On Sunday evening, August 20th, the exciting JCNSL post-season took place on the “Web Interactive Technologies” fields in Reisterstown, MD. The top four teams from the regular season (Dougie’s, Pricebusters, Alcove Closets, and Donny Anrki Architects) arrived early and ready to play, decked out in their dapper uniforms, sponsored by “Stutman Chiropractic.”
Though weather had been a concern all season, the fields were in tip-top shape thanks to the “Eco-Pro Solutions” Ground Crew efforts. And with the JCNSL title on the line, the league selected some of the finest umpires from the “I Heart Remodeling” Umpiring crew (Mike S and Ron A) to officiate the games.
When the dust had settled at the end of the evening and all the “Maryland Team” sports equipment had been collected and put away, Dougie’s was left holding the trophy, thanks to their commanding 11-4 Championship win over Alcove Closets. Read on for details from the individual games:
Playoffs Game: Seed 1 vs Seed 4
| Dougie’s (1) | 13 |
| Donny Ankri Architects (4) | 11 |
For the first few innings of the game, it looked like a real upset was in store. Led by JCNSL All-Star’s Yehuda Abedon and Avi Friedman, the Donny Anrki Architects team came out slugging with 5 runs in the 1st followed by 4 in the 2nd.
With DAA taking a 9-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd, Dougie’s regrouped and broke through, scoring 4 runs on 6 walks. An additional 7 walks tied the game at 10 going into the 5th inning. Patience and unselfish play was a theme this season for Dougie’s and that attitude paid dividends in this game.
But it wasn’t over yet. With more hits by Friedman and Abedon, the Architects took an 11-10 lead in the top of the 6th. However, that lead only lasted for a half an inning as Dougie’s finally started hitting in the bottom of the 6th (with strong production by the Bendet Father-Son duo, Naftali Horowitz, Jeremy Kramer, and Ezra Bregin.) Thanks to that strong 6th, Dougie’s pulled ahead for good to finish the game with a 13-11, claiming a spot in the JCNSL Championship.
Playoffs Game: Seed 2 vs Seed 3
| Alcove Closets (3) | 6 |
| Pricebusters (2) | 4 |
Alcove Closets used timely hitting and slick defense to defeat Pricebusters and move on to the league championship, with an impressive 6-4 win.
The Closet’s lead off hitter, Avraham Abba Freedman led the charge with 4 hits and 2 runs scored along with his usual excellent defense, and Alcove Closets capitalized on multiple base-running errors by Pricebusters to throw out runners and hold on to their lead.
AC’s Moishy Stal added 2 hits, including a 2 run double, and pitcher Eli Solomon overcame some command issues to power through the mighty Pricebusters lineup in the victory. Avrumi Gartenhaus and Binyamin Guttman, both newly married, each added a pair of hits as well.
Championship Game
| Dougie’s (1) | 11 |
| Alcove Closets (3) | 4 |
Rebounding from their somewhat less than impressive outing in the Playoffs, Dougie’s played dominant softball from the very first inning, showing the kind of talent and teamwork that enabled them to claim the best regular season record.
In the bottom of the 1st, Dougie’s took an early 2-0 lead with walks to Walt Johnson and Jeremy Kramer followed by RBI singles, by Mully and Motti Bendet. In the 2nd, Dougie’s took a commanding 8-0 lead highlighted by a Jeromy Bittan bases clearing triple.
In the following inning, Dougie’s starts thinking about insurance runs and tacked on one of the same with a leadoff single from Motti Bendet who scored on a sac fly by Dr. Ari Elman.
In the 5th, a leadoff walk to Ezra Bregin followed by RBI singles from Jeromy Bittan and Jeremy Kramer, enabled Dougie’s to extend the lead to 11-1.
While Alcove Closet’s came alive in the top of the 7th with some impressive hitting to score 3 runs, it was too little too late. Dougie’s closed it out to take the 11-4 win and the second consecutive JCNSL Ttophy for Captain Motti Bendet.
