a single error. Solomon had the most chances in the field with one.

Fingers crossed we get next week in and end the first part of the season. I believe it’s a show down between Groh and Stu for the first half title. 

League notes

First a HUGE shout out to Rick Lefton, the entire J staff and Brad Wagner for another amazing J Classic yesterday. Dr. Bob, Joel Buckley, Z, Corey Norris,  Mike Rothstein, Howie, Anton, Brad, Ryan Small, Stu, AJ, Eddie Gallop, Rick Tenenholtz, Zach Mayer, Jimmy, and Gary Fisher were just some of the guys that played or participated in the event. The men’s pickleball champs were won by former players Gary “Dave Winfield is my buddy” Askin and  Randy Sandow. If you have never come to the Classic, I would encourage all of you to do so. Along with the Oy Vey 5K, it is a great fund raiser for the entire JCC. Once again, great job everyone. 

On that note let’s all wish Zach a speedy recovery from his fluke injury while on the golf course. Get better soon, Zach.

Happy birthday to Howard Goldwasser and former player Ben Barnett.

I get asked a lot about Brendan Sorsby and all I can say is, I will believe he will be on the field when I see it. It was fun today in our all staff meetings to toss out songs about him that I would play if I were the DJ of the game. (Take the Money and Run, Go Down Gambling, The Gambler, Rambling Gambling Man, you name it). 

This week was the 82nd anniversary of the Ol’ Left Hander, Joe Nuxhall, playing his first game with the Reds when he was 15! Jacob is 13. I can’t imagine him suiting up for the Reds in two years although how much worse can he make the Reds bullpen?

I rightfully have taken a lot of smack talk from IU fans about the Rose Bowl and the run that IU was on. But fear not dear softball fans, Bama isn’t going anywhere because they became the first program in history to reach the college football playoffs, both men’s and women’s basketball tournament, Sweet 16 and the men’s and women’s College World Series. Not too bad of season for my Tide even if we haven’t won a National Title (yet). 

At the J classic yesterday we were discussing bringing back Family Night, so please let your captain know if you would like to help out with that. This would be something we would bring back next year. 

Reminder, Wing Night is next weekend at the Spring House. Please try to go as it’s a great night and we can’t thank Big Gig Franklin enough. 

See everyone next week.

Marc

Hi everyone 

It’s been a long LONG time since we have had a blog, so let’s do two weeks worth shall we

First, from last Sunday:

Jeremy leads off as his team took on Team Groh:

In a Sunday morning showdown between Team Groh and Team Fogel, veteran southpaw Jimmy Lefton stole the show from the first inning onward. After surrendering a one-out double to Adam Cronstein (questionable whether it would have been a double had the bases been properly assembled pre-game), Jimmy did not allow another runner to advance beyond second base for the remainder of the game. With an errorless defense behind him and his cutter breaking in sharply on the hands of righties, Jimmy cruised through seven strong innings in what was his strongest start of the year.

On the offensive side, timely hitting and aggressive base running told the story, with contributions coming from all throughout the order. Team Fogel would not be denied, plating runs in bunches and cruising to a 9-1 victory. Team Fogel looks to build on that momentum heading into a double-header filled slate.

Next we have Landon as his team took down Team Brafman

Team Krantz 12, Team Brafman 3

Team Krantz earned a 12-3 victory over Team Brafman and got the monkey off their back for the first win of this young season. Jamie Drennan set the tone with an outstanding pitching performance, limiting Team Brafman to just three runs and keeping hitters off balance throughout the game.

The offense was led by a mix of veterans and super subs. Norm Frankel hit a big double for insurance runs. Substitute players David Wertheim and Ian Conwell provided fireworks, each blasting inside-the-park home runs. Wertheim turned in an error-free cycle (legit cycle), while Pat Feldman paced the lineup with a 3-for-4 performance, collecting several key hits and playing stellar defense.

Team Brafman battled hard all game.

Veteran All-Star Howie Schwartz delivered a strong outing on the mound and helped his own cause at the plate with a stand-up double. 

Mark Levine and his nephew Mike Askin came through with timely hits, and Spencer Scruggs drove in a run with a sharp single past third base.

A well-played game by both teams, and despite the 12-3 final, the contest was closer than the scoreboard indicates. 

Team Brafman would like to thank Peter “The Vacuum” Brownell who played SS and had the single best defensive game I or most of the guys on our team have ever seen. Simply an amazing game for him in the field. 

Next Team Wolf vs. Team Silverman

Wes for the winners

 Team Wolf pulled out its second come-from-behind win by beating Team Silverman in an all-timer 18-16. 

After being down 10-2 in 3 innings, and 14-6 after 5, Team Wolf came screaming back led by a three-run right field homer by the ageless legend, Scott Wolf, and three more runs to cut the lead to two. Down two in the bottom of the seventh, sub Landon Krantz (who scored 4 runs on the day) led off with a single, and scored, then Mike Rothstein knocked in Wes Wolf to tie the game on a sac fly. In the bottom of the seventh Team Silverman loaded the bases, but Mark Weisser stepped up and got out of the jam by getting the third out on a grounder to the pitcher.

In the extra 8th inning, Team Wolf newcomer Zach Hoffman started with a single and later scored the first run on a Weisser single. Matthew Kraus & Krantz got big two out hits, and were knocked in by a Wes Wolf double putting team Wolf up four. 

The bottom of the 8th ended in a way that was described as a “first” by many long-time league members. Team Silverman scored two and loaded the bases for super slugger Anton Loon who, with a chance to win the game, launched a high fly ball to deep left field. Corey Myers retreated to the track, then with his back against the wall he calmly jumped and caught the ball, robbing Anton and Team Silverman of a walk-off grand slam. (Editors note) We were all at the game and watched this in real time. An amazing catch and ending to a great game.

Finally I know team Stu won 

Now onto Wednesday night

First up will be Roger for Team Groh:

TEAM GROH rebounded from a Sunday morning loss to TEAM FOGEL with a doubleheader sweep of TEAM WOLF under sunny skies on Wednesday evening.

Winning game 1, 16-5, and the nightcap, 17-7, TEAM GROH found their offense BIG time!

“I hope we didn’t overdo it with the run production and not have anything for our next game. I know we didn’t,” captain KEN GROH said afterwards in the winner’s locker room.

All 12 players were contributors on the hitting end with NICK O’BRIEN, ZACH MAYER and ADAM CRONSTEIN (grand slam) provding the pop with home runs, none going over the fences. 

GROH, BRYCE ANSLINGER, RYAN BAUM, SAM KLINKOWITZ, CHRIS KUNKEL, DAN MCGRATH, ROGER ROSENTHAL, DAVID SNYDER and STU WEINSTEIN.

Both GROH (GAME 1)  and WEINSTEIN (GAME 2) recorded victories on the mound with the defense providing some sparkling plays led by KLINKOWITZ, both at catcher and second base……check ESPN TOP 10 PLAYS OF THE DAY……

With the two wins, TEAM GROH, has set up some important games down the stretch in the first half.

“We’re taking each game, one at a time. I really like this team and think we can make history. If not for ROGER and his big mouth that never stops talking, I really like this time. We’ve got a long season still left and I’m really looking forward to see what we can do the rest of the way.”

NEXT UP….a twinbill vs. TEAM SILVERMAN on Wednesday with first pitch at 6:01 p.m. The first game will be televised on FOX SPORTS with announcers GARY ASKIN and EDDIE GALLOP handling the play by play and color. The second game will NOT be televised due to a contractual agreement.

AJ chimes in for his games vs. Team Silverman

An absolutely amazing night for some softball as the we finally got some weather to
smile on us. On field 2 we took out Team Silverman in both legs of the double header in
a couple hard fought battles.
Game 1
We jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Tyler Stansbury doubled,
scoring two runs, and Harry Meisner hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run. Team Silverman
came back and tied the game in the top of the second thanks to a double by Oren
Shmoel, and a triple by Matthew Silverman.
We then took control in the bottom of the second, scoring seven runs on eight hits to
take the lead, 10-3. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Ian Segall that drove
in two. After that we never really looked back and won the game 12-8.
Big games also from Eric Zied and Michael Heldman collecting multiple hits and Ryan
Small and Mike Gray for driving in 3 runs apiece.
Game 2
This was a really good battle here for the first few innings as Team Silverman kept
threatening each inning. Our horse though Mike Gray was able to make the pitches to
keep us ahead though, while also taking multiple shots to his body from hard hits.
Shoutout to Mike for being a warrior.

The early blow was when Harry Meisner (who is on an MVP pace) hit a 2 run Homer to
left and Ryan Small doubling to give us a 3-0 lead. Silverman came back on us with hits
from all over their lineup. We then got the score to 7-5 with another massive homer from
Harry Meisner scoring three more
In the Top of the 5 th though we blew the game open with 12 runs, hits from everyone,
including a Tyler Stansbury Double, an Ian Segall Double, and a Jeremy Dock inside
the Park Home Run. Harry was then intentionally walked twice in the same inning which
I think might be a record.
Overall another great night of softball for Team Orange Crush, and we get to take on
undefeated Team Solomon next week.

Next in a battle of the Marc’s we had a split

Team Simons won game one with some timely hitting from the bottom of their order. After a costly error by Team Brafman, Andy Beck, Captain Simons, and Seth Shaifer each had hits to break open a close game. Team Simons flashed the leather all game and Jamey Kurtzer kept Team Brafman off balance for the win. 

In game two Team Brafman finally broke through for their first win of the year. A huge bottom of the first set the table. Joel “Hallelujah” Buckley singled, followed by Mark “Big Blue” Tenenholtz first homer of the season. Back-to-back triples by Michael Askin and Spencer “Roll Tide” Scruggs and a single by Ethan Zinn gave team Brafman a 4 run lead they would never give back. Howie found the fountain of youth and pitched a great game. Jon “Scoops” Ruben saved a few outs with his play at first and kept Team Simons off the bases. Team Brafman looks to improve on there 1-0 second half record Wednesday.

Finally Team Fogel split a double header here is David Wertheim for Team Fogel in game 1.

TEAM FOGEL SURVIVES TEAM KRANTZ IN GAME ONE THRILLER

David Wertheim checking in as the guest writer this week. Let’s see if I still remember how to do this. 

In the first of a month of five-inning doubleheaders, Team Fogel continued their excellent first half with a 9-8 win over a pesky Team Krantz. Missing southpaw ace Jimmy Lefton, in St. Louis for his son “Big Al” Alex Lefton’s wedding, “Big Dog” Bob Pelberg toed the slab and delivered a quality start en route to a victory.

Team Fogel started out hot, with five runs in the first inning. The big blow was a triple off the bat of Will “The Thrill” Coleman. Team Krantz scored two in the first and three in the second, evening the game after two frames. Team Fogel added three runs in the third inning on a Coleman inside the park home run to the fence. 

Krantz answered once again with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, including one of the crazier calls in league history. A long meeting on the mound for Team Fogel with men on base was taken advantage of. “Slick” Dee Harris was on third base and during the meeting, the umpire told Landon that Team Fogel had never called time. As such, Landon walked over to Dee and told him that Team Fogel never called time, and Dee scampered home with what was, at the time, the tying run. Team Fogel made sure to be VERY clear in calling time the remainder of the evening. This is the first time that this writer remembers an umpire actively helping the opponent. 

After a scoreless top of the fifth, Team Fogel was in a golden position to walk it off with the top of the order due up. Joel Fogel and David Wertheim singled, putting the winning run on third, followed by an intentional walk of Jeremy “Cap” Fogel to load the bases. Brad Wagner popped up on the infield, so the baton was passed to Brad Gallop, who delivered a long fly ball into the right-center gap to score the winning run.

The aforementioned Coleman was the hitting star of the game with his two long extra base hits. Wertheim added two knocks of his own, and including game two, which Team Fogel lost, is now 15/16 (.937) career against Krantz hurler Jamey Drennan. Gallop, playing just his second game of the season, was a perfect 3/3 and played a very good left field. 

And in game two 

Landon for the winners

In Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Team Krantz persevered over Team Fogel with a final score of 8-4. Jamey Drennan pitched a gem against a very good-hitting Team Fogel, and despite multiple tweaked hamstrings, Team Krantz’s offense got some big hits off of opener Dr. Bob and relief pitcher Brad Wags.

The bottom of the 1^st opened with 3 consecutive doubles from leadoff specialist Kenny Lofton Ryan Marcus, then Griffin Harris, and then Jamey Drennan. Krantz did his signature bunt (in the cleanup spot?) to move Drennan over, and Dee Harris doubled again to bring everyone home. 

Team Fogel had some timely hitting from Wertheim (3-3 at the plate), Jeremy Fogel (2 RBIs), and Brad Gallop who smashed a double in the gap. In the top of the 5th, down 4 runs, Jeremy Fogel launched a bomb to deep right center with two men on base. But Griffin made a spectacular catch at the track look easy, and the game came to an end. Team Krantz starts the second half 1-0. Let’s go!

League notes 

Big shout out to both Jimmy Lefton and David “The Dr. of Style” Weil on the upcoming kids wedding. Big Al is getting married in St. Louis this weekend while David’s daughter is getting married in the Big Apple. Congrats to you both. Also happy birthday Big AL! Also congrats go out to Joel and Barb Fogel over the fact both Jeremy and Brooke are engaged (but not to each other, that would be gross) We have had a lot of league birthday’s over the last couple of weeksDavid Snyder, Eric Zied, Rick Teneholtz, Alumnus and best hair in the leauge Rafi Goldfarb, and Jeremy Fogel.

I know a lot of you had kids that graduated high school, college, 8th grade you name it. Congrats to all of us who that happened to. 

Don’t forget it’s Wings night on June 24 at the Silver Spring House. It’s very nice of Gig to treat us all so please try to make it.

The Oy Vey 5K is early this year due to the Bengals bye week. It’s Oct. 18th and like I mention every year the money raised goes back to our program. You don’t have to run you can walk it. You get a great t-shirt and the chance to beat Adam who is always the first guy in the league to finish.

The less said about the mess the Reds find themselves in the better. I just get worked up and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not worth it. 

Tickets for game 3 in NYC at MSG for the Knicks/Spurs are going for over $7000 in the cheapest seats. For courtside they are going for over 6 figures! I read that it’s cheaper to send your kids to NYU than attend a game in NYC. Crazy!

The other night the Dodgers were on the TV at the Spring House and Rick Lefton and I were talking about where Ohtani would rank on the all time list of players. I think this stat about sums it up:

In his third consecutive two-way start, Ohtani hurled his third scoreless performance in his last four appearances, posting six innings of two-hit ball with six strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 7-0 thumping of the Diamondbacks. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate and reached base safely five times. He raised his average to .301 and lowered his ERA to a league-best 0.74. Imagine if Chase Burns could also hit like say Aaron Judge. This guy is amazing

Roger this week sent me a text with a picture of the Bob Huggins book written by Bill Koch a few years back and asked if I wanted it. I told him he already sold me a copy a few months ago. Would this have happened to Roger if the book was “It’s gonna be a whar Andy a whar”the Pete Gillen story? I think not

See you all on Wednesday. NO RAIN!

On a great, but windy, night for softball, it was nice to finally get back out there. 

On Field 1 it was Team Groh vs. Team Brafman

Roger for Team Groh

TEAM GROH 12

TEAM BRAFMAN 2

TEAM GROH continued their winning ways with a six inning 12-2 victory over TEAM BRAFMAN.

“The key to the victory was our defense was solid once again and we got some timely hitting. I’m happy with the way our team is playing, but we have a long way to go, but I’m very confident we have a contending team, ” captain KEN GROH said afterwards. 

GROH pitched to five over the minimum and never was in real trouble as the defense shined behind him.

“That was one of my best games in the JCC league. I remember I pitched a no-hitter back in the third grade. I guess that was better,” GROH added.

The victors started off the bottom of the first inning with a five spot and never looked back.

The entire team contributed offensively including last rounder ROGER ROSENTHAL, making his season debut due to injury…..he laid down a sucessful bunt “hit” to load the bases…..

NICK O’BRIEN had the night of nights with four hits and after a tough game last game as a fill-in at shortstop, played a solid outfield….

“I don’t want to see SS again. I’m happy in the outfield,” he said after the game with family surrounding him.

STU WEINSTEIN was on base three times and played a flawless 1B…..DAN MCGRATH played well in LCF….ADAM CRONSTIEN was on base three times…BRYCE ANSLINGER scored twice….CHRIS KUNKEL was on base three times……DAVID SNYDER scored twice and turned a double play….SAM KLINKOWITZ was solid behind the plate.

NEXT GAME…..5/20  VS. TEAM SILVERMAN……gates open early as it’s ANTON LOON BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT…..the first 10,000 fans receive one.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK…..ta ta

NOTES…….DID ANYONE KNOW THE NHL PLAYOFFS ARE GOING ON?……everybody talks baseball, soccer and a little NBA, but what about the best sport on the continent?

FINALS PREDICITON…..COLORADO OVER CAROLINA……don’t bet too much on this as I’ve been wrong before……lol

On Field 2 we had Team Simons vs. Team Silverman

Marc for the winners:

It turned out to be a beautiful day for softball. Despite the late arrival, it was a quick game. Team Simons scored runs in every inning, putting pressure on team Silverman.  Jamey Kurtzer spun a masterful 3 hit 1 run game, highly deserving of the game ball. 3 double plays were turned by team Simons, showcasing some very nifty defense. Final score 13-1 Team Simons in 5 innings.

On Field 3 we had Team Fogel vs. Team AJ

Jeremy for the winners

The drama started 90 minutes before first pitch when El Capitán received a text from Ricky Lefton saying his basement was underwater, and he wouldn’t make it to Triple Creek. Officials are looking into the prime suspect, Matt Miller, an employee at The Job Center, to see if he knowingly assigned an unqualified plumber to go “work on the water heater” at Ricky’s house leading to the flood. More to follow.

Already short-handed, and after a quick conversation with upper management, the decision was made to play with 9. As it turned out, there may have been time to find a sub after all. Two umpires (who shall remain nameless) lost track of time at the local watering hole and showed up 20 minutes late.

Playing from behind most of the game, we’ll skip ahead to the sixth inning, where things got interesting. With Team Goldhoff ahead 7-3 and looking for more, David Wetherhammerstein, playing a true center field, gunned down a runner trying to score on a single up the middle. A perfect throw and a clean tag at the plate by Ian Conwell swung the momentum back to Team Fogel.

In the bottom of the sixth, a rally began to brew. Bob Pelberg and Eli Gould both reached base in their typically clutch fashion, setting the table for Mark Franklin. After battling all game without much to show for it, Mark ripped a line drive to the left side to load the bases. With Team Fogel still down 4 and the bases loaded, a fielder’s choice groundout by Sparky brought one home, and then Wetherhammerstein stepped to the plate in the biggest moment of the young season. Falling behind in the count, David lined a two-out, game-tying inside-the-park home run to the right field fence. The inning wasn’t over. El Capitán singled to the gap, Wags came up clutch with an RBI triple, and then Jimmy Lefton drove Wags home with a two-out RBI single. Just like that, Team Fogel led by two heading into the seventh.

True to form, the top of Team Goldhoff’s order scored twice in the final frame to tie it up. But Team Fogel wasn’t finished. Bob Pelberg singled for his fourth on-base of the game, Eli Gould followed with an aggressive opposite-field double, and the stage was set for Mark Franklin. After an ambitious first-pitch swing that nearly launched him out of his shoes, Mark lifted a fly ball to the outfield that dropped for a walk-off single. A heroic moment.

Through five weeks and two games, Team Fogel sits at 2-0 with a run differential of +2. Anyone who watched the Reds this year knows that may mean the winnings ways are not sustainable, but this team plays together and does not give in. 

Finally on Field 4 Team Stu vs. Team Wolf

Stu for the winners:

“Motor” Kade Carlyle collected three hits in three at bats, as Team Solomon defeated Team Wolf 10-6 on Wednesday on Field 4. Carlyle singled in the sixth inning, doubled in the first inning, and singled in the fifth inning.

Team Solomon opened the scoring in the first after Stuart “Little” Solomon singled, scoring one run.

Team Wolf jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the second inning after Scott “Come On Man!” Wolf doubled to center field, and Mark “None the” Weisser walked, each scoring one run.

An inside the park home run by John “Toxic” Spears gave Team Solomon the lead, 3-2, in the top of the fourth.

Mike “Josh” Rothstein singled down the left field line, which helped Team Wolf tie the game at three in the bottom of the fourth.

In the top of the fifth, Team Solomon broke up the tie when Carlyle singled, scoring one run. Then a double by Seth “Meyers” Berland followed to extend the lead to 6-3.

Team Wolf tied the game in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a fielder’s choice by Matthew “Mark, Luke, and John” Kraus, a single by Wes “tern” Wolf, and a single by Landon “Krantz” Hawkins.

Team Solomon captured the lead, 10-6, in the top of the sixth when Jamey “Lynn Spears” Drennen singled, scoring one run, Logan “Ondrusek” Denby drew a walk, scoring one run, and Carlyle singled, scoring two runs.

Solomon earned the win for Team Solomon. The righty allowed 13 hits and six runs over seven innings, striking out none and walking four. Weisser took the loss for Team Wolf. The pitcher went seven innings, surrendering 10 runs on 18 hits, striking out one and walking three.

Defensively, Team Solomon played a solid game. Captain and Pitcher Stuart Solomon had a great sliding grab in foul ground. Zach ” Councilman” Michelson played a great first with some critical stretches to get the runs by a half step. Brandon Lindsey ‘Graham” had a critical catch in RF to limit more runs. 

Remember everyone we play on Sunday at 9:30 and again at 11:30 (weather permitting) 

League Notes 
Sad news to report. It’s a couple of weeks old but JCC softball alumni Bob Cohen passed away unexpectedly . Bob played in the league for a number of years as did his son, Jeff. I saw Bob the week before he died, and the first thing he asked me was how was softball and who was on my team. (It’s crazy that all of us think that way when we talk about the league). Jeff is convinced that his dad was looking down on him as he recorded his first hole-in-one yesterday! Please keep Jeff and his family in mind this month. 

Happy birthday wishes to Mark Wolf (not the current player but the brother of Scott and Duffy). Also Jeremy Cantor celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago.
Congrats go out to some kids who graduated over the last couple of weeks (sorry if I missed your kid please e-mail me and I’ll put it in the next one). Grace Lefton, Ricky’s daughter graduated from UC Law School. Gabby Goldstein, daughter of Anne (who helps put the league together) and Eric, who played in the league for a number of years, graduated from UC. Sophia Rothstein, daughter of “The Special One,” Mike) graduated from OU.

This is an amazing story: 

King Mike Casiano attends 10,000 baseball games. Can you imagine going to 10,000 games? 

I know it’s a couple of weeks back, but count me on board with liking the Bengals draft and trade. Seems like they got some good players and filled some holes. Yes, they have a lot of holes left but I like them being proactive. 

As for the Reds along with David “The Dr of Style” Weil, we are at a loss. They seem to find new and inventive ways to lose each game. Last night it was asking a guy who hasn’t bunted since he was in AA to bunt over  a runner in the 9th. Then a fan caught what might have been a homer in the 10th to take away what might have been a game tying homer for the Reds. You simply can’t make it up.

Remember Jewish night Jewish Community Night at the Reds – Mayerson JCC is coming up at the Reds game. Make sure you sign up it’s a fun night each year.

See you guys out there on Sunday

Marc