Category: 2025 Season

A wonderful night for softball on Wednesday leads to a good blog a day late:

Leading off is Keith for Team Fogel who beat Team Wolf:

After a one run loss to open the season, and a not so close loss last week, Team Fogel got a win over Team Wolf last night. Mark Weisser was on the mound doing his magic for Wolf and Adam Heldman was making fine catches in deep left-center.

It was a close game at 6-5 in the 7th inning. Team Fogel had men at 2nd and 3rd with two out. Jeremy was walked to load the bases. Then it was time for the “big play” for Team Fogel. Joel hit a hard grounder in the hole between the 1st and 2nd basemen and two runs scored.

Matt Miller had two tomahawk hits and a deep drive over the right fielder, and as catcher cut down two runners. A Jeremy Fogel to Landon Kurtz throw from left center to 3rd base produced two bang-bang outs. Landon made additional good catches at third and Josh Rosen and Brad Gallop ran down a few balls in right center.

Eddie Gallop started that late-inning rally by leading off and lining a ball through the hole between 1st and 3rd . Jamie Kurtzer and the defense finished the game with a 9-5 win.

Next up is Ken Groh whose team beat Team Solomon:

Another close defensive game tonight with Solomon being carried by Dan McGrath, David Snyder and Cam Kirzner. Team Groh had Jack Cohen, Sam Castellini and Tyler Stansbury flashing the leather. From memory and not the book, Tyler Stansbury hit #3 out of the park putting Groh up 2-0 with Jack on base after a 4 foul at bat. Solomon plated 1 in the 2nd after a McGrath triple. Then Cohen tripled to make it 3-1. Eli Gould doubled and came around to make it 3-2. In the bottom of the 5th Solomon scored two to go up 4-3 but after Mathew Kraus collected his 1st JCC hit the team rallied behind him to score 3. Team Groh held off a bottom 7 rally to win 7-5. 

In the sad gm of the night Team AJ beat Team Brad:

This is about as bittersweet of a recap as I hope to ever write. Unfortunately, last night we lost Zach Fritzhand for the season to an injury, and we are thinking about him and hoping for a very easy recovery. He was having an amazing season so far (8-10 on the year with 7 RBIs in 3 games) and it stinks to see it end like this for him. We wish him nothing but the best.

As for the game last night, the Goon Squad came to play in a big way with a 15-1 win in 5 innings vs Team Wagner. Every single person contributed on offense and defense, which was very needed with our 1 and 5 out for the night. We really broke the game open in the second inning starting with massive contributions from the bottom of our order. Sam Klinkowitz hit a Klinko bomb that got him a 2-run triple, followed by hits from Michael Heldman and Howard Goldwasser. The rally was on and we scored 8 runs that inning.

Like I said though this was a team effort through and through. Jamey Drennan pitched great and had 4 RBIs, Adam Cronstein was a vacuum in LCF, I went 3-3 with a triple and three runs, Ryan Small and Ian Conwell had 2 hits as well. Our MVP on the night though is the aforementioned Howard Goldwasser with 2 hits and the biggest catch of the game.

Next week we will play Team Wolf with a chance to keep it rolling.

Finally on field 4 Team Brafman got another win vs. Team Grefer

Thanks to a couple of Subs (Michael Askin and Anthony (Not Alex) Skrapitz) and a great pitching performance by Jimmy Lefton, Team Brafman won 10-7 over Team Grefer. This was a team win all around with big hits coming from Captain Brafman, Zach Mayer, Corey Myers and Jeff “Oscar Meyer” Wiener (who also played a great first base). The defense led the way especially the left side of the infield of Meyer and Skrapitz who were perfect all night. Zach “The Wild Horse” Zakem played a great game behind the plate who kept the ball in front of him all night.  For team Grefer, Dan Bernstein hit a 3-run homer that might have just landed. 

Team Brafman looks to continue their winning ways after their bye week next week.

League notes

Instead of the normal League notes I wanted to share Rick Lefton’s post from earlier this week from his leading the Cincy delegation on the March of Living. I took this from Rick’s Facebook page but I thought it was important to share with the league. Thanks Rick for taking all the Cincy kids over to Poland this year.

It will be impossible for me to describe our day today…there is no way that words can match the range of emotions and circumstances we experienced today. The March of the Living “March” and ceremony were today…we marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau with over 7,000 other delegates as a reminder to people everywhere that our people…the Jewish people…survived the Holocaust and the people marching “The Living” were there to “March” in memory of those who perished and could not march for themselves.

Our delegation was honored and surprised to be selected to lead “The March”…we were moved to the front and given the important task of carrying the March of the Living banner at the front of the pack! Such a cool experience for our students as they were given unexpected VIP treatment and were placed right in front and next to press row so there will be plenty of images and videos from news outlets featuring our group! It was a once in a lifetime experience and very impactful!

Once we completed that task, the March of the Living ceremony in Birkenau kicked off and we settled in to enjoy what’s typically a very meaningful ceremony. There was rain in the forecast but it was looking like it would hold off until later in the afternoon…but that was not meant to be. Rain started shortly after the start of the ceremony (which normally lasts about 2 hours)…no big deal…we were prepared with rain jackets, ponchos, and umbrellas but it was obvious very quickly that severe weather was bearing down on us. The ceremony was abruptly ended about 20 minutes in and they announced that people needed to evacuate Birkenau and to please stay off the railroad tracks because lightening was in the area…oy. The sky opened up and we got pounded by the heaviest rain I have ever been in with no shelter anywhere in sight and thousands of people trying to hustle back to the fleet of buses used to transport everyone. It was terrifying and being in a place built to be terrifying for other reasons made it even more surreal. There was panic…real panic in that crowd. 

Fortunately with the help of local security, police, and volunteers working the event we made it out and back to the bus OK but soaked to the bone. I didn’t hear any complaining from our students as it was not lost on them where we were, and the real unspeakable tragedies that had happened there over 80 years ago. I was extremely proud of our group and it made a memorable day an extremely memorable day! 

We finished up the evening with a nice dinner at the Krakow JCC which has been doing incredible work supporting refugees from nearby Ukraine. The Krakow JCC CEO Jonathan Ornstein who is a transplanted New Yorker shared the details of the vital work they are doing…it was a real pleasure to be there as a fellow JCC Professional and a great way to end an unforgettable day! 

Sorry for the long post…this whole day could be a book someday so you got off easy!

See everyone next week

A wonderful night for softball (and baseball) unless your last name was Brafman as both my team and Jacob’s team lost. But enough about us, let’s get onto the action:

On Field one we had Team Groh vs. Team Fogel 

Ken for the victors: 

After a scoreless 1st inning, Pete Soltesz led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double and came around to score as did Groh on a rare wild pitch from Jamey Kurtzer. Tyler Stansbury hit a 2-run homer with two outs in the 3rd to increase the lead to 4-0. Team Fogel plated 4 runs to tie in the top of the 4th after stringing together several line drives. Soltesz, Von Holle, Groh started off the bottom of the 4th with singles and all 3 scored with David Solomon and Anslinger hits to make it 7-4. Team Groh broke it open in the 5th as Tyler hit his 2nd homerun over the fence and after Castellini had his 2nd hit, Von Holle hit his 1st homer over the fence driving in Jack Cohen and Pete to put Groh up 12-4. In the 7th Jeremy Fogel hit the 4th ball out a 3-run shot to finish the scoring at 12-8. Two amazing defensive plays by Jack Cohen and Jeremy Fogel each saving inside the park homeruns with run down catches. Jon Ruben pitched a scoreless inning and Danny Meisterman also flashed some leather in his first game of the year. 

On Field 2 it was Team Brafman (minus the Capt) vs. Team Simons

Marc Simons for the winners: 

Yesterday was an epic showdown between Team Brafman and Simons. Team Brafman struck first with some nifty baserunning, putting pressure on team Simons to counter. David Wertheim delivered by knocking one out of the park to pull ahead. Team Brafman wasn’t done as they compiled a 6-run inning to pull ahead 11-10 in the late going. Zach Michelson then hit a triple, and mind you not a JCC triple, but legend has it, he may still be on his way to third. Team Simons was able to pull ahead 14-12 in the bottom of the 6th inning and held on for their first win of the season. Many minor injuries in this game but overall it was a fun, well fought game on both sides. 

On Field 3 it was Team Grefer vs. Team Goldhoff

AJ for the winners:

Another great win for the Goons this week as we took out the Grefer-less Grefer’s. Where do even begin? Contributions all over the board…we had not one, not two, not three, but four inside the park home runs, from four different players. Including: Griffin Harris (to go with his 4 hits), Ian Segall (on his first swing of his JCC softball career), Ian Conwell (on the 12^th or 13^th pitch of an unbelievable at bat), and of course the commissioner Adam Cronstein. Zach Fritzhand also had 3 hits and 4 RBI’s for himself as well.

The story of the game at first though seemed to be the sun, as both teams were struggling in the first couple innings to see the ball in the outfield. As the sun set though the Goons stepped up the defense, started running the basepaths (8 steals on the day) and held off the Grefer’s until they scored 5 in the 6^th to come within 3. Jamey Drennan though locked in and finished off another good outing to bring us to 2-0.

Next week we play Team Wagner looking to keep it rolling.

And last but not least on Field 4 it was Team Wolf vs. Team Solomon

Wes for the winners:

After a bye in week 1, Team Wolf kicked off our season with a bang—and a whole lot of grit—pulling off a thrilling 16-14 win in our first game of the year.

Let’s be honest: it wasn’t the prettiest start. We gave up 9 runs in the top of the first inning, which had some of us wondering if this was going to be a long year. But instead of folding, we answered right back in the bottom half with 4 runs, including a two-run double by Pat Feldman, setting the tone for this season right off the bat. 

The middle innings were a battle. Both teams traded runs and big plays, keeping the score close and the energy high. Corey Norris provided excellent pitching as a sub, and Tyler Wolf came through with a 3 hit day. Heading into the bottom of the 6th, we found ourselves down 14-10—but Team Wolf wasn’t done yet.

With our backs against the wall, we rallied for a huge 6-run inning, taking the lead for the first time all night. The top of the 7th was all about defense, and we locked it down to secure the win.

Final score: 16-14, Team Wolf.
A hard-fought victory, a great way to start the season, and a reminder that even when we’re down, we’re never out.

League notes

Short and sweet this week

Happy birthday to Rick Lefton who is leading the March of the Living in Poland at the moment 

JCC Legend Mark Wolf also celebrated a birthday

Don’t forget to sign up for the J Classic in June and JCC night at the Reds game on May 13

If you have the means and want to, I can’t stress enough how amazing the Sphere is in Las Vegas. I saw Dead and Co twice over the weekend. It was well worth the money (at least to me)

It must be nice to make $32 million dollars in life and be as bad at it as the Candy man currently is for the Reds. Small market teams can’t continually whiff  on free agents like the Reds do and think they can compete. Shameful.

If there is a bigger waste of time than the NFL draft in sports I have yet to find it.

Finally Roger told me he has some old Martin St. Louis and Gump Worsley hockey cards if anyone is interested

See everyone on Wednesday!

Welcome back to the blog everyone! What a nice night for softball. After a lot of rain and lousy weather this spring (take it from a baseball dad), it was great to be back out there (even if we are all sore today). Let’s get to the action.

On Field one it was Team Solomon vs. Team Grefer:

Kyle for the winners:

We beat Team Solomon 14-12 in a sloppy game to start the year. We had plenty of defensive miscues but were barely able to eke out the win.

Mike Gray pitched a solid game and had a double and a triple to jolt the offense. Dan Grefer and Brian Goldberg each had a few hits but subs Dan Green, Drew Hart, and James Swan did the heavy lifting on offense with 3 hits each (including a smashed triple to center field by Swan).

Happy to get started with a win!

On field two it was Team Groh vs. Team Goldhoff

Rookie Capt. AJ for the winners:

A great opening week for Goldhoff’s Goons (As the app refers to us) as we beat Team Groh 6-2 in a fun defensive battle. Jamey Drennan pitched fantastic in his debut, only giving up 4 hits and 2 runs, while seemingly getting everyone to pop out.

On the offensive side we got contributions from all over the lineup including Griffin Harris, Adam Cronstein, and Zach Fritzhand who each with 2 hits. I had a hit bringing in two runs and Michael Heldman got a hit and made it around to score in his first game in the league.

The defense won the day though with Griff and Adam locking down the middle of the outfield, we also got big catches from Howard Goldwasser, Ian Conwell, and Michael Heldman.

Overall this was a great team effort and we look forward to continuing to get better next week.

On Field 3 it was Team Fogel vs. Team Brafman

For the first time in over a YEAR in the regular season Marc for the winners

In a back and forth game vs. Team Fogel on field one Team Brafman got off to a great start with a walk off 9-8 win. “It’s been a very long time since I can celebrate a regular season win and it felt good to get off on the right side,”  Brafman said. Down early 3-0 in the first, Mike Margolis made a great catch in RF with the bases loaded to save three runs and keep Team Brafman in the game. While Team Fogel kept pushing across runs (including a rocket off the bat of “The Other” Josh Rosen) Team Brafman kept it close. Down 8-4 in the 6th, Team Brafman tied it with hits coming from all over the lineup including a big single from rookie Corey Meyers and Brafman’s 4th hit of the night. After a scoreless top of the 7th Team Brafman’s bottom of the order got the winning inning going. Rookie Jeff “Oscar Meyer” Wiener led off with a single, Gary Fisher moved the runner along and Team Game Ball winner Mike Margolis singled for his 2nd hit of the night moved the runners along. The Special One Mike Rothstein then singled to load the bases and Zach Mayer won it with a single to LF. 

Kudos to Jimmy Lefton for a great pitching performance in his first game back and Harry “Hood” Meisner for making a couple of nice catches in LCF and for a big hit in the 6th. 

Team Brafman looks to continue their winning ways next week. 

Finally on field four it was Team Wagner vs. Team Simons

Brad for the winners:

Team Wagner beat Team Simons in extra innings on opening night, 13-12. The game went back and forth with plenty of strategic moves, including lots of bunts, intentional walks, and key defensive plays by both teams. Wagner took a 10-7 lead late as Team Simons had crucial hits to tie in the 7th. Team Wagner held Team Simons scoreless in the extra frame. The victors started the bottom of the 8th by getting their first three hitters on, then with one out, Corey Norris hit a hard ground ball to David Wertheim playing a shifted 2nd base, who threw to Captain Simons playing catcher for the force out. Still, Simons could not handle the throw, and Joel Buckley scored the winning run.

Everyone contributed to Team Wagner at the plate, including their elder statesman, Roger Rosenthal.

Team Rookie Seth Shaifer also played well in his Triple Creek debut.

Team Wagner is off next week and will be home recovering while watching reruns of “I Love Lucy.”

Team Simons will take on Team Brafman next week. The game will air on CMT. Bill Dance and Richard Petty will be on the call.

League Notes

A bunch of birthdays:

Scott “Why can’t We Be” Friend

Dave Cohen 

Matt Miller

Brad Gallop

Scott Raskin

Danny Grefer

Josh Lisman

Handsome Sam Castellini

Jeff Finkelstein

Greg Leader

Stu Solomon

Once again, if I missed your birthday, sorry.

A big shout out to former player “Big” Alex Lefton on getting engaged

Reminder that it’s JCC night at the Reds game on May 13 vs. the White Sox

The J-Classic is coming up. J Classic – Mayerson JCC  Please sign up, donate or come to dinner.

Wing night is also coming up at the Silver Spring House. I can’t remember the date but a big thank you to Gig for his continued support of the league.

In Reds news, it’s good to know that the Candy man is now 1-25 with something like 13 strikeouts. The Reds’ front office continues to come up with winners in free agency.

Finally, in Roger news, I have to give him credit for somehow finding me a Sean “SK” Kirkpatrick bobblehead with him as a DJ. I have no idea why this was a bobblehead or how he got it but thanks

See ya next week!