Softball: Net Caf? Jays, Lobos, Jerry's Kids advance

Top-ranked Net Caf? Jays edged ahead early on Gershon Jacobovitch's solo HR, and later broke open a tight game against the Brave Little Toasters, winning 16-6.

By MONTY WAYLAND
The top three seeds all advanced to the semifinals in the Bonkers/Moshiko Israel Softball League with playoff victories. The three teams, Net Café Jays, Lobos, and Jerry's Kids, as well as Mercaz, Rosewood and Dan's Bagels, remain in the hunt for the coveted Holyland Series Championship Trophy. Top-ranked Net Café Jays edged ahead early on Gershon Jacobovitch's solo HR, and later broke open a tight game against the Brave Little Toasters, winning 16-6. The second seed, the defending-champion Lobos, finally brought the Torah Tidbits' Cinderella season to a close with a 13-1 victory. The Tidbits' noble defensive efforts kept the Lobos below their usual prodigious output, but Lobos' veteran pitcher Ira Suss proved too much to handle on the mound. Jerry's Kids, seeded third, rode the coat-tails of pitcher/slugger Uri Zimmerman, punching their semifinals ticket with a 13-5 win over DSA Realty. DSA's first-round win had been the most exciting of the playoffs to date, a 12-10 victory that ended when experienced DSA first-baseman "Uncle Howie" expertly handled a wide skidding throw to get the force-out at first, with the tying run rounding third and looking to score. The number four seed, Mercaz, hopes to take the last spot in the final four, when they play either Rosewood or Dan's Bagels, whose game ended after press time.