The Harold Gellis z”l CBY Softball League wrapped up the 2021 season crowning a new champion. For the second year in a row, the New Crew faced off against The Scrubs in the best of three series, and for the second year in a row, the series took all three games for a winner to be decided.
The Scrubs and New Crew finished the season as the number one and two seeds, respectively, each finishing with 12-2 records. In the regular season, the Scrubs narrowly edged the New Crew 4-3, setting the tone for the championship series between these two evenly matched teams.
On September 12, the first two games of the series were split with the New Crew winning the first game 9-3 and the Scrubs bouncing back to take game two by a score of 5-3. This set the stage for a dramatic series-deciding game on September 19.
The New Crew got out to an early 4-1 lead by the third inning. The Scrubs chipped away in the bottom of the third narrowing the deficit to 4-3 before the New Crew tacked on some insurance runs to get the lead back up to 6-3. This was how the game would go all day with the Scrubs clawing back only to have the New Crew extend their lead.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the New Crew was up 8-7 when the Scrubs had runners on second and third with two outs. Sralli Schwartz came to bat and capped off a 3-3 day with a two-run single, scoring Josh Kravitz and Chaim Alter giving the Scrubs their first lead of the game.
In the top of the seventh, Ari Schwartz held the New Crew down and secured the championship for the Scrubs. This is the fourth year in a row the Scrubs have made the finals, having won in 2018 followed by back-to-back losses in 2019 and 2020 before getting back to the top of the mountain this year.
The Scrubs want to especially thank Simi Friedman, the team manager and #1 fan. Simi makes sure to be at every game and is a part of every win as much as any player.
In the B Division, the Legends defeated the Shaarei Gaters, winning the first two games of their best of three series by scores of 9-7 and 17-8. Led by pitcher and team captain Ari Nat, this is the first championship for the Legends. The Legends are one of the league’s longest running teams and with a recent infusion of youth, they have set themselves up for years of success moving forward.
The league is thankful to all the players who took part this year and is already looking forward to next year and a new season. If you are interested in starting a team, please send an email to [email protected].
