56 | SEPTEMBER 17 • 2020 

sports HIGHlights

Temple Israel No. 5 (Greenberg Division) 
and Bais Chabad Torah Center (Rosen 
Division) needed to play four playoff games 
in one day Aug. 30 to make it to their divi-
sion championship game, which they lost.
Adat Shalom No. 1 cruised through the 
Rosen Division playoffs before Bais Chabad 
spoiled its fun, rallying late to win 14-13 
and forcing another game between the 
teams.
Adat Shalom No. 1 won that game 13-1 
and captured the division championship.
“I think they (Bais Chabad) were worn 
out by the time they got to their fourth 
game of the day,
” Sandler said. “I’
m a com-
petitive guy, so I like double-elimination 
playoffs. If you have a bad game, you can 
recover.
”
Sandler, in his third year managing Adat 
Shalom No. 1, said the team had depth and 
some talented young players, especially 
Andrew Korman.
“
Andrew is one of the fastest guys I’
ve 
played softball with,
” Sandler said. “We put 
him in left-center field and he caught every-
thing hit his way.
”
Korman missed the playoffs, however, 
because he left to go to college in Maryland.
“We got some confidence early when we 
beat a team from the Koufax Division, then 

everyone settled into their spots,
” Sandler 
said. “I didn’
t have to mix and match very 
much.
”
Also on the Adat Shalom No. 1 team 
were Steve Flam, Max Flam, Gary Edelson, 
Michael Rose, Philip Rose, Joel Bronstein, 
Ryan Bronstein, David Shevrin, Thomas 

Zak, Jason Gelsey, Eric Greenberg and 
Betman.
Betman was Adat Shalom No. 1’
s main 
pitcher. He also pitched on the 2005 Adat 
Shalom team that won the league champi-
onship.
Betman has an autographed league cham-
pionship game ball from the 2005 and 2020 
Adat Shalom teams, the only teams from 
the synagogue that have won league titles.
“We had a nice team this year. We got 
along well,
” Betman said. “We had fun. We 
didn’
t get down on someone if he made a 
mistake.
”
Betman remembers the 2005 season very 
well.
“We had to play three games on the final 
day of the playoffs in 2005 because the other 
team in the championship game wasn’
t 
going to have enough players for the next 
week,
” he said.
Betman split pitching duties on the final 
day with Ken Podell, Adat Shalom’
s main 
pitcher, who has since moved to Texas. Gary 
Graff was the team’
s manager.
Brad Silber, a former Adat Shalom play-
er, and Betman started the league in 1996. 
Betman thinks he’
s the only player who 
played in the league in 1996 and is still play-
ing in the league today. 

Michael Betman shows off autographed game balls 
from the 2005 and 2020 Adat Shalom Synagogue soft-
ball teams that won league championships.

LISA BETMAN

quick hits

Gary Klinger and 
Dale Taub dominated 
the B’
nai B’
rith golf 
league this season.
Klinger and 
Taub won the team 
championship with 
184 points, 11 more 
than runners-up 
Josh Baker and Josh 
Harvith (173). Aaron 
Herskovic and Brad 
Friedman were third 
with 168 points.
Klinger scored 90 
points to win the indi-
vidual competition.
Taub was second with 84 
points. Right behind him were 
Kerry Chaben (83.5), Josh Baker 
(83), Marc Ruskin (83), Richard 
Spalter (82), Friedman (81.5) and 
Herskovic (80.5). Mitch Lefton and 

and Rich Luger each 
had 80 points.
“Shocking,” is how 
Klinger described 
his dual titles in the 
16-week season.
“I played terribly 
the first five or six 
weeks, but I played 
really well the last 
month or so,” he said. 
“The camaraderie, the 
fun we have playing in 
the league is second 
to none, but winning is 
pretty darn cool, too.”
There were 25 golfers in the 
league this season, with Bob 
Shapiro and Chuck Houmaian 
splitting time. League golfers 
played nine holes on Thursdays at 
the Links of Novi, with the season 
ending Sept. 3.

Gary Klinger and Dale 
Taub.

BOB SHAPIRO

Ben Chosid got to play base-
ball this summer.
“What a blessing,” he said. 
“A lot of college and high 
school baseball players didn’
t 
get that opportunity.”
Chosid, a junior infielder 
on the Kalamazoo College 
baseball team from Ann 
Arbor, played this summer for the 
Kalamazoo Growlers in the three-team 
South Division of the Michigan Pod in 
the Northwoods League, a prestigious 
league for college baseball players.
The Growlers went 40-25 during the 
regular season, racking up the most 
wins of any Northwoods League team.
Unfortunately, the Growlers lost 4-2 
to the Kalamazoo Mac Daddies on Sept. 
4 at Homer Stryder Field in Kalamazoo 
in the South Division championship 
game and missed a chance to play for 
the Michigan Pod regional champion-
ship Sept. 5 at Turtle Creek Stadium in 
Traverse City.
The I-94 Rivalry Cup, an annual 
competition between the Growlers and 

Battle Creek Bombers, the third 
member of the South Division, 
went to the Growlers.
Splitting his time between 
second base and shortstop, 
Chosid batted .214 for the 
Growlers and had a .368 
on-base percentage.
“It was incredible to play 
with and against high-caliber players 
in a great league,” Chosid said. “There 
was a camera at each game so MLB 
(Major League Baseball) scouts could 
watch.”
Chosid said the time he spent in the 
Northwoods League made him a much 
better baseball player.
When he’
ll play baseball again for 
Kalamazoo College again isn’
t known. 
The college’
s baseball program has 
been temporarily shut down because of 
the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hornets 
played only seven games this spring.
A business major at Kalamazoo 
College, Chosid is taking online classes 
this fall.

KALAMAZOO COLLEGE

Ben Chosid

TOUGH SEASON continued from page 55

continued from page 55

