BSL Nights 2021 - Week 4 Recaps
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Both teams came into this one missing key players as we had a 10 vs 10 matchup at Birchwood. Istanbul, missing their ace Riyad R, had no choice but to turn to Taqi to step on the mound.
Things started off with a bang as Ismail Kara and Umair Ali continued their power surge with both players hitting bombs and giving their team 3 runs on the board. Cairo would answer back with 3 runs of their own thanks to solid line drive hitting from Amir, Khizer and Yousaf.
Istanbul continued to pile on runs with Zain Khilji hitting very well and driving in key runs. Cairo had difficulty figuring out Taqi’s pitching as they struggled to get momentum going the rest of the game. Istanbul benefited from Miqdad giving Taqi pointers before the game which gave off the illusion that he was pitching well.
Despite their hitting struggle, Cairo had great hitting performances from Furqan Usman and Faisal Shamshad as they tried their best to get the hitting going from the bottom haf of the lineup. Istanbul came away with a critical win while Cairo already moved on from the loss and were ready to reset and get into game 2 with a clean slate.
Final Score: Istanbul 16 vs Cairo 5
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The second leg showed us the difference between a part time pitcher and a real ace on the mound. Taqi struggled mightily with control and walked a whopping 11 batters. Cairo hitters woke up offensively with Yousaf Ch providing the power that the team was lacking in the first leg.
Despite the walks sucking the spirit out of Istanbul they did not easily turn over. The team showed great character led by Zain Khilji who went a perfect 4/4 to keep Istanbul within reach every inning. Istanbul also had great defensive plays from “The Twin Towers” at 3B and SS (Umair and Ismail both over 6ft) as Taqi somehow composed himself and stopped walking batters.
Istanbul is red and hot – this team is dangerous, very dangerous. Opposing teams need to beware of rattling this team up. Play with something safe, don’t play with Istanbul.
Final Score: Cairo 16 Istanbul 17
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The weather continues to scare BSL nights. When are we going to get a nice day to play on Thursday? Who knows?
In a week 4 matchup we have Cordoba going up against Jerusalem. Cordoba has been almost splitting weekly while Jerusalem has been on a roller coaster this season which many ups and many downs. Game time was 6:30pm, but only 9 Cordoba players were available during game time. Hassan Chaudhry probably got lost eating dinner, arriving in the middle of the 2nd inning. Jerusalem took advantage in the first inning facing 9 players, scoring 7 runs at the top of the 1st. Cordoba did a great job getting back in the game and taking the lead after 4 innings of play. Bilal Javed carried the team going 2-3, 2HR and 5 RBI for the night.
Going into the 5th inning, Cordoba had a 3 run lead and Jerusalem had their backs to the wall. The batting for Jerusalem finally woke up, scoring 9 runs in the 5th inning which was called an open inning by the umpire. A controversial call stalled the game for a while after Rameez Siddiqi was caught in the outfield but continued to run to 2nd base. Cordoba captain Bilal Javed was requesting a double out on the runner for distracting Cordoba, while Jerusalem score their 8th run of the inning on the play. Bilal Javed and Umair Sheikh got into each other’s faces for a few seconds, but the two later ran into each other in Niagara Falls on Civic Day and made up. Cordoba managed to score a few runs in the bottom of the 5th but Jerusalem got the job done and closed the inning for a final score of 18-15. Arsalaan Abdullah had a night, going 2-3 with HR and 3 RBI. Noteworthy, Jerusalem were missing their best player and Triple Crown league leader Paygham Whahedi (PG) who sat the games due to an ankle injury. Week 4 is a wrap and Jerusalem jumps to 3rd in the standings with Cordoba right behind them at 4th. Both teams looking for a strong week 5 to cement their place in the standings.
Final Score: Jerusalem 18 Cordoba 15
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Damascus was back in action at Birchwood ready to face an already victorious Jerusalem team, in hopes this is where their tide would change. Still missing 2 of their top bats, DMC was given some hope when they found out Jerusalem's mega star rookie PG would not be suited up for this game.
DMC got their early, welcomed new addition Yasser Malik and sub Miqdad and hit BW2 for some bp and it was finally time to play. WIth all that energy, DMC started off with a bang as Awais Malik began things with a leadoff triple and was cashed in by batter #2 Zahid P. Unfortunately, that was as good things got for DMC. Jersusalem would start things off by being patient at the plate, as leadoff Hatf Sohail would get on base with his 1st of 3 walks, followed by good hitting by their top Abdul Rahim, Imran Merhchant & Rameez. Jerusalem would go on to put up 10 runs in the first 4 inning vs the only run we mentioned above by DMC which came in the 1st 2 at bats.
10-4 going into the 6th, the umpire allowed the teams to play and DMC would cash in some more runs thanks to good batting from the bottom of the lineup but it wasn't nearly enough. DMC finds themselves on the wrong side of the win column once again while Jerusalem would easily pick up another W to go 2-0 on the week.
GM Safwan Khan noted his team's defensive effort was better in this game, with guys like Jav Ahmed making some good plays in the OF, but he desperately needs his big bats OC & AK to return as he's not getting any production from the rest of the squad on the offensive side of the ball. With rumours of trades going into the deadline, GM Safwan ultimately decided to keep his squad as is and will wait for week 5 to determine how that pans out. Its 'Ride or Die' from here on out for Damascus while Jerusalam plants themselves in a tiebreaker for 2nd overall.
Final Score: Damascus 5 Jerusalem 11
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In the last game of the night, Cordoba smashed Damascus 18-3. In this route, Cordoba saw awesome production from Hassan Chaudhary (5-5), 5 RBI's from Bilal Javed, and 7 players with multi-hit games. Abbas Allidina commanded the mound well, allowing only 3 runs in a softball game is an amazing feat. Damascus, on the other hand, came out sluggish, with a few errors that cost them several runs that they could never make a comeback against. Zahid P. pitched better but was still in search of that illustrious first Nights victory.
Some standout stats from the game include 23 hits for Cordoba vs. Damascus’ 13 hits. Damascus did not take a single walk in its two games this past week. Bilal Javed, Jibran Khan and Cordoba’s sub hit a home run in this game, versus Safwan Khan going yard for Damascus. Damascus allowed a season high 6 errors and had only 1 xbh.
Cordoba looks like a team that’s on the verge of breaking away from the middle of the pack, and into the top tier. If they can carry this momentum into the next several weeks, they’ll convince others of what the team already knows – how dangerous they truly are. This writer thinks Cordoba will ascend from here. On the other side of the coin, DMC is well in last place, but on the bright side they will get back two of their best hitters for next week. Going into week 5 both teams have reasons to believe things will get better from here on out.
Final Score: Cordoba 18 Damascus 3
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After an 0-4 start to the season, everyone was questioning team Baghdad and whether they had what it takes to be a competitive force this year. That quickly changed last week when the team came out of their slump and picked up 2 massive wins.
Coming off that high, Baghdad was ready to go but they would face a hot Lahore squad coming off 2 impressive performances themselves.
Baghdad started off the hitting with 2 runs in the first but Lahore responded with 9 runs over the next 2 innings taking a 9-4 lead after 3 periods thanks to a pair of home runs from Saad Ibrahim and Omar Khatab (who combined for 3 dingers and 4 RBI’s on the night). After the 3rd inning, both teams laid a goose egg as defenses stepped up in a big way. That’s when GM Hamid Malik had an idea. He got on the phone, ordered 3 tandoori chicken pizza’s and told the team if they win, he feeds them or they can watch him eat all 3 by himself. Didn’t realize that joke was going to light a fire under everyone as Baghdad came roaring back. You never mess with a man and his stomach!
Thaya and Tash “The hammer” Samadzadeh combined for 3 dingers in this game to help spark the offense, but the biggest moments came when Baghdad was down 2 and big bad Fawad A. Sheikh stepped up to the plate and placed a beautiful line drive to LF bringing in 2 very crucial runs. After a Shahan Khan walk, GM Hamid Malik was up with the go ahead run at 2b. He smashed one down CF bringing in 2 runs and putting the good guys up by 1. The inning ended with Baghdad up 1 with the heart of Lahore’s batting lineup coming up.
Didn’t take long for big time hitter Omar Khatab to come up and smash a solo shot over his best friend Tash. That didn’t matter because Baghdad’s defense was on point rest of the way and that would be the only run Lahore would score in their final inning. With the heart of the lineup coming up to bat, Tash was up and he had the greenest of green lights to end this game with a solo shot. He didn’t hesitate to put one over the fence and end this game. Special game for him as his kids happen to witness that big shot and he got the walk off HR to beat his good friend! Mashallah! Although this wasn’t the highest scoring game, it certainly was a nail biter. Hats off to both pitchers Ali Chaudhry for taking the mound and doing an incredible job, mixing up his pitches and most impressively, walking just 1 player all night. Nirvaan was on fire as he showed up 3 hours prior to the game to warm up his pitching arm and boy did it pay off. GM Hamid Malik was impressed and expects Nirvi to continue to show up early and help his team win games. Baghdad is on a 3-0 winning streak and they take on the mighty Medina next. Can they carry this momentum and extend their winning streak to 4? We’ll find out
Final Score: Lahore 10 Baghdad 11
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Lahore started this one off with a bang putting up 4 runs in the first. Medina would catch up in the second putting up 3 to cut the lead. Medina would then tighten up the defence and only allow 1 run in the next 4 innings. Omar Khattab was hot at the plate, cashing in 3 RBIs in the game.
Both Sulemann Mann and Ahmed Ahmed would hit home runs to extend the lead to 8-5 heading into the the sixth inning. This dynamic duo has been clutch for Medina all season.
Going into the open inning, Medina’s Shoaib Rangrez would hit a triple over the head of fellow Maltonite Mohammed Kazi in centre field to put them up 15-7 heading into the bottom.
Ali Chaudhary would rally the troops and hit his second homerun of the evening. Lahore started the comeback cutting the lead to 3 runs. With a two out rally, Tanseer Khawaja would not let this one slip away and secured win for Medina.
Final Score: Medina 15 Lahore 12
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2 of the hottest teams face off on this night as Medina comes into this one undefeated rolling through teams with a 7-0 record while Baghdad is on a 3 game winning streak of their own and looking to put a stop to Medina’s dominance.
Baghdad continued their momentum from the previous game and started off by putting up 5 runs including 2 solo homers by Thaya and Tash. With Medina only responding with 1 run, Baghdad knew they had to keep their foot on the gas pedal if they wanted to win this game. Fast forward to the 3rd inning where Baghdad put up another 5 runs started of by newly acquired Zain Malik’s 2 run homer which put Baghdad up by 9. Medina’s bats however started to wake up as they began to put up some runs. Thanks to a few defensive errors, Medina took advantage and rallied after 2 outs and as they started to cut into the lead.
With Medina gaining, Baghdad had to put up more runs if they wanted to win this game as one swing of a bat can change any teams fate. Medina cut the lead to 4 after the 5th inning thanks to an Ahmed Ammad homerun, and some fantastic hitting by Suleman Mann/Shoaib Rangrez who would combine for 5/6 on the plate and 5 RBI’s on the night. Going into the last inning, they would need more fire power as Baghdad’s defense was playing extremely well and the heart of their batting lineup was coming up. Tash was the first man up to bat and he smashed a solo shot over the fence to put his team up by 4 hoping that would be enough to close out Medina. As the home team, Medina got one more shot and needed 5 to win but the boys in purple made quick of the final inning getting 3 quick outs bringing an end to a legendary run.
With this win in the books, Baghdad not only extends their winning streak to 4 but also put a stop to Medina’s hot streak. Baghdad is flying on all cylinders and even though they lost the first 4 games of the season, they’re team chemistry is very impressive. They’re starting to put some quality games together and are a force to be reckon with. Will Baghdad continue their dominance against Jerusalem next week? Will Medina bounce back from this loss and go on another massive run? Its all possible, especially with these 2 power houses. We’ll find out next week!
Final Score: Baghdad 14 Medina 9