Games We Play: Crazy Richard explodes for 34 runs against Eilat

Dimona, Shimshon Hi-Tech and Penticon also win big in first week of 2007 Israel Softball Association season; Beit Shemesh takes women's league.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
softball 88 (photo credit: )
softball 88
(photo credit: )
In the first full week of the 2007 Israel Softball Association season, Crazy Richard lived up to its name by being one-hit by the Cerveceros 11-5 and then crushing Otzma Eilat 34-10. Also last week, Dimona nipped the Galil Twisters 4-1, Shimshon Hi-Tech bested the Dawgs 21-12 and Penticon downed Otzma Eilat 23-8. In the women's league, Beit Shemesh beat Dimona 12-6. Cerveceros 11, Crazy Richard 5 Last Sunday, the Cerveceros recovered from an opening-day loss, riding solid pitching and errorless defense to a victory over a rusty Crazy Richard team. Player/coach Yosi Ajzenwaser was outstanding on the mound as he hurled four innings of no-hit ball and allowed only one run and struck out five. Alberto Tacher's two-run homer in the first off Dave Leichman gave the Spanish-speaking Tel Aviv team a lead it would never surrender and Ozias Kaim's home run in the fourth put the game out of reach. Julio Mirabal added two hits and RBIs and Ozias and his brother Saul each scored three. Crazy Richard managed just one hit, a two-run triple by Oren Litz. Crazy Richard rebounded in a big way on Thursday, capitalizing on 21 walks and four hit-by-pitches by the Eilat pitching staff. The Tel Aviv/Gezer team jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first and an 11-run fourth turned the game into a laugher. Leichman pitched a solid game with some excellent defensive backing by shortstop Itzik Levi. He also helped himself out at the plate as he reached base four times. Litz again tripled to go with his three walks and Nate Rosenberg had a pair of doubles and a single. Diego Janovski doubled and tripled. Albert Sarkovich tripled for Eilat. Penticon 23, Otzma Eilat 8 On Friday, Penticon's offense led the way against Otzma Eilat's Jeremy Shai. Howie Hirsch had four hits and three RBIs, David Aron and Dan Marcus each scored four times and teen Ehud Mayerfeld smashed two hits. Marc Bodner pitched effectively for the Sharon team, walking only one. Albert Sarkovich, Yaniv Gohary and Ron Blumenthal each had two hits for the Redseamen. Dimona 4, Galil Twisters 1 On Monday, pitching and defense were the name of the game in a tense Dimona victory over the Galil Twisters. The Northerners jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Micah Winston singled, stole second and came around on a pair of wild pitches. Dimona tied it in the second off of Bill Arscott when Shlomo Ben Israel's groundout scored Akhaziya Ben Israel. The Twisters gambled when they put in 15-year old Kobi Daya to pitch in the third, but the youngster had control problems and allowed three runs on an RBI single by Akhaziya and a pair of bases-loaded walks. He did settle down and retire the final seven batters he faced, but his teammates, who had runners on base in every inning, couldn't solve the Negev team's pitcher Yaron Ben Israel (10 strikeouts, four hits). Yaron and first-baseman Yigal Ben Israel each made outstanding grabs on hard grounders and the Twisters' defense shone too, with right-fielder Eitan Milgram nailing a runner tagging to third and Josh Friedman grabbing a scorching liner. Shimshon Hi-Tech 21, Dawgs 12 On Tuesday, Shimshon Hi-Tech led 17-3 after two innings and coasted over the Dawgs. Sholom Menorah had two key two-RBI hits, knocking in four of the first six Beit Shemesh runs with a triple in the first and a single in the second. Lavey Freedman went 4-for-4 with a triple, five RBIs and three stolen bases, and Ari Shapiro capped his five runs on the night with a solo, inside-the-park homer in the fifth. Dawgs rallies in the third and fourth innings were snuffed out when catcher Jordy Alter threw out a runner attempting to steal second and Shimon Lebowitz corralled Jeff Weiner's sinking fly ball in right field. Standouts in the field for the Dawgs were first baseman Weiner, who made a diving stop and young second-baseman Yan Kaminer, who flagged down a line drive and flipped to shortstop Ken Goldstein for the double play. Yigal Rozval provided the Dawgs' power at the plate, smashing a bases-loaded triple in the fourth and adding a fourth RBI in the fifth with a single. Women's League: Beit Shemesh 12, Dimona 6 On Shushan Purim, the first game of the women's season was a celebration only for the Beit Shemesh Fireballs. Poor pitching hurt Dimona as four runs scored on walks in the top of the first. Reliever Sarah Ben Israel threw strikes, but then the Fireballs' bats came alive when left fielder Batya Jerenberg provided a third of the RBIs for the Fireballs with a double and a single. Third baseman Esti "Baseball" Bernstein turned a neat double play by grabbing a foul popup and then catching the Dimona runner off the bag at first. Pitcher Meirav Eisenberg struck out three for the win.