‘Chabad Shluggers’ Win League

By COLlive reporter

When the “Wellesley-Weston Chabad Shluggers” came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Men’s Shul Softball League championship game July, they were down 9 to 6 vs powerhouse Brookline Kehilath Israel.

Three batters later, they were champions. This to go along with an impressive 12-0 season.

After second baseman Ben Bressell got things going with a double to right center, Kehilath Israel elected to intentionally walk David Halperin. That left the game, and the season, up to Jon Star, and he delivered. Star drove the first pitch up the middle, scoring Bressell and earning the Shluggers their first Kiddish Cup.

“This is a dream come true,” said Rabbi Moshe Bleich, Director of Wellesley-Weston Chabad in Massachusetts. “It’s our fifteenth year in the league and we’ve come close to winning a bunch of times. It looked like we might fall short again this year, but these guys never give up. It was an incredible team effort.”

In typical Shluggers fashion, everyone contributed to the win, which wasn’t surprising after a regular season in which they combined to lead the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed.

Next up for the Shluggers is their annual charity softball game. Each year Chabad plays a charity softball game VS the Wellesley Police Department.

The Men’s Shul Softball League was created to promote and carry out friendship among men of Jewish families through sports. The league currently fields 50 adult softball teams, each consisting of members from a given temple or group of temples in the metropolitan Boston area.