Baseball: Israel thrashes Great Britain – earns quarterfinal berth

Team Israel won its third game in so many days on Tuesday, thrashing Great Britain 11-4 and earning itself a well-deserved place in the quarterfinals of the  2021 European Championships in Torino, Italy. The Israeli bats stayed red hot as they scorched British pitchers for 11 runs and 11 hits, one day after burning the French for 10 runs and 14 hits. 

Assaf Lowengart, fresh off his previous day’s two-homer performance, got the party started in the bottom of the second with a run-scoring double and smacked yet another dinger in the fifth, this time with one man aboard.  Ben Wanger, back at first base after his Monday mound performance, which earned him the win over France, went a perfect 3 for 3 with two walks in 5 at bats. Yet the mightiest display of firepower was put on by 6’6” Jordan Petrushka who blasted a bomb so far over the left field wall that Wanger, who had been running on the play, stopped dead in his tracks so he could witness the flight of the ball.  

However, these last two high-scoring victories have been anything but easy. Knowing that pitching would be the key to success, Israeli manager Nate Fish turned to an unusual duo of hurlers to carry the water for the Blue and White against the Brits. He opened by handing the ball to 18-year-old Ivri Margolin, who was recently promoted to the senior team and is set to join the IDF as an Outstanding Athlete soon after the tournament ends. Margolin responded brilliantly, holding Great Britain hitless over 3 1/3 innings,  long enough for his teammates to put runs up on the board.

Manager Fish then replaced Ivri, his youngest pitcher,  with his oldest, 37-year-old Orr Gottlieb.  Gottlieb, a wily veteran who had come out of retirement for this week’s competition, struck out 3 over the next several innings and kept British hitters off-balance for their second trip through the order. By the time they looked up, the Brits were faced with an insurmountable 10-3 lead after six innings.

Fish kept the pressure up by inserting reliable DJ Sharabi for the third straight day, followed by hard-throwing Bubby Rossman, and finally with Itai Goldner (yet another  IDF Outstanding Athlete on leave this week), who shut the door on any hopes of a British comeback.

Among the familiar heroes for Israel, catcher Tal Erel and shortstop Ty Kelly once again earned the praise of their teammates.  Kelly continued to provide solid defense up the middle and raised his tournament average to .364 with a pair of doubles.  Erel was invaluable in keeping his pitchers- both young and old-  from losing focus, especially after they had walked lead-off hitters or had been  charged with run-scoring balks.

Having finished the first tournament round with a perfect 3-0 record, the team earned a much-needed day off. Manager Fish summarized, “It has been an incredible journey. The guys are playing great. All the credit goes to them.”