At a time when most youngsters are putting away their balls, bats, and gloves and trading them in for backpacks and school lunches, the TBO under-8 All-Star baseball team opened its fall season with a come-from-behind 6-2 victory over the Clarkstown, NY All-Stars on the road in Congers, NY.

Early on Clarkstown’s strong pitching staff stymied the Teaneck batters who faced a barrage of accurate fastballs which either they just missed or were called strikes. In the first two innings, Zev Weiner, Teaneck’s starting pitcher, matched his Clarkstown rival and the game remained scoreless. In the top of the 3^rd, Teaneck, facing a new Clarkstown pitcher, worked their first walk but couldn’t drive him in. In the bottom of the 3^rd inning, Clarkstown finally broke through against the Teaneck defense to take a 1-0 lead. Entering the fourth inning Teaneck had not yet registered a hit, but the boys dug deep against the second Clarkstown pitcher. The first two batters walked and soon came around on the team’s first hit of the game, a single stroked to center that gave Teaneck a 2-1 lead. At this point Clarkstown attempted to rally back but an excellent defensive play by shortstop Weiner snuffed out the rally and kept Teaneck. ahead. Strong pitching in the inning by Liev Wolin was also critical for Teaneck.

The top of the fifth inning brought even greater smiles to the more than 30 Teaneck fans who accompanied the players to Congers. The first two Teaneck batters, Josh Rothenberg and Aron Major, were walked by Clarkstown’s third pitcher. Ezra Berkowitz followed with a drive down the right field line that bounced over the first base bag and landed fair for the first extra base hit of the season for Teaneck. The Clarkstown crowd was stunned by the fair ball call by the umpire, and Teaneck had a 4-1 lead. With Berkowitz standing on second, Teaneck showed it had additional thunder in its bats. Akiva Rotenberg, who had swung hard to no avail in his first at bat, next strode to the plate for Teaneck. With a 0-2 count on him, Rotenberg weakly fouled off the next pitch. On the next pitch, however, the Clarkstown pitcher’s best throw was soon sailing high into the air and landing near the right field fence some 165 feet from home plate. Rotenberg “raced” home with a two-run “Little League” homer to his credit, Berkowitz scoring ahead. Teaneck now led 6-1.

In both the 5^th and 6^th innings, Clarkstown tried hard to cut its deficit, but, thanks to the strong combined pitching of Noam Eckman and Liev Wolin, they could only manage a solitary run. Two outstanding defensive plays by Teaneck marked those innings. In the 5^th, Zev Weiner cut a Clarkstown runner down at home plate after a relay from right field in which two assists were recorded, catcher Ryan Buchsbayew applying the tag. Finally, in the 6^th, the game ended when a strong throw by catcher Buchsbayew nailed the Clarkstown base-runner who was attempting to steal second. Excellent fielding and base-running by Eyal Kinderlehrer, Ben Rose, Isaac Kantowitz and Rafi Wall helped seal the win.

All the Teaneck players and fans had a great time and look forward to the home opener. Coaches Ross Rothenberg and Josh Buchsbayew were proud of how the team played and look forward to a great season.

By Joe Rotenberg