Softball: Warriors make easy work of Optica Int'l to stay in second

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The CleanTech Warriors stormed by Optica International in a one-sided affair at Gezer on Friday, winning 17-2 and solidifying their hold on second place in the league. The Warriors pounded 21 hits, scoring at least three runs each inning before the 15-run mercy rule was imposed in the fifth when Nosson Mandel's walk-off single knocked in his fourth run of the game. Centerfielder Jack Jacobovitz came a triple short of hitting for the cycle when he went deep in the fifth for his first homer of the year. Mandel, Avi Dzik and Matt Brenner also collected three hits apiece for a Warrior attack in which each player got at least one hit and one run. Jacobovitz, Dzik and Brenner each scored three runs. Jacobovitz and Nisan Hirsh also collected three RBI's. Pitcher Meir Goldberg held the hot OI bats in check, giving up only two extra-base hits for the day. Steve Harvey tripled and scored in the second, but OI killed its own potential rallies in the first and second when with two runners on and no out, runners were hit by batted balls. Zvi Herman and Ariel Kass each had two hits for OI for the day. With the victory, CleanTech avenged three consecutive losses to OI, including one that ended their season a year ago. It also placed them in strong position to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs. "This was a very big victory for us," CleanTech manager Aron Heller said. "It gives us some momentum going into the playoffs and, more importantly, gets the OI monkey off our back."