(Courtesy of SAR HS) Lightning struck twice in Columbus—and it wore black and yellow. After capturing their 1st Columbus Baseball Invitational (CBI) championship last year, the SAR Sting varsity baseball team came back to Columbus with one goal in mind, repeat as champions. With a deep pitching staff, disciplined hitters and fearless base runners, SAR dominated in all phases of the game, and cemented their status as back-to-back CBI champions. This year, the tournament expanded to its largest attendance yet, with 20 jewish schools from 10 different states attending. With so many teams and so few days, the tournament started Sunday night with 4 play-in games (teams 13-20) to advance to the Tier 1 bracket. Teams ranked 1-12 were given byes. Going into the tournament SAR was the #1 ranked team.
For SAR the tournament opened on Monday, May 19, vs JEC Thunder. The game was scoreless through 3 innings with both starting pitchers looking sharp. JEC’s starter kept the game close, pitching 4 innings, allowing 2 hits,1 run, and striking out 3. SAR starter, Levi S. struck out 10 over four innings, none bigger than his last strikeout leaving the bases loaded to end the top of 4th. Relievers Avery S. and Lev W. combined to finish the shutout, striking out five batters and allowing only one baserunner. SAR earned a 6—0 shutout victory over JEC to advance to the quarterfinals.
Following a brief lunch break, SAR prepared to take on tournament newcomer Shalhevet Firehawks from Los Angeles.The Sting bats came alive in their second game, winning 14-1 in just five innings. After surrendering a run in the top of the first, the Sting answered immediately with three runs of their own. That set the tone for the rest of the game as SAR piled on four more runs in the second and seven in the fourth. Jonah B. was unstoppable at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double and 3 RBIs. Saul H. reached base 4 times, scoring three runs and Jaden W. with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. On the bump, Noah F. threw three innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four. Jaden W. and Jonah P. each tossed a scoreless inning to close it out.
Tuesday started with a semifinal game against #4 seed Fasman Yeshiva from Skokie, Illinois. With a spot in the championship on the line, SAR showed no signs of slowing down. Jackson F., wasn’t his dominant self, but gutted out five shutout innings, He struck out 7, walked 1 and allowed 3 hits. The defense made some incredible plays led by a Max S. leaping grab that robbed an extra base hit. The offense was relentless. Max S. went 2-for-3 scoring three runs. Jonah P. had 2 RBI’s, while Moe J., Sammy E., Noah F. Max S. and Avery S. each contributed RBI’s as well. SAR Sting defeated Fasman 10-0 securing their place in the Tier 1 championship game.
The championship game featured #1 seed SAR vs #3 seed YULA Panthers from Los Angeles. It was a battle between the last 2 CBI champions. If you like pitching duels, this was the game for you. Sammy E. started for the Sting, while Yosef K. started for the Panthers. Both pitchers were built for this moment. Sammy E. struck out all 3 batters he faced to start the game. In the bottom of the 1st, SAR had 2 runners on with 1 out and Kaplan struck out the next 2 batters to end the inning. In the 2nd inning both pitchers allowed hits, but both proceeded to pick the runners off. The game was intense, with both teams having runners on third with an opportunity to take the lead, and both pitchers shutting it down. Finally in the top of the 5th, YULA’s first batter reached on an error and came around to score to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. After a team meeting going into the bottom of 6th, SAR seemed ready to break through. With 1 out, Saul H. hit a double, Lev W. walked, and Jonah B. singled to load the bases. An error on a ball hit by Max S. tied the game. This brought up pinch hitter Levi S. who hit a sacrifice fly to give SAR a 2-1 lead. That was enough for Sammy E., as he finished his complete game gem, striking out 9, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 run (0 earned).
“We’ve faced adversity before. We trust each other in those moments. That’s what championship teams do,” said Coach Lee Joffe.
“All year long we have talked about pitching, defense and timely hitting. Coming into Columbus our game plan was simple. Let’s play our game and we will come back with the championship. Well, our pitchers were dominant, our defense made some outstanding plays, and our hitters came through when they needed to,” said Coach Adam Eis.
In a tournament that saw elite Jewish high school baseball talent from across the country converge in Columbus, no team stood taller than the SAR Sting. With a flawless 4-0 record, SAR captured their second consecutive Columbus Baseball Invitational championship, outscoring opponents 32-2.
