By Shalva Faber

June 11, 2017.  History was made, yet again. The Ma’ayanot Rapids washed away the SAR Sting. In Coach Yoni Lieber’s four years as coach the mighty Ma’ayanot Rapids softball team had beat the SAR Sting in the championships twice; both 2015 and 2017. How was it done? With that I present the most exciting softball game that the Yeshiva League has ever had.

Back in Teaneck the Rapids boarded the luxurious yellow school bus, packed up their gear, and proceeded to make their way to the Bronx. It was no easy task as the weather was quite brutal: 97, sunny and barely any wind. After the long ride (traffic) we finally made it to the field, and realized that the nearby residents heard about the game and brought their family and friends for some Sunday fun. Needless to say the bleachers were packed, and there were many people standing to witness such a monumental game.

Before mentioning the long list of incredible plays, it’s important to recognize the incredible run we got. Michal Meisels (’20) was on third, Adina Falk (’17) on second, Sarah Berman (’18) on third and Noa Applebaum (’17) at bat. Noa hit to second base and got out, but Michal was able to come home bringing us the lead at 1-0. Because of our impeccable fielding skills we were able to hold SAR at that score.

The first out of the game was crazy incredible. There was a player at first who ran to second once the batter hit, and the player at first was called safe. However, she took her foot off the base, giving Mia Nissel (’19) the opportunity to tag her, and Mia got her out. It. Was. Incredible. Mia made another out when pitcher Noa Applebaum (’17) passed her the ball to second. The next two outs of the inning were by Adira Levine (’18) who made an incredible catch at first, and Noa Applebaum (’17) who made the first strikeout of the game (Noa had six more, but whose counting? I am…).

The second inning made history, as Noa made all three outs consecutively. Two strikeouts and a fabulous infield fly, our pitcher can handle anything.

To our unbreakable, unstoppable, incredible outfield for their impeccable plays this game: you are the Wonder Women that Gal Gadot could never play. You are softball legends. Adina Falk (’17) AKA the red-hot gal who is #2 (her jersey number, she is #1 IRL), made an outstanding catch, which left the crowd in a long applause. Leah Markowitz (’19) saved the day out there when she practically slid on the ground to make a show stopping out. Kathryn Weinberg (’17), or shall we say Kate Middleton. Kate, much like Leah, left jaws dropped when she caught a pop up that she had to run to catch. It was, and Barney Stinson says, legen-wait for it-dairy. And last, but not least, Michal Meisels (’20). Michal made two incredible outs. The fourth and sixth innings were a time to watch this game, because Michal put on quite the show.

Preceding Adina’s out was an out made by none other than Alissa Felder (’17), who began the first of the three consecutive outs in the third inning (whoa, a lot of 3’s). Alissa caught a concerning ball, and relieved many of the stress that could have been a batter on base.

Tali Antosofsky (’18) came in clutch twice this game, and brought us our victorious win. Tali not only caught a crazy infield pop up in the fifth inning, but she made an outstanding double play, one that will go down in Yeshiva League softball history forever. Tali caught the ball that the SAR player hit, making the second out of the inning (that being the seventh, and final inning of the championship), and as she did so she realized that there was a player who had been at first and ran to second. Fun fact: that player had to remain at first base, otherwise she could get out (because the ball was caught). That player was unaware of the rule, and ran to second. Being the smart young woman she is, Tali threw the ball to Adira Levine (’18) making the third and final out, and bringing the Ma’ayanot Rapids the championship for the third year in a row.

Pause for a moment, and trace backwards, to the very beginning. It’s time to take a moment and congratulate Noa Applebaum on four years of incredible pitching, and three years of being the pitcher for a leading team. In this season alone Noa has struck out over 40 batters, and made and assisted over 15 plays. Although we will miss our beloved pitcher very much, Noa is actually helping an incoming freshman improve on her pitching skills in order to play for the Rapids next season.

Fast forward a tad. Yes. Now were at the victorious win. Readers, WE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP! The mighty Ma’ayanot Rapids one the championship softball game against SAR! This could not have been possible without our wonderful team of girls: Tali Antosofsky, Noa Applebaum, Sarah Berman, Adina Falk, Alissa Felder, Lilly Fuchs, Chana Kolber, Adira Levine, Rebecca Malech, Leah Markowitz, Michal Meisels, Mia Nissel, Danielle Pasternack, Tamar Pasternack, Nili Raskas, Sol Emunah Richter, Miriam Rubin, Hannah Samuel, Kate Weinberg and Dassi Zelig. Our team was led by wonderful captians Danielle Pasternack, Adina Falk, Sarah Berman and Noa Applebaum, as well as coaches Kayla Applebaum Levine and Yoni Lieber. The team could not have gotten to the championship if not for the guidance you gave, and the enthusiasm for softball that you share with us all.

When handing out the trophies, Coach YL got emotional saying farewell to our four outstanding seniors. As I said last year, “it was a bitter-sweet moment because they were on the team for four years at the longest, gave it their all, and are now heading into the real world and into adult life”. We will miss you guys!!!

Another farewell goes to (soon to be Dr.) Kayla Levine for her four years of coaching this incredible team. As Yoni said in the final softball email for the season, the team was as great as they were because of Kayla, and she will be surely missed.

This season was by far one of the most exciting softball seasons in Ma’ayanot history, and we thank you for tuning in to hear about this extraordinary team. FYI – check out the trophy by heading to the Lieber home shabbos afternoon. Yoni will be out there admiring the win, and would love to share the pride with all who wish to have it shared with them.

We came. We conquered. We’re done. Until next season…