NMLS#2289

32 | OCTOBER 21 • 2021 

sports HIGHlights

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A

walk-off home run 
that wasn’t a walk-
off home run helped 
Kosher Ribs win the Inter-
Congregational Men’s Club fall 
softball league championship.
Here’s what happened.
Like many recreational 
softball leagues, the Inter-
Congregational league restricts 
the number of over-the-fence 
home runs a team can hit 
during a game to keep the 
game competitive.
In the Inter-Congregational 
league’s case, after a team’s 
second over-the-fence homer 
of a game, the batter hitting an 
over-the-fence homer is out.
Kosher Ribs led the defend-
ing fall league champion Jeters 
15-14 in the playoff semifinals 
Oct. 10 at Keith Sports Park in 
West Bloomfield.
The Jeters hit a walk-off 
over-the-fence homer that 
would have won the game, but 
it became the final out of the 
game because it was the Jeters’ 
third over-the-fence homer of 
the game.
“That was a huge break for 
us, of course, but we hit four 
over-the-fence homers in the 
game. Only two counted,
” said 
Kosher Ribs co-manager Mitch 
Kline.
Kosher Ribs went on to 

defeat Bad News Jews 20-10 
in the playoff championship 
game.
Neither Kosher Ribs nor Bad 
News Jews earned a first-round 
bye in the playoffs because of 
where they finished in the reg-
ular-season standings.
Kosher Ribs was third and 
Bad News Jews was fourth in 
the six-team league.
Kosher Ribs beat the Sandlot 
16-4 and Bad News Jews beat 
Marble Rye 10-5 in first-round 
playoff games. The Sandlot and 
Marble Rye were the No. 6 and 
No. 5 seeded teams in the play-
offs, respectively.
Bad News Jews surprised 
No. 1 seed and regular-season 
league champion Lox of Hitting 
7-6 in the playoff semifinals.
All the playoff games were 
played Oct. 10, a week later 
than planned. The playoff 
games were originally sched-
uled for Oct. 3 but rained out.
Kosher Ribs and Bad News 
Jews each had only nine players 
Oct. 10. To help them, Dave 
Ettlinger from Lox of Hitting 
volunteered to be the catcher 
for both teams during the play-
off championship game.
“That’s the story of the game 
right there, what Dave did,
” 
Kline said.
 Another story is Kline, 

who missed his first Inter-
Congregational summer or fall 
softball game in several years 
Oct. 10 because of a prior com-
mitment.
His son Evan Kline, who 
plays on the Kosher Ribs team, 
kept his father informed on 
how the team was doing during 
the playoffs through calls and 
texts, and propped his phone in 
the Kosher Ribs dugout during 
the Bad News Jews’ final at-bats 
so his father could watch the 
proceedings.
Kosher Ribs didn’t have its 
two regular third baseman 
during the playoff games. 
Dave Raminick filled in all day 
for Brad Golder and Michael 
Kindred.
There were a dozen players 
on the Kosher Ribs roster. 
They represented four Inter-
Congregational summer league 
teams.
Mitch and Evan Kline along 
with Golder, Raminick, Jared 
Cohen and Dan Krauss were 
from Temple Shir Shalom 

No. 2.
Co-manager Matt Bassin 
and Scott Litt were from 
Congregation Shir Tikvah. Jeff 
Hollander, Lenny Beigler and 
Kindred were from Temple 
Beth El. Corey Slutsky was 
from Temple Israel No. 1.
“It’s a good thing we weren’t 
rained out again Oct. 10,
” 
Mitch Kline said. “We would 
have been down five guys Oct. 
17. I would have been back, but 
Matt Bassin and my son Evan 
ran in the Detroit Free Press 
Marathon that day.
”
Kosher Ribs also won the 
Inter-Congregational fall league 
championship in 2019. Cohen 
and Beigler replaced two play-
ers from the 2019 team.
“This team has great chemis-
try,
” Mitch Kline said. “We root 
for each other. We support each 
other. Some of us play softball 
together outside of the Inter-
Congregational league.
” 

Please send sports news to 

stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Inter-Congregational softball league 
rule keeps the eventual champion 
“Kosher Ribs” alive in fall playof
 s.

Walk-Of
 Homer? 
No, a Walk-Of
 
Final Out!

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Kosher Ribs celebrates its Inter-Congregational Men’s Club fall softball 
league championship. Mitch Kline couldn’t play in the playoffs, but 
Evan Kline made sure his father was in the Kosher Ribs team photo, 
holding a cellphone showing Mitch Kline on a FaceTime call. 

INTER-CONGREGATIONAL MEN’S CLUB SOFTBALL LEAGUE

