Livingston Temple Softball League 07/30/17

In a 2 hour back and forth grueling game, Chabad ended Sharey Tefilo Israel's 4 year championship run with a walk off hit in the bottom of the 7th inning giving them a 21-20 win. Chabad entered the bottom of the seventh down 2 runs and Joe Boettenger led off the 7th with his second home run of the game. David Levine followed with a single and with 1 out, Jon Tishlas hit a single. With a man on first and second and one out, Micha Mandel hit a shot to left field. Jon ran all the way from first and scored on a close play at the plate for the walk off. For the winners: Joe Boettenger was 5/5 with 2 HRs, a triple and 2 doubles and scored 4 times. David Levine got intentionally walked 3 times but when they finally pitched to him he got 2 base hits and he also scored 4 times. Micha Mandel had 3 hits which included the game winning walk off hit. Keith Bader hit a 2RBI triple plus 2 hits and scored twice. #2 seeded B'nai Brith was having a tough time with Temple Sinai early on in their semi-final but they scored 7 runs in the 4^th and 6 runs in the 5^th eventually holding on for the 15-10 victory setting up the A1-A2 matchup. In the win Wayne Neumann made several nice defensive plays on the mound, and offensively, B'nai B'rith was led by Steve Miller with a 3 run homer, Jared Resnick (3-4) and Andrew Kasdan who was 4-5. 2 years ago Chabad and B’nai Brith met in the B division final with Chabad winning the title. And this year behind a great pitching performance by Peter Gelman, Chabad ou‎t dueled BB again 16-14 taking the A Division Championship Trophy! For the ‎champs, future hall of famer, Rabbi Mendy Kasowitz led off the bottom of the 1st with a home run to right field. Then he led off the 2nd with a triple to left. He added a single and double hitting for the cycle. He also ended the game and the season with a tag of the runner at second base. Jeff Steil had 3 hits. Jon Tishlas scored 3 times‎. David Levine had 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. Chabad scored 6 in the first inning, 7 in the second and didn't look back. Bnai Brith chipped away but Chabad tightened up their defense and held on for the win. B’nai Brith in the loss was led by Andrew Kasdan and Don Newell who were both 4-5, and Howie Weinrib who was 3-4.  

In the B division, top seeded B'nai Or's first game matchup was with AABJD / Ohr Torah. Both defenses were solid as the game went scoreless through 3 innings. Ohr Torah scored 2 in the 4th but B'nai Or came back with 3 in the bottom of the inning. The game stayed close at 7-5 into the bottom of the 6th but 5 more runs from B'nai Or finally gave them a comfortable lead and they won it 12-5. Jordan Byk pitched great giving up no walks and getting 3 assists. On offense, Scott Charles had  2 hits, 2 runs and 4 rbi's. Keith Barbarosh had 2 hits and scored twice. Hal Belovin had 2 hits and 2 rbi's. Eric Axler had 3 hits, Gary Lillienfield, Todd Gutkin and Jordan Byk each had 2 hits. With Suburban Torah defeating B'nai Abraham 25-10 in their 1^st game there was also a B1-B2 matchup for the finals. It was the 2nd time in the last 3 years that the top seeds met in the finals of both divisions. Suburban Torah got off to a quick start when a failed attempt at a shoestring catch turned into a 2 run homer. But B'nai or scored 2 in the bottom of the inning and then batted around for 9 in the bottom of the 2nd. It was 13-6 going into the 5th and a long 3 run homer for ST closed the gap to 13-9. But B'nai Or answered that with 6 and added 4 more in the sixth leaving the possible game ending run on second. The final was 23-11. Jason Cohen played great shortstop, turned a double play and was 4-4 with a walk, double, 2 homers, scored 5 and had 6 rbi's. Scott Charles had 3 hits with a homer, scored 3 and had 4 rbi's. Todd Gutkin was 3-5 with 2 triples and 3 rbi's and also turned in a highlight 5-5-4 DP from 3rd base. Jordan Byk again pitched great with no walks had 3 hits and scored 3. Many others contributed, too numerous to mention. It was B’nai Or’s first trip to the championship round in over 10 years. It was also their best season ever earning their first title, scoring the most runs, and giving up the least of any season. B’nai Or’s 10 game winning streak to end the season was the longest in their history and longer than any other team’s this year. It was the first time in 5 years that both division’s top seeds won the championship.