Dawgs Softball in Israel | ñåôèáåì éùøàì - äãåâæ

By Lowell Blackman Down from the north, not far from the gusty, chilly winter winds that blow from the snow-capped mountains of Lebanon, came the intrepid Shomrat squad. The Dawgs, trickling in to the field at Baptist Village not far from the source of the mighty Yarkon River, began their warm-ups, their stretching, their throwing, and their batting practice. Occasional barks and canine howls filled the humid night air and echoed in the distance as if to portend an ominous evening for the Northmen. At game time, Jon, the quiet, thoughtful manager went through the line-up and reminded the team to be alert about this strategy and that tactic, encouraging players – vets and pups alike - that Dawg chances in this face-off were good. Shomrat – a.k.a. TTT – came to bat in their impressive uniforms – still blue from the days when the furniture-crafting kibbutz, under the guidance of Wild Bill and Ageless Bob Samuels, fielded a team called the Cubs. Action, movement, and noise were quick to come. The Shomratniks leaped on the ball, hitting away, stealing bases, running, and advancing, and the inning only ended when the howitzer arm of Albert - “Psteechka” - gunned down a TTTer as he challenged the Dawg catcher. When the fog, smog, and dust cleared, the Shomratniks were up by five. The Dawgs had a runner in the bottom of the first – Danny – but he was left stranded on base, as lonely as a jilted groom. A series of walks, a wild pitch, a stolen base, an outfield miscue, and a string of Northmen hits put four more on the big board for the visitors. Shmuel, now in his alter ego role as a fine batter, walked to lead the bottom of the second. It was now the Dawgs turn to have their day. A fielder’s choice, with Jon swinging away, got Shmuel to second from where he raced to third on a wild pitch and an error on the part of the shortstop, brought him home. A HPB got Danny to first to load the bases, setting the stage for Yehezkiel – “the Goose” – to smash a shot up the middle sending two Dawgs in to the kennel. Russell, the Bronx Bomber, the Harvard Hitman, the MIT Masher, followed with another timely hit, bringing in another Dawg and advancing to second on a picture-perfect slide. Albert walked as the team batted around, sending Shmuel up to the plate again. Giving it his best, he couldn’t get them home, and the inning ended with four on the board for the Dawgs. The TTTers added two runs to their tally in the top of the third, but the real star of the inning was Russell “the Glove”, making two putouts that could have appeared in Sports Illustrated photos of the week interspersed with pix of a bevy of bikini-clad beauties in the annual swimsuit issue. The Dawgs, undaunted by the Shomratnik lead, came up to bat with Jon drawing a lead-off walk. A fielder’s choice, with Jeremy swinging away, forced Jon off the bases, but Jeremy advanced on a steal, went to third on a sac fly, and made it home. Dave, up next, made it to first and later on to second, where he was called eventually called out in the longest delayed umpire call since a drunken Abner Doubleday, in 1876, subbing for an even drunker umpire, Merriweather Hooper, waited until after dinner to call a sober Cincinnati Redstockings runner, Jedediah C. Chamberlain, out at first base on a play in which the runner was undeniably safe. So the Dawgs only managed to add one to their tally. In the top of the fourth, Shmuel, settling down, faced four batters, walked one, and set down the next two. A cheeky Northman attempted to advance to second but Albert’s “Arrow” dispatched him faster than a lie could pass Yasser Arafat’s lips. “Not even close”, a reliable source confessed. Encouraged by this scoreless inning, pumped up by Jon’s encouraging words, the Dawgs exploded. A walk, a wild pitch, an advance, a bad throw, a hit, a walk, a wild pitch, and a walk – Danny, Yehezkiel, Russell - in rapid fire succession, set the stage for Albert’s bloop, another RBI, a sac fly, and four more runs went up for the Dawgs. The top of the fifth saw one of the most daring and creative defensive changes in Dawg history. Jon put Lowell in right field, a position he had played eons before – along with centerfield – in the heady days of MASH and Crazy Richard. A succession of hits, however, mostly grounders through infield gaps, brought in four Shomratniks. The Dawgs, down by two before the inning began, now faced a six run deficit. Lowell flied out to first, Danny walked, and Yehezkial’s bat stayed hot, but with two on, the next two batters went down, and the Dawgs lined ‘em up to congratulate the winning team. Despite the Dawgs’ defeat, efforts worthy of mention go to Jeremy’s RPG arm at third, Yaniv’s wheels in center and his heads-up backups on plays, Danny’s steady work in the outfield, and yes, “Mr Blue” - Bob Kessler – who according to this sportswriter, called a good game behind the plate. Eternally undaunted, the Dawgs face Ziontours in their next outing, led by vets Richard Duffy, Dave Epstein, and others, as well as their usual crew of teenage Zits.