sports
18 Teams Hope To Sparkle
On The Diamond This Season
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
P
TOP RIGHT: Randy Winston of Temple
Israel No. 3 concentrates at the plate.
MIDDLE: Temple Israel No. 4 pitcher Brett
Panter proudly rocks his team’s colors.
BOTTOM: Joe Bernstein of the Temple Kol
Ami/B’nai Israel Synagogue team gets
ready to throw the ball.
lay ball!
The Inter-
Congregational Men’s
Club Summer Softball
League’s 23rd season is under
way, although it’s a slow
start because after Opening
Day on a sunny May 6, there
were no games the next two
Sundays because of Mother’s
Day and Shavuot.
Play in the weekly league
will resume Sunday, May 27,
over the Memorial Day week-
end.
This is the second season
the league has been divided
into divisions.
Teams were placed into
three divisions in 2017 based
on their 2016 regular-season
records.
For 2018, four teams were
moved up or down a division
based on their regular-season
record in 2017. Teams with
the best record in their divi-
sion moved up. Teams that
finished last in their division
moved down.
Separate playoffs are held
in each division after the
regular season.
“I love it,” said Steve
Achtman, a league organizer
along with Michael Betman
and Chuck Freedman, when
asked how he likes the divi-
sional setup.
“The competition is good
in the playoffs, and with the
chance to move up a division,
that gives teams something
“I am thrilled to announce the opening of my new
private practice in West Bloomfield”
else to play for during the
regular season,” Achtman
said.
Eighteen teams are in
the league this season, with
everyone back from last year.
The teams are playing in the
Greenberg, Koufax and Rosen
divisions, with six teams in
each division.
The Greenberg Division
includes defending division
playoff champion Temple
Israel No. 5 along with
Temple Israel No. 1, Temple
Israel No. 2, Temple Israel
No. 6, Temple Shir Shalom
No. 1 and Congregation B’nai
Moshe.
The Koufax Division
includes defending division
playoff champion Temple
Beth El, Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, Temple Beth
Ahm, Temple Beth El, Temple
Israel No. 3, Congregation
Shir Tikvah and Adat Shalom
Synagogue No. 2.
The Rosen Division
includes defending divi-
sion playoff champion Shir
Shalom No. 2, Temple Israel
No. 4, Adat Shalom No. 1,
Young Israel of Southfield,
Bais Chabad Torah Center,
and a combined Temple Kol
Ami/B’nai Israel Synagogue
team.
So which teams moved
up a division this season?
Shaarey Zedek went from the
Rosen Division to the Koufax
Division. B’nai Moshe went
from the Koufax Division to
the Greenberg Division.
Which teams moved
down a division this sea-
son? Young Israel went from
the Koufax Division to the
Rosen Division and Adat
Shalom No. 2 went from the
Greenberg Division to the
Koufax Division.
Each team plays its divi-
sion opponents twice, and
teams from the other divi-
sions during the regular
season.
There’s a new league rule
this year that is common
among softball leagues with
a wide range of skill levels.
After a batter hits two
home runs over the outfield
fence in a game, any succeed-
ing home run over the fence
is an out.
The Inter-Congregational
League plays on five
diamonds — three at
Community Sports Park and
two at Drake Sports Park,
both in West Bloomfield —
each Sunday and each dia-
mond has outfield fences.
“We have a few guys who
are capable of hitting a home
run over the fence every time
they come up,” Achtman said.
“We feel this rule gives them
a chance to do that, then
they need to keep the ball in
the park.”
The Inter-Congregational
League’s two major awards
— the Jeff Fox Sportsmanship
N OT T I N G H I L L
of W EST B LOOMFIELD
I specialize in adult and adolescent
psychotherapy and am currently
accepting new clients and referrals.
The decisions you make
today can impact all of
your tomorrows.
38
May 24 • 2018
jn
GRAND DAY
Jordan Anstandig has turned
into a hitting machine for the
Alma College baseball team.
The junior outfielder from
West Bloomfield had three
hits and three RBIs in Alma’s
8-2 win over Calvin on May 4
in the first game of a double-
header, and he followed that
with a six-RBI game in the
nightcap, an 18-10 Alma vic-
tory.
Anstandig hit a grand-slam
homer in the second game.
It was the first grand slam of
his baseball career. •
Send sports news to
stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
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Award and Michael Yendick
“Pure Heart” Award — will
be handed out again this
season.
The Fox Award is named
for a Shir Shalom player who
died in 2011.
Yendick was a longtime
B’nai B’rith softball league
player who died in 2000.
The award named for him
became part of the Inter-
Congregational League’s sea-
son a few years ago after the
B’nai B’rith league folded and
B’nai B’rith players joined
Inter-Congregational League
teams.
For more information on
the Inter-Congregational
League, go to mensclubsoft-
ball.org.
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