Games we play

An amazing and "Magical" season comes to an end.

By JERRY GLAZER
311_minor league (photo credit: Courtesy)
311_minor league
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The 2010 Modi’in Magic Cadet season, perhaps indirectly, started with a disappointing finish to the last game of the prior season, when the then-Modi’in Mean Machine were just barely denied the final spot in the playoffs. .
With a new emphasis on team work instilled by coaches in the preseason, 2010 started with a night game at Jerusalem in late February. A tight game was blown open as the Magic scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Unfortunately, the predetermined “drop-dead” time was reached and the inning did not count, causing the game to be scored as an official tie.
The next few weeks demonstrated the team’s potential. The team recorded its first win, followed by an emotional defeat of a strong-hitting Hashmonaim team.
In the ensuing games, the team was able to hold it together and at the end of the regular season, the Magic sat in fourth place overall and fulfilled their goal of making the playoffs.
In the first playoff game the Magic were able to withstand a strong last inning rally by Hashmonaim to win 5-4.
The semifinal game against Efrat was undeniably the game of the year. A back-and-forth contest saw the teams need extra innings to decide things, before the Magic came back in the bottom of the eighth to capture a dramatic 8-7 victory under the lights.
In the final, against the Beit Shemesh Bombers, the effects of the fatigue from the prior game and the oppressive heat showed.
The game was never really close as the Bombers won by a score of 16-6. After the game, the Magic found out that their opponent for the consolation game could not play and that they were awarded a third-place finish.
No one thought that the team would come near the top of the standings. Finishing in the third place was difficult task. Kudos go to the players: Ohav Barbi, Nethaniel Belmont, Sammy Belmont, Amit Berger, Josh David, Dani Fishman, Noam Glazer, Idan Reuvany, Omer Schechter, Arieh Sherman, Eli Stein, Yohanan Wessman, Tzvi Dov Zack, Daniel Zacks, each of whom contributed to the team as noted in the teams closing awards ceremony.
Overall, it was most definitely a season to remember.