Bruce Powers Miracles to Victory over Blue Sox

A two-run homer by Ari Bruce game powered the Modiin-Gezer Miracles to a 9-5 victory over the Beit Shemesh Blue Sox in a Junior League matchup on Friday at the Kibbutz Gezer field.

The starting pitcher for Modiin-Gezer, Ori Wachspress, held the Blue Sox scoreless over the first two innings, while the Miracles built a 3-0 lead, with Yoav Halper, Dovi Fishman, Nachum Kletzel and Natani Kuhr contributing key hits.

But Elan Glatt smacked a double for the Blue Sox in the third inning, and a pair of walks filled the bases for Alex Posen, who stunned the Miracles with a grand slam. Before the inning was over, the Blue Sox added another run to take a 5-3 lead.

In addition to his heroics at the plate, Posen also performed admirably as the starting pitcher for Beit Shemesh. He protected his team’s lead, setting Modiin-Gezer down one-two-three in the third and surrendering one run in the fourth.

However, the Miracles provided some drama of their own in the bottom of the fifth, when Bruce sent a majestic shot over the left-field fence with Kletzel aboard to put Modiin-Gezer ahead 6-5 and knock Posen out of the game. The Miracles went on to score three more runs that inning, thanks to several walks, an infield hit by Wachspress and a double by Halper, his fourth hit of the afternoon. Halper also was stellar on the mound, pitching four scoreless innings in relief.

Both teams were very solid on defense, with nearly flawless infield work. Shortstops Wachspress (Miracles) and Sruli Rosenblum (Blue Sox) both made difficult plays ranging into the hole and making long throws. Third basemen Sam Posen (Blue Sox) and Fishman (Miracles) also made several good plays.

The two teams meet again this Friday at the Baptist Village field at 2 pm.

Laks laces homer for Raiders

In other Junior League action, the Ra'anana-Tel Mond Raiders earned their first win of the season, defeating the Beit Shemesh Mavericks 8-1 on Friday at the Baptist Village field. Ra’anana-Tel Mond jumped to an early lead, while the team’s starting pitcher, Adam Miller, kept the Mavericks off the bases for the first four innings. The offensive highlight for the Raiders was an inside-the-park home run by Ben Laks.

Lipman no-hits Lions

In a third Junior League game, featuring the last two unbeaten teams, the Beit Shemesh Comets beat the Jerusalem Lions 10-1, backed by Shlomo Lipman's 13-strikeout, no-hit pitching performance. Six Comets players recorded base hits, with Yakir Becker, Elyashiv Segal and Yedidya Wener each contributing two hits.