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