The Blackouts continued their winning ways on Sunday, with a their second victory of the season over Shaare Tefilah. It was the their 5th straight victory overall to run their record to 6-4. After a 1-4 start, the team has shot to near the top of the “B” League standings of the Bnai Yeshurun Mens Club Softball League.

The Blackouts, lead by Captain Aharon Goldwasser started as an apartment team. They team enjoyed immediate success making the playoffs in their first seasons. While a couple of the guys from the apartments still remain, most of the team is from Rinat Yisrael with a couple of other guys mixed in.

The team’s long time pitcher is Yoni Lieber. This year in particular, Yoni has been consistently throwing strikes, and that has been one of the keys to the teams recent success.

This past Sunday, the Blackouts won handily over Shaare Tefilah by a score of 22-9. The team had several offensive outbursts, including back to back home-runs of the bats of Zvi Pearlman and Gabe Hanauer.

The team is also lead by stellar defensive play from Zvi Adler at third base; who at one point made four consecutive impressive plays at the hot corner. In what may be his final game of the regular season due to camp commitments of his lovely wife Lauren, Zvi contributed offensively with a homer of his own.

When asked what has sparked the teams recent win streak, star center fielder Ari Eckman stated, “We have tried to play fundamentally sound baseball, limiting our mistakes, while having a good time playing with a good group of guys.”

The Blackouts also include David Glass, an outfielder who has made several key plays, Aryeh Cooper, the team’s dependable first baseman, Aaron Hoffer, who has always been solid at second base, Yosef Nissel , the team’s outstanding left fielder, Eliezer Shaffren, a consistent clutch hitter, and Yakir Greenberg, the youngest member of the team with offensive punch from the left side of the plate.

The author of this article is a recent addition to the Blackout squad  after years with their rivals, the Mighty Ducks. I received many offers in free agency, it was the long term deal and financial considerations that led me to this exciting team.

The Blackouts promise to be a competitive team down the final stretch of the season, and look forward to playing far into the playoffs.

By Ian Fields