JCC Softball Cincinnati

I was told it was another hot night on Wednesday, so with that said let’s get to the games.

On field one Team Wolf Beat Team Silverman. The recap will be up soon

On Field two Team Krantz took on Team Brafman (minus Brafman)

Landon for the winners:

Norm Frankel put on an offensive clinic, driving in three runs on three hits as Team Krantz was victorious over Team Brafman 14-4 on Wednesday.

Team Brafman struck first in the opening frame, with Mike Askin lifting a sacrifice fly and John Spears adding an RBI single to take an early 2-0 lead.

Team Krantz answered immediately. Pat Feldman delivered a two-run single to tie the game before Frankel gave Team Krantz a 3-2 advantage they would never relinquish.

The game broke open in the second as Team Krantz erupted for six runs on seven hits. Everyone hit, and Howard Goldwasser got in on the act with a big RBI single to keep the rally alive!

The offense never let up, piling up 20 hits in the win. Dee Harris, Jamey Drennan, and Frankel each recorded three-hit games, while Pat Feldman, Yitzi Creeger, Brian Goldberg, and Capt Crunch Krantz added multiple-hit performances. .

For Team Brafman, Mike Askin led the offense with two RBIs while going a perfect 2-for-2. Askin, Mark Tenenholtz, and Spencer Scruggs each finished with two hits, Tenenholtz with a liner down the RF line that led to a stand-up triple. Joel Buckley chased a pop up into left for a sliding catch to save a couple runs and wowed the crowd.

Team Krantz gets a bye on Sunday and will rest up for a rematch with Team Silverman in two weeks.

On Field 3 it was Team Solomon vs. Team Simons

Stu for the winners:

 Its the Secret World of Alex “Mack” Kraus drove in four runs on three hits to lead Team Solomon past Team Simons 17-16 on Wednesday. Kraus hit an inside the park home run in the sixth inning, scoring three runs, and singled in the third inning, scoring one.

Team Solomon collected 25 hits and Team Simons had 25 in the high-scoring affair.

Team Solomon got on the board in the top of the first inning after “Motor” Kade Carlyle hit a sacrifice fly, and James “Lynn” Swan singled, each scoring one run.

After going down 4-2, Team Solomon jumped back into the lead in the top of the third inning after  “The” Carlyle “Group” doubled to center field, Swan singled to left field, Kraus singled to center field, Steve “McQueen” Zawatsky singled to center field, and Zach “Preppy” Michelson singled to center field, each scoring one run.

Team Solomon added three more runs in the top of the fourth inning on five hits. Adam “Andy” Heldman singled, scoring one run, and Carlyle homered to center field, scoring two runs.

After going down again, 13-11, Team Solomon flipped the game on its head in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs on five hits to take the lead, 16-13. The biggest blow in the inning was an inside the park home run by Kraus that drove in three.

A ground out by Keith “Van Horn” Kombrinck gave Team Solomon the lead, 17-16, in the top of the seventh.

Team Solomon amassed 25 hits in the game. Swan went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead Team Solomon in hits. Michelson, Heldman, Solomon, Daniel Meisterman, Seth Berland, and Zawatsky each collected multiple hits for Team Solomon. Swan stole two bases. .

Defensively, Brandon Lindsay “Graham, RIP” had two big catches in RF. Kade “ROY” Carlyle had some very nice running catches to help secure the win. 

And finally on Field 4 it was Team Fogel vs. Team Groh

Jeremy for the winners

Team Lox took on Team Groh on Field 4 in another heated battle during the dog days of summer. Early returns had this one painted as a pitchers duel, but Team Lox ended up winning in emphatic fashion, plating 13 runs between fifth and seventh inning offensive explosions to take the game 15-4.

The early innings were all defense from both sides, with leather flashing in the infield and outfield. Key plays by Nick O’Brien at shortstop kept Team Lox off the board early, and a vital double play turned by Brad Wagner and Eli Gould stifled rallies for the opposition. After a tough defensive inning, Team Groh tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead into the later innings.

As it often does for Team Lox, things clicked in the fifth when a seven spot went up on the scoreboard. The rally was fueled by a leadoff single from Ian Conwell, moments after he nearly dented the third base coach’s shins with a screaming foul ball. Eli Gould followed with an inside-the-park blast, a lesson learned from last week when he tripped over third base trying to leg out a would-be round-tripper. Mark Franklin followed with a line shot that split the gap in center field. The inning was capped off by David Wertherhammerstein lacing one to the warning track in left, clearing the bases.

After a shutdown inning from their southpaw ace, and with runners on the corners and two outs, El Capitán stepped up and hit a towering shot to the right-center field fence. It clanked off the base of the wall and turned into an inside-the-park home run, followed immediately by another inside-the-parker from Wags to cap off a strong offensive night for the Lox.

Right after that, Jumbo Lefton gave one a ride to the warning track in right-center. It looked like it was gone, but the commish, on his birthday, no less, tracked it down. Whether it was heat exhaustion or the heat of the moment, he then chucked the ball 50 feet into the woods, never to be seen again. When you keep having to chase the ball to the wall, sometimes you just can’t help yourself.

Quote of the night comes from Will Coleman, who should’ve earned a hustle single but was instead ruled out on an objectively bad call. He turned to the first base coach and muttered, “They just keep getting worse.”

Team Lox moves to 11-2, hoping the fun isn’t over yet.

Reminder we play this Sunday But NOT on Wednesday, July 22.

League Notes

Happy birthday to the following

The Commish, Adam Cronstein 

Former players

Riley “the Big Man” Abel

Eric “Jeter” Goldstein

A quick update from Zach Mayeron the state of his leg. He still can’t put any weight on it, and gets around on either crutches, a scooter or a wheel chair. He hopes to be back up and running by the spring to play again. Get well soon Zach, we miss ya!

I will really miss the World Cup when it’s over on Sunday. While I could take or (mostly) leave MLS and the Premier league, I do love country soccer. I’ve really enjoyed watching it and the video of the Argentine announcer losing his mind after the 2nd goal on Wednesday is worth looking up. Other than “Messi” and “GOL” I have no clue what he is saying, but I can close my eyes and hear Dan Hoard saying the Bengals are CHAMPS or Tommy T saying there goes a deep fly to LF by Sal and the REDS WIN! A boy can dream, right?

Count me on board on the Reds signing Burns to his extension. Now they have to go and get a team around him, Green, Elly and Sal while they have them. It just goes to show how bad our front office really is when you have two true ace pitchers and two really good guys in the field and your team stinks as bad as the Reds do. 

If you are a music fan, I can’t stress enough that you need to go to Red Rocks. I was out there last weekend to see the Avett Brothers (and 84 year-old Graham Nash who still can sing) and man it was as amazing as you would think. My wife, Shana, who HATES concerts was so impressed with it that she said she would even consider going again. Not that I’m rushing out there anytime soon. It really is an amazing place to see a show. So if you can head out there. 

As I mentioned above we are off this upcoming week because of a Jewish holiday. As luck would have it my Rabbi Shafrin  from Adath sent an e-mail explaining it. Our Jewish calendar is an incredible, complex reflection of our own journeys through the year, with highs and lows, times for gathering together or retreating into privacy. This coming week, we experience the very lowest emotional and spiritual point in the Jewish year: The holiday of Tisha B’Av.

Beginning Wednesday night and continuing into Thursday, the holiday of Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av, originally commemorated the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem, and has come, throughout the last 2000 years, to also mark the dispersion of the Jewish People, persecutions and antisemitism, and expulsions from countries too numerous to list. It is one of only two major fast days, meaning it lasts a full 25 hours, from sunset to sunset.

Last but not least, we all need to talk to Roger about his pricing on this years Reds bobbleheads. $30 for Hayes and Steer? $25 for Marte? they should all be $10 

See everyone Sunday. Fingers crossed it’s not raining. 

What is this you say? Two straight weeks of no rain! Adam might have finally made peace with Mother Nature. 

On field 1 we had Team AJ vs. Team Simons. AJ has the recap:

Another great team win for Team Orange as we took out Team Simons 10-4.

The game started extremely fast because no one could score until the 3rd inning. In the top half of that third though we had 2 outs and then the rally started. I hit a triple, Ian Segall hit a triple, Tyler Stansbury doubled, and Harry Meisner hit an RBI single to bring the game to 4-0.

We got it to 6-2 in the 5th with more hits from Zach Zakem, Stansbury and Meisner. and then in the 7th with the score 6-4 another rally started toward the bottom of our order. Todd Wasserman, Michael Heldman, Zach Zakem, and I all got on, and then Segall, Stansbury and Meisner brought us in to bring the score to 10-4.

I would also be remiss not to mention another great game pitched by our horse Mike Gray.

We look forward to our bye next week and then getting back out there for the final stretch ot the season.

On Field 2 it was Team Fogel vs. Team Wolf

Jeremy for the winners:

Heading into the Wednesday bout with Team Wolf, Team Lox was 1-2 in games not started by Jimmy Lefton — but that didn’t matter to Brad Wagner, who took the ball and gave up just 6 runs over 7 solid innings. Wags got plenty of help from a sharp outfield defense, most notably Ian Conwell, who anchored down the right side with several key plays.

Good defense has been a theme all season, no matter who’s on the mound, and it proved vital again on Wednesday as the bats stayed quiet through the first four frames. Crafty veteran Mark Weisser kept hitters off balance, working through the order twice while stranding runner after runner.

After Team Wolf plated 5 in the top of the 5th to take a 6-2 lead, the tide turned for the Lox bats. Sparky Fogel and Dave Wertheim sparked things at the top of the order, as usual, and the hits kept coming from there. Key knock after key knock kept the line moving, and the inning was capped by a huge two-out triple from Eli Gould — who may have had designs on an inside-the-park homer before tripping over himself 10 feet past third base. Will Coleman kept lacing line drives all over the field and playing gold-glove defense at first, helping Team Lox pick up their 10th win of the season.

On field 3 it was Team Krantz vs Team Groh

Roger for the winners:

TEAM GROH 17

TEAM KRANTZ 12

In what might have been the gutsiest victory of the season, TEAM GROH defeated TEAM KRANTZ, 17-12, in a wild affair.

“It was nice to overcome that one bad defensive inning and put it behind us and come away with a win, ” team captain KEN GROH stated afterwards.

Hitting stars were aplenty with BRYCE ANSLINGER leading the way as he drove in five runs and also played great defense, making one of the sweetest plays you’ll see when, while playing 2B, he fielded the ball with a runner on first, tagged the base with his glove and while on his backside, threw to 1B to complete a double play……”I’ve practiced that play ever since tee ball many years ago and I finally got to do it in a game,” ANSLINGER said afterwards while signing autographs for the fans in attendance.

GROH and sub, TAIT CUNNINGHAM, playing against his cousin, PAT FELDMAN, each had four hits along with ADAM CRONSTIEN, RYAN “ATOM” BAUM, DAN MCGRATH and CHRIS KUNKEL each collecting multiple hits. Also, SAM KLINKOWITZ, started a big rally with a key hit and was once again, solid behind home plate.

Defensively, DAVID SNYDER turned a nice double play in to thwart a rally, while NICK O’BRIEN, under the guidance of coach ROGER ROSENTHAL, played a solid SS (minus one play….lol)…..STU WEINSTEIN, still going strong at 70 years old, played a solid game at 1B.

All was not great as the team’s spiritual leader, ROSENTHAL had to be helped off the field due to an injury while running to first base.

“I was more embarrassed than anything. Not only did I fall once, but I fell twice. What a klutz I am. I was happy we won the game without my mighty bat and solid defensive playing,” he joked afterwards.

The victory kept TEAM GROH in the hunt for the second half with a few BIG games still to come……STAY TUNED!

Next up is a revenge game vs. TEAM FOGEL. 

The game will be carried on FOX OHIO (if they still exsist) starting with the pre-game show at 6:00 p.m. with first pitch at 6:15 p.m. BOB COSTAS will be doing the play-by-play with former JCC star ALBERT WEISBROT doing the color as well as singing the NATIONAL ANTHEM. The first 500 fans will receive an 8 x 10 photo of former star, STEVE “MR. WINGS” EPPSTEIN.

Finally on Field 4 Team Silverman vs. Team Stu

Stu for the winners

Stuart “MVP” Solomon drove in five runs on four hits to lead Team Solomon past Team Silverman 15-6 on Wednesday. Solomon singled in the first scoring two, doubled in the second scoring two, and tripled in the seventh scoring one.

Team Solomon won thanks in part to eight runs in the first inning.  Kade “Klubnik” Carlyle doubled, scoring one run, Solomon singled, scoring two runs, James Swan “Dive” hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run, Brandon Lindsay “Davenport” singled, scoring one run, and Danny “McBribe” Meisterman hit an inside the park home run, scoring three runs.

Team Solomon added two runs in the second. Solomon doubled to center field, making the score 10-3.

Solomon earned the win for Team Solomon. The pitcher surrendered 16 hits and six runs over seven innings, striking out one and walking two. Howard Schwartz took the loss for Team Silverman. The starter went six and one-third innings, allowing 11 runs on 18 hits, striking out two and walking none.

Team Solomon amassed 22 hits in the game. Zach Michelson, Alex Kraus, Drew Hart, Swan, Carlyle, Adam Heldman, and Meisterman each collected multiple hits for Team Solomon. Team Solomon didn’t commit a single error in the field. Solomon had the most chances in the field with three.

Defensively, Team Solomon played a very solid game. Huge catches by Brandon Lindsay “Graham” and Danny “Boy Cane” Meisterman. Danny had the defensive play of the game. Former Commissioner and real estate mogul Ryan Silverman hit a sharp grounder just to the left of 2nd base. Danny was able to secure the grounder, step on second and “Jeter” a throw to 1st. 

League Notes

It is just a matter of time when the Reds promote a Spencer Steer “He will play all nine spots on the field in one game” promotion. Tonight (Friday vs. the Cubs) he is playing CF for the first time ever. Maybe he played it in high school but not in college, or the pros. Good luck with that. 

Also on the Reds, of course the first game I go to without Jacob all year they hit 4 homers in an inning.

The World Cup is so much fun to watch even with the US out. I have loved everything about it. The fans, the weird chants, Mexico losing, the English announcers. Now if we can only figure out a way for the US team to be any good we would be onto something.

Is there anything more Cincinnati than when UC, XU, Dayton and OSU make a fun announcement that they are playing basketball games at the Linder Tennis Center the first thing everyone says is I’m sure it will rain, not what a cool event! I for one think it will be a lovely evening out in October for outside basketball. What could possibly go wrong?

This week marked the 30th anniversary when Hulk Hogan turned on the fans and started the NWO. Jon Ruben and I might be the only guys that care about this but I can still remember going insane when he dropped the big leg on the Macho Man and the fans started throwing garbage into the ring. You fans can SHOVE IT! 

If you guys want to go, next Thursday at the JCC there is going to be a movie about the Israel baseball team. Check out the JCC website for more details. 

Have a nice weekend everyone

Marc

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