Month: April 2026

On a picture perfect spring night we had some exciting action on the fields. 

First on Field 1 it was Team Ken vs. Team Landon

Team Groh was victorious against Team Krantz 7-4 on Wednesday at Field 1 .

Team Krantz got on the board in the top of the first inning after Grif Harris doubled, scoring one run, and Ryan Marcus singled, scoring two runs.

Team Groh captured the lead, 5-4, in the bottom of the fourth after Ryan Baum singled down the left field line, Bryce Anslinger singled down the left field line, Stu Weinstein grounded out, and David Snyder singled to the right side of the infield, each scoring one run.

Ken started the game for Team Groh. The righty gave up 14 hits and four runs over seven innings, striking out none and walking none. Schwartz stepped in the circle first for Team Krantz. The hurler surrendered 11 hits and seven runs over six innings, striking out two and walking none.

Number nine hitter, Snyder, showed the depth of Team Groh’s lineup, by leading them with three hits in three at bats. Team Groh ran wild on the base paths, tallying three stolen bases for the game. Team Groh were sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Groh made the most plays with six.

Team Krantz collected 14 hits in the game. Marcus provided pop in the middle of the lineup, and led Team Krantz with two runs batted in. The third baseman went 1-for-3 on the day. Frankel and Harris each collected three hits for Team Krantz. Harris and Drennan each collected multiple hits for Team Krantz. Team Krantz were sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Harris made the most plays with six.

On Field two it was Team Stu vs. Team Ryan

Stu for the winners:

Stuart “MVP” Solomon drove in five runs on four hits to lead Team Solomon past Team Silverman 17-7 on Wednesday. Solomon hit an inside the park home run in the fifth inning, scoring three runs, and tripled in the third inning, scoring two.

Team Silverman opened the scoring in the top of the first thanks to two singles. Team Silverman first got on the board when Scott “Oh You’re My Best” Friend  singled, scoring one run.

Team Solomon tied the game up in the bottom of the first thanks to two singles. Team Solomon tied the game at two on a single by James “This Bed is On Fire with Passion and Love” Swan.

A single by Danny “Kris” Cross gave Team Silverman the lead, 4-2, in the top of the third.

Team Solomon flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs on seven hits to take the lead, 7-4. The biggest blow in the inning was a triple by Solomon that drove in two.

Team Solomon scored five runs on six hits in the bottom of the fourth inning. Logan ‘Paul” Denby singled, scoring one run, “Black” Swan singled, scoring one run, and Joey Hiudt hit an inside the park home run, scoring three runs.

Team Solomon scored five runs on six hits in the bottom of the fifth inning. Solomon hit an inside the park home run, scoring three runs, “White” Swan singled, scoring one run, and Alex “The Mouse” Kraus singled, scoring one run.

Solomon earned the win for Team Solomon. The hurler gave up eight hits and five runs over four innings, striking out one and walking none. Corey Norris “Hopper” started in the circle for Team Silverman. 

Team Solomon accumulated 24 hits in the game. Kraus, Swan, Kade “Here in My Carlyle, I Feel Safest of All” Carlyle , and Solomon each collected four hits for Team Solomon. Denby and Seth “Green” Berland each collected multiple hits for Team Solomon. 

Great defensive plays all around. Most notably, Alex “Trebek (RIP)” Kraus fielding a ball in front of the plate throwing the runner out at first aided by a great scoop by Zach ‘Morris aka Preppy” Michelson.

Team Solomon is on a bye next week and look to continue their winning ways against a formidable opponent in Team Groh. 

On field three it was Team AJ vs. Team Marc Simons

AJ for the winners:

Another great Team Win for The Orange Crush as we beat Team Simons 10-6.

A single by Jack Cohen put Team Simons on the board in the top of the first.

We took the lead, 3-1, in the bottom of the first thanks to singles by Tyler Stansbury, and Matt Miller.

We then scored five runs on six hits in the bottom of the second inning. Ian Segall singled, scoring one run, Stansbury doubled, scoring one run, and Harry Meisner homered to center field, scoring three runs.

Stansbury latered homered to left field, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth for us to give us some insurance.

I would also be remiss not to mention another great outing from our horse, Mike Gray.

Were excited about the 2-0 start but look forward to playing Team Silverman next week.

Finally on field 4 it was Team Wes vs. Team Jeremy 

Jeremy for the winners

In a shorthanded showdown between Team Wolf and Team Fogel, it took extra innings to decide a winner in a back-and-forth game packed with fireworks. Team Fogel struck first with a run in the top of the first, but found themselves playing catch-up for much of the contest as momentum swung repeatedly between the two sides.

The team was led by shortstop (shortstop, not center fielder) David Wertheim, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances and anchored a stellar defensive effort. Eli Gould was equally impressive at second base, consistently in the right place at the right time while adding a pair of timely hits to spark the offense. Mark Franklin proved to be a catalyst as well, going 4-5 with two runs scored and a key RBI.

Trailing by two with two outs and two on in the top of the seventh, El Capitán delivered in the biggest moment, launching a classic JCC home run to give Team Fogel the lead. Team Wolf answered in the bottom half to tie it, sending the game to extras.

In the eighth, the team came through when it mattered most, stringing together three two-out hits from Ricky Lefton, Bob Pelberg, and Eli Gould to plate two runs which was ultimately the difference in a thrilling, seesaw battle. Can’t win ‘em all if you don’t win the first one!

League notes:As Adam mentioned earlier in the week let’s all wish a speedy recovery to “Mr.” Mike Creamer who had shoulder surgery this week. Pitching BP to thousands of Blue Jays has caught up to him. Get better soon Mike!
A happy birthday to Rick Lefton this week.
I’m not sure what has gotten into the Reds but for the most part I love what I’m seeing. Should the hitting be better? Of course, but besides Kyle Nicolas, who somehow walked 5 guys with a ten run lead, I really like the bullpen. Can they keep winning close games when they can’t score? Beats me but it sure beats being a Mets fan these days. Plus we get to watch Sal and Elly play every day. That is enough for me for now. 

The Bengals trade: I don’t understand Cincy Sports fans across all sports. The Bengals broke the mold and actually went all in or at least mostly in on winning this year. So what about a draft pick that might be good this year and great in 3 years. I want to try and win with Burrow and Chase in their prime. If the Giants get Caleb Downs and he turns into the next Ronnie Lott, so be it. If Sexy Dexy can help the Bengals win and maybe get to the AFC Title game or Super Bowl in the next couple of years then this is a great trade. And if he turns out to be the second coming of Sheldon Rankins while it will suck at least the Bengals went for it. I for one say good for them. And come August, if the Reds are in the thick of it and they trade away a “prospect” for some guys that can help them win today I am even more in favor of that.
Speaking of the Reds I have no idea why they subject us to Chris “The Creeper” Welsh on the radio. Why in the world does Tommy Thrall need a break in the 3rd and 7th inning? Yesterday, Steer hit a fly ball and you’d have thought it was a homer. It was a fly ball to center. He is a very good color guy and a TERRIBLE play-by-play guy. 

RIP Dave Mason who helped found the group Traffic, played with George Harrison and Delaney and Bonnie (if you don’t know them look them up), he also wrote Feelin Alright and Only You Know and I Know. If you are a classic rock fan go see these guys as soon as you can. They are all getting older by the day.

See everyone next week

On a picture perfect Wednesday night, the latest season of JCC kicked off at Triple Creek Park. Let’s get right to the action.

On Field one we had the “Battle of the New Baby Captains,” Team Wes vs. Team AJ

AJ for the winners:

A great start to the season for Team Orange as we beat Team Wolf 16-8 on Field 1. The
game started out very shaky with errors all over the field on both sides. That resulted in
a Team Wolf 7-3 lead after two innings. Once the rust got shaken off, we slowly chipped
away, capped with a Harry Meisner JCC inside the park home run, and hits from every
single person on the team.
Then in the sixth inning we scored seven runs on hits from Eric Zied, Todd Wasserman,
Michael Heldman, me, Ian Segall, Tyler Stansbury, and Mike Gray. After the big inning
we were able to close out the win on defense, again with contributions from every single
person on the team.

On Field two it was Team Ken vs. Team Marc Simons

Roger for the winners:

TEAM GROH…… 10

TEAM SIMONS…. 5

reported by ROGER ROSENTHAL

TEAM GROH fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning, but rebounded in a BIG way, by plating six runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back.

“I knew we were OK at the beginning of the game, I have a lot of confidence in our hitting and defense and we settled down,” team captain KEN GROH stated in the winner’s clubhouse after the game.

Everyone got involved in the offense except for DAVID SNYDER, who knew what he was talking about when he said, “I’m hitting like ROGER (ROSENTHAL).”

STAT CORNER…..

Super-sub DAVID WERTHEIM, on loan from TEAM FOGEL, led the offense with two hits including a homerun. Interesting that he hit a home run as he was talking about it before the game……ADAM “COMMISH” CRONSTEIN  had three hits , two runs scored and two rbi’s…..RYAN “ADAM” BAUM had two rbi’s….NICK OBRIEN had a run scored and one rbi…..GROH had a run scored and one rbi and a walk…..BRYCE ANSLINGER had two hits and one run scored and one rbi….CHRIS KUNKEL (NO RELATION TO FORMER XAVIER BASKETBALL STAR, ADAM) had one rbi and one run scored….SAM KLINKOWITZ had one hit…..and finally, after boasting how great a hitter he is, had one run scored and one rbi…..

It should be pointed out that GROH was at his best on the mound and was in control the whole game……

QUOTE OF THE SEASON (so far)……..

“You walk as slow as you run,” JACK COHEN said of ROGER ROSENTHAL……

It should be noted that STU WEINSTEIN (suspended) and ROGER ROSENTHAL (injury), both were in attendance and should be back to playing next week…..

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME……CAM KIRZNER made two sparkling plays at shortstop in the same inning, the second turned into a double play when he fielded the ball behind the second base bag, stepped on the base and threw to first base to complete the double play…….it was a good enough play that even ROSENTHAL, a BIG Xavier fan applauded the University of Cincinnati super fan KIRZNER……HOW ABOUT THAT?

QUOTES AND MORE QUOTES……

“It’s only one game, but I like the makeup of this team,” GROH said. “We’ve got hitting and defense and of course pitching plus experience (WEINSTEIN and ROSENTHAL) have played a combined 411 years!

Next week….TEAM GROH plalys TEAM KRANTZ with the game being aired on TNT with CHARLES BARKLEY and STEVE ZAWATSKY doing the game and TEAM SIMONS clashes with TEAM GOLDHOFF with the game airing on TBS with BOB COSTAS and GARY ASKIN doing the game…..

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN…….

On Field 3 it was Team Ryan in his return as a captain vs. Team Krantz

Ryan for the winners:

Team Silverman beat Team Krantz 14-4 in 5 innings on Field 3.  The victory for the home team was a complete team effort with every single player contributing with their bat and/or their glove.  Behind the strong pitching of Corey Norris and clean defense all the way around, the team consistently had runners on base with most of the team having at least two base hits.  A special thanks to subs Jeremy Fogel and Scott Friend who both had great games at the plate.  Congratulations to rookie Brian Sugerman on the birth of his first child 10 days ago, who celebrated in grand style by launching a triple to left field.    

Finally on Field 4 it was Team Marc Brafman vs. Team Stu

Stu for the winners:

Kade “Drivin in my” Carlyle drove in five runs on three hits to lead Team Solomon past Team Brafman 15-5 on Wednesday at field 4. Carlyle hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, scoring four runs, and singled in the second inning, scoring one.

Team Solomon got on the board in the top of the first inning after Stuart “Little” Solomon doubled, scoring two runs, and Jimmy “Neutron” Lefton singled, scoring one run.

Team Solomon extended their early lead with three runs in the top of the second thanks to RBI singles by Carlyle and James “Quit Looking at Me” Swan.

Team Solomon added two more runs in the top of the third inning on three hits. Alex “Sauer” Kraus hit a solo home run, and Zach ‘Albert” Michelson (Albert Michelson was an astrophysicist who helped us measure the speed of light)  doubled, scoring one run.

Team Solomon added five more runs in the top of the fifth inning on six hits. Carlyle hit a grand slam into the trees, and Scott ” #1 medical Professional on our Team” Raskin doubled, scoring one run.

Team Solomon accumulated 20 hits in the game. Carlyle, Solomon, and Michelson each collected three hits for Team Solomon. Kraus, Adam “Mr. Ale 8” Heldman, Raskin, and Lefton each collected multiple hits for Team Solomon

Capt. Brafman would like to congratulate rookies Spencer “Flat and” Scruggs and Ethan Zinn on their first hits in the JCC league. Lots more to come..

League notes

I’ve been pretty hard on the Reds drafts over the years since for about 20 years they mostly stunk. But you have to give them credit for Elly, Sal Stewart, Chase Burns and Lowder. Of course constantly picking in the top 10 has a lot to do with that but at least none of them seem to be like Mr. Tin Nick Senzel..

I will mention it again but is there anything dumber than NFL draft talk? 

It was great to get out and play last night wasnt it? Watching Jacob play so many games I was itching to get out there. 

If Howie has played every year since he was 16 his first year in the league would have been 1964. Think about that for a second..Amazing that he is still out here playing we can all be so lucky.

While keeping my scorebook last night Joel Buckley mentioned that he likes to keep steals as a stat. I informed him that he is many steals away from Scott “Hungry Like a” Wolf the self proclaimed JCC steals leader. And who are we to dispute that fact?

I walked past a recent UC basketball recruit who is 7-3. I’m pretty sure I came up to his hip (maybe).

I know grass is hard to come by in Clifton but it amuses me to know end that UC students bring blankets and towels to Nippert and sun tan on the field. If this is a tradition I am just finding it out but nothing compares to the great first snow of the year tradition of drawing a giant penis on the field in snow each year. I laugh every year like I’m Jacob’s age. 

I read today that the new Spaceballs movie is coming out next year. I hope it’s as good as the first one. More amazing is that Mel Brooks who is 100 wrote it and is going to be in it. 

Finally in “What is Roger Selling this Week.” He has a lot of Travis Steele XU gear for sale. For 4 years he couldn’t give it away…now it’s his best seller.. He’s hoping that all the Miami fans buy it up. And if anyone wants some Butch Jones game programs autographed I found a bunch of them.

I’ll do better next week.

Marc