Senior Baseball League / Too strong for Tel Aviv , Cup O' Joe Modi'in stretches winning streak to four
By Bruce Maddy-Weitzman
What a difference a year makes! Cup O' Joe Modi'in came back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the defending league champions, the Tel Aviv Comrades, 5-4, in Senior League action on Sunday at the Baptist Village field in Petah Tikvah.
It was Modi'in's fourth straight victory, placing last year's newly formed team and season long cellar-dweller at the top of the standings with a 4-1-1 record.
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Tel Aviv struck early, with player-coach Dan Rothem lining a two-run single in the first inning, followed by a long double by Omri Modiano. Modi'in's starter Tim Cummings then struck out the next two batters to avoid further damage.
Amit Kurtz opened the second inning for Tel Aviv with a shot into the right-field corner and legged out a triple, later scoring on a sacrifice fly by Ehud Talmor to put Tel Aviv in front 3-0.
Aaron Laye tossed two strong innings in relief for Modi'in, surrendering just one unearned run. Modi'in's ace Alon Leichman then took over, shutting down Tel Aviv for the last four innings, fanning 10 along the way.
Rothem started on the mound for Tel Aviv and held Modi'in scoreless for three innings, giving up only one infield hit to Cummings and recording six Ks. Orr Gottlieb took over the pitching chores for Tel Aviv in the fourth and had trouble finding the plate: Modi'in scored three runs on three walks, a hit batsman and a two-run error. Cup O' Joe struck again in the fifth, with Leichman's single delivering two RBIs to give Modi'in a 5-4 lead.
Kurtz came in to pitch for Tel Aviv and held Modi'in scoreless - partly thanks to a spectacular play at third by Mario Rojas.
Modi'in threatened again in the last inning against a fourth Tel Aviv pitcher, Jason Hillman, but a baserunning gaffe helped Tel Aviv quash the rally. However, the one-run lead proved sufficient for Cup O' Joe as Leichman came back to strike out the side to end the game.
The loss was Tel Aviv's fourth in its last five outings, dropping it to an unaccustomed last place in the standings with a record of 2-4-1.
Ra'anana is currently in second place, at 3-3, and Jerusalem in third, with a 2-3-2 record (ties are recorded if the score is tied after one extra inning of play).
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