The TBO 9/10 spring season ended with PressONE.net taking home the trophy for both the regular season and the playoff championships. After having gone 10-3 during the regular season, the team faced a couple of difficult games as it advanced through the playoffs. Dominant pitching by Matthew Schwartz and Eli Knapp kept the opposing teams guessing throughout the playoffs, averaging only 2.3 walks while striking out 13 batters per game. During the season, they pitched 1-2-3 innings over 20 times, with 16 of those being 3 K’s.
The timely hitting of Knapp and Schwartz, as well as aggressive base running and heads-up fielding, helped lead the team throughout the season. The wins in the playoffs, as throughout the season, were a team effort, both defensively and offensively. Fourth-graders Jacob Mauskopf, Bentsion Zilberstein and Noam Kra rounded out the battery most of the season, including throwing out runners on more than one occasion and limiting the opposition to fewer than 5 stolen bases per game. The entire team was patient at the plate, fouling off tough pitches and gathering over 10 walks per game throughout the season.
Contributions came everywhere in the lineup. David London went on a tear in the playoffs going 5-6 with 4 RBIs, and Mauskopf’s bat came alive in the championship game going 2-2 with 4 RBIs. The third-graders were also well represented as they stepped into the big leagues for the first time: Binyamin Bak held RF tightly all season, and made excellent catches on well hit balls twice during the season to eliminate late inning surges by the opposing teams. Eitan Isaacs was a solid third baseman and averaged almost 2 walks per game. Charlie Simmons rocked first base, not allowing a single overthrow the entire season (he also led the team in getting hit by a pitcher). Rami Knapp was a vacuum at second base, and was a tough hitter every time he stepped in the batter’s box. Noam Eckman caught the last out of the season, a pop up to first base that ended the championship game. Eckman also pitched an extremely important 1 1/3 innings in the first round of the playoffs, striking out three of the five batters he faced, keeping PressONE.net in the hunt.
Coaches Ari Eckman and Allan Schwartz were extremely proud of the camaraderie and teamwork of the boys, who grew closer to one another and became better friends over the course of the season. All teams deserve a congratulations on a well-played season. Some players will go on to play summer and fall travel ball. The remainder will start up again in the spring.
By Allan Schwartz
