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