2024 Playoff Week 2 Results + Updated Brackets

Updated Playoff Brackets:

2024 Playoff Week 1 Results + Updated Brackets

Updated Brackets after Week 1 of the playoffs!

2024 League I and League II Playoff Brackets

The 2024 Playoff Brackets are set!

Introducing... One Ummah Softball!!!

We're delighted to share some thrilling news with you regarding BSL Nights. Welcome One Ummah Sports—a fresh new identity that encapsulates the spirit of brotherhood and unity within the Muslim community through the thrill of sports.

Formerly known as BSL Nights, One Ummah Sports marks a significant milestone in our journey toward fostering brotherhood, shared values, and uniting the Ummah through sports. Our two tenets are brotherhood and community. Ummah is the embodiment of community, our other core tenet.

As we embark on this exciting new chapter, we invite you to join us in shaping the future of One Ummah Sports. Whether you're a die-hard softball enthusiast or eager to explore new athletic pursuits, there's never been a better time to get involved.

The Softball Cinderellas: The Remarkable Journey of BSL League ll Champions - Fes

“In 2022, Fes couldn’t even find first base on a map, but in 2023, they located it and camped out with a championship trophy in hand.” - Osama Mujahid (Probably).

In the wacky world of softball, success is often measured by the culmination of a team's hard work, determination, and growth over a season. The BSL League ll Championship of 2023 was a testament to the remarkable development story anchored by the resilience (and occasional shenanigans) of the leadership core. Let us delve into the inspiring journey of our team and highlight key players who played pivotal roles in our path to victory.

Playoff Overview

Heading into Week 1 of the playoffs Fes was oozing with confidence having taken down Tripoli, the top team in the league, 18-5 in the final game of the regular season. Finishing the regular season with a bang, Fes managed to secure the fourth seed going into playoffs and were matched up against Timbuktu. Timbuktu had a roster stacked with some potent players on both sides of the ball and seemed to be a top contender during the first half of the season. Though they had slowed down nearing the end of the regular season this was no team to count out as they were a beast ready to awaken at any given moment. This statement held true as Timbuktu had seemingly come together at the right time, keeping Fes’ lead to a couple runs the whole game, but despite their best efforts Fes had managed to win the game by a slim margin of 2 runs. On the other side of the bracket Jakarta had come out on top in a slug-off against Kashgar’s hot bats and then took down a cold Bukhara to advance to the Finals. 

Week 2 of playoffs had Fes playing in the Semi-Finals against Tripoli, who they had recently bested and had a huge amount of confidence going against. Tripoli had revenge on their minds coming into the playoffs and with a bye in Week 1 they had plenty of extra time to prepare for it. The first inning had both teams start off well, having the game tied 3-3 going into the second and shortly after Tripoli had managed to take a 1 run lead into the third. Little did they know that this would be the only lead they would get the whole game as Fes took their game to the next level. Fes’ stellar defense and pitching only allowed a combined 3 runs for the rest of the game whilst also setting their bats ablaze and scoring 14 runs in 5 innings to blowout the titans that were Tripoli 17-7. 

And so the stage was set, Fes would play Jakarta in the Finals having arguably the best offense in the league(Jakarta) go up against arguably the best defense in the league(Fes). Now this was not the only storyline heading into the Finals as Fes had been outplayed by Jakarta in all of their regular season meetings. To add some more spice, this game would also feature 2 brothers in opposite dugouts. Saad Aslam(GM of Jakarta) and younger/better brother Numair Aslam(AGM of Fes) would face off for the same trophy they had just come short of together the year prior. A battle for the ages set to commence as two absolute juggernauts clashed for glory. Fes having just played their Semifinals game came out the gates blazing putting up 6 runs to Jakarta’s 4 in the first. Steam had seemingly run out for Fes as Jakarta had shut them out in the second inning and put up 4 runs for themselves. This was short lived as Fes had come back the next innning to return the favor and take back the lead. Halfway through the game both teams seemingly needed a reset after a scoreless fourth inning. The very next inning things got back on track with both teams scoring and Fes now up by 3. The sixth inning was when the fireworks started to set off with both teams batting up a storm to mercy each other. Leading into the final inning Fes only had 3 runs to protect. Fes batting in the top of the seventh started off well getting 2 runs in and having the bases loaded. As the next batter gets ready to go up a voice yells out from the Fes dugout stating “ye well Fes’ GDP is higher than Jakarta’s” and it was none other than Mudasir Marfatia trying to talk smack to the other team. With that Jakarta had been humbled,their egos shattered, allowing Fes to put the icing on the cake as their Ace turned Slugger hit a mind boggling Grand Slam to put them up by 9. After scoring an additional run in the top of the seventh, Fes had 3 outs standing between them and the Championship. From here it was up to Fes’ immaculate defense to do what they had done all season, and that is exactly what they did. Fes pulled off a 1,2,3 inning to shutout Jakarta and win the Championship, overcoming the demon that had haunted them all season (and proving once and for all that Numair was better than Saad).

Leadership Core: Hassan Shabbir - Mohammed Ali Marfatia - Numair Aslam - Owais Khimani

Strong leadership is often the backbone of a championship-winning team. The fantastic foursome of Hassan, Mo Ali, Numair, and Owais provided the leadership necessary to guide Fes through the wild ride of the softball season. Their ability to motivate and lead by example was pivotal in maintaining team morale, even when they couldn't locate first base on that darn map.

Numair, stepping into the role of the practice dictator, ensured our team attended practices religiously (pun intended). It didn't matter if he had to threaten to bench us; he made sure we were there, and were the first ones to sign up for BSL-Arranged Practices. 

Early in the season, the quartet of leaders regularly seemed to find themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, leaving them scratching their heads, wondering if victory had a secret hideout. Maybe Mudasir Marfatia, our least experienced player, hesitantly coaching the team was the change we needed. He encouraged our team to play aggressively and not look for any walks. It was like watching a cat teach a dog to meow, hilariously baffling, but somehow, it led to unexpected wins and endless laughs.

Hassan, our first-time captain and GM, faced the challenge of balancing expectations with the realities of uneven growth curves among the team and its members. His growth as a leader was evident throughout the season, though sometimes his leadership resembled a sitcom plot more than a sports strategy.

From batting .397 in the regular season to .818 in the playoffs, Owais continued to shine in clutch moments. His exceptional play in the last inning of the championship game, despite playing a new position at third base, left us wondering if he had a secret stash of his own - one filled with confidence and superhero capes.

Lastly, Mo Ali's realization that he was "actually much better than Hassan" added a touch of humor to our championship story. It served as a reminder that self-belief and confidence are essential elements in achieving success. 

Waseem Akhtar: From Ace to Slugger

Waseem's transformation throughout the season was nothing short of remarkable. 

Picture this: Waseem had never pitched in softball before, but suddenly, he was the ace of the mound. It was like discovering your grandma is secretly a pro wrestler. After becoming known for his prowess as a pitcher, Waseem slowly but surely evolved into a formidable hitter. His dual role was instrumental in our success, as he hit a Home Run in our quarter finals as well as a GRAND SLAM in the Finals against none other than a former Fes pitcher. Waseem's journey from first base to pitching, combined with his surprising hitting abilities, made him the MVP of "Whatchamacallit" moments

Usman Khan’s Late-Season Surge

Usman's journey during the season was a rollercoaster ride. He could hit a home run or miss the ball entirely, and it was almost impossible to predict which Usman would show up. After some below par showings in the season, Usman promised to deliver in the playoffs. On the day of the Semi-final and Final game, Usman forced himself to get out of bed as he had been battling a severe flu. When it mattered most, Usman stepped up and delivered exceptional performances. 2-4 in Semis with 3 RBIs and 5-5 in the finals with 3 2B, 1 3B, and 1 HR!!!

Meraj and Zaid: Rising from the Ashes

Zaid and Meraj's return to the team in 2023 was like seeing long-lost relatives at a family reunion. Zaid went so far as to perform Hajj to ensure our success, leaving us to question if our team had somehow been blessed by Allah. Upon his return, he showed what a versatile player he is by playing several different positions, before setting in as our second baseman.

Meraj had missed a good chunk of the season early on due to “allegedly” being stuck in Ottawa due to work. towards the end of the season, he was taking on the challenging task of mastering the delicate art of balancing diaper duty and scoring runs for Fes. This first-time dad showed up when it mattered in the playoffs and provided the strong defense in the OF that helped Fes to their first championship. 

Esau Habibulla's Resilience and Contribution

Esau's journey to the championship was an obstacle course that included a broken hand (non-displaced fracture of the pinky finger, which we're pretty sure he injured while trying to high-five a cloud). But his determination to overcome this setback and contribute to the team was a plot twist even Bollywood couldn't have predicted. Esau's return mid-season was like the triumphant return of a soap opera character, complete with dramatic music and slow-motion entrances.

Omar Uddin's Last Catch: A Culmination of Growth

One of the defining moments of our championship run was the last catch made by Omar. It was not just a game-winning play; it was the result of a year of hard work, dedication, and continuous self-improvement. Omar’s growth throughout the season was exceptional. His improved fielding skills and unwavering focus became evident in the final moments of the championship game when he made that last crucial catch. 

Taha Hasan-Bukhari's Transformation into Big T

Taha's transformation from "Little T" to "Big T" was as unexpected as a plot twist in a telenovela. He put in the work and emerged as a more formidable player, proving that with dedication, there's no limit to his growth and development in softball.

Conclusion

The BSL ll Championship of 2023 was a testament to the remarkable development story anchored by our players. From Omar's last catch to Owais's clutch performance, from Mo Ali's newfound confidence to Numair's practice tyranny, each player's journey contributed to our success. It was a season defined by growth, resilience, and leadership. Our team's victory was a reminder that with dedication, determination, and unwavering teamwork, any challenge can be overcome, and championship dreams can be realized.

2023 Champions - Jerusalem

Jerusalem had a storied and historic playoff run. 

This season, the league tested a new playoff format - double elimination.  6 out of 8 teams made the playoffs. After an initial elimination round to pare teams down from 6 to 4, the remaining 4 teams played in a double elimination style tournament, spanning 3 days.  This tournament involved two brackets - a winner's bracket and a loser's bracket.  Each team had to lose twice to be eliminated from the playoffs, with a losing team dropping from the winner's bracket to the loser's bracket, where they would fight to stave off elimination against the other teams in the same bracket. Against this backdrop, the playoffs began.  

The first round showcased a classic battle between the third seed Jerusalem's lock-down defense and the sixth seed Cairo's high-powered offense.  Cairo had bested Jerusalem in all 3 regular season games.  Some said this game would be Jerusalem's greatest test, and that Cairo's big three (Tash, Hammad, and PG) would be too much for Jerusalem's defense to contain.  

Cairo came out swinging in the game, putting up 9 runs in the first three innings, on the backs of homeruns by Tash and PG.  However, for the remainder of the game, Cairo's bats were silenced, and they went on to score only 2 additional runs.  In response to Cairo's offensive threat, Jerusalem deployed their own firepower, by putting up a staggering 20 runs in 6 innings of batting, including 2 mercy innings.  Jerusalem began firing on all cylinders and put the league on notice.  

Unfortunately, after their victory over Cairo, Jerusalem began celebrating prematurely.  Jerusalem had a break before their next game against the number 2 seed, Baghdad.  Against the strictest orders from their GM, Aftab Khan, some members of the squad snuck away and ordered fish fillets.  This would be Jerusalem's undoing, as the team engine failed to fire during the game against Baghdad.  After a sluggish start against Baghdad, including 5 errors in the sixth inning leading to 5 runs by Baghdad, Jerusalem finally woke up, and began putting up runs in the top of the seventh. However, they would fall short, and lose the game by 1 run, with the final score being 12-11 Baghdad. 

Now in the loser's bracket, Jerusalem had its back to the wall.  The remaining games were all do or die.  

The next day, Jerusalem faced Cordoba, who were hot after having eliminated Medina in the playoffs.  Much like the Cairo game, this was a showdown battle between a Jerusalem's top tier defense versus Cordoba's elite, and unmatched offence.  Cordoba started off hot, putting up 6 runs in the first inning.  However, Jerusalem answered back with 7 of their own.  Despite the best efforts of Cordoba's big 4 (Sulemann Mann, Safwan Khan, Faisal Saeed and Omar Khan), including a 350 foot monster home run by Faisal Saeed that nearly hit the other field's fence at Drumquin, Cordoba would never regain the lead.  Jerusalem put up 22 runs, while holding the juggernaut that was Cordoba to only 12 runs.  

Jerusalem played their next game right away, against the mighty Lahore team, who had finished first overall in the standings for the season, and had consistently destroyed most of their opponents throughout the year, playing high calibre defense and offense.  

Lahore was coming off a heart-breaking loss against Baghdad.  In that game, Lahore was leading 12-2 after 6 innings.  In the top of the seventh inning, things took a turn for the worst.  Lahore's shortstop suffered from a strained hamstring.  And Lahore decided to pull him from the field, to save him for the remainder of the playoffs.  At the same time, Baghdad's bats woke up, putting up an unfathomable 14 runs in the top of the seventh, to take a 16-12 lead.  Lahore tried to fight back in the bottom of the seventh inning, but just fell short, as Baghdad won the game 16-15. 

Having played two games already, Lahore now faced a hot Jerusalem team for their third game.  This was a battle for the ages, as both teams exchanged blows, trading the lead between them numerous times throughout the game.  Finally, in the top of the seventh, with their bottom up to bat, Jerusalem fought for their lives, and put up 4 runs to take a 2 run lead into the bottom of the seventh.  With Lahore's top up to bat, Jerusalem's defense hunkered down and held Lahore to one run, as they won the game 15-14.  

With that victory, Jerusalem advanced to the finals, against the Baghdad team that sent them into the loser's bracket in the first round of the playoffs.  In order to take the CHIP, Jerusalem would have to defeat Baghdad twice.  

Jerusalem came to the finals focused to play and win.  Their GM, Aftab Khan, took everyone's wallets and car keys before the game, to ensure no-one snuck in fish fillets in between games.  Aftab promised to take the team out for a post-game meal if they emerged victorious.  

The first of the two games was tightly fought. Although Jerusalem never gave up the lead, Baghdad was always on their heals.  Jerusalem went into the bottom of the seventh inning protecting a 4 run lead.  After securing one out, Baghdad became hot. Their bottom hit well to bring up the top, who kept their foot on the gas.  Baghdad quickly put up 3 runs to make it a one run game.  In a game of inches, Kara, slipped as he rounded third, and was held.  With the tying run at third, and the go-ahead run at second base, Baghdad was on the precipe of victory.  This where the buck stopped, and a playoff legend was born.  Faheem Kotwal secured the second out of the inning, on a soft infield pop-up to second base.  On the next play, Faheem stepped up again to save the game.  Baghdad hit a blooper into the outfield, in the gap behind the midpoint of second and first base.  Faheem came flying in from second base, running backwards into the outfield, and laid out his glove to snag the ball out of the air, saving Jerusalem's season.  This was perhaps the most clutch catch in BSL history, and it saved Jerusalem's season, sending them into the second elimination game against Baghdad. 

In the second game, Jerusalem took full advantage of the swing in momentum and morale created by Faheem's game saving catch ("The Catch").  Jerusalem held Baghdad to 3 runs for the first six innings, while scoring 14 of their own.  Baghdad tried to rally back in the top of the seventh inning, by scoring 4 more runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome the lead created by Jerusalem.  The final score was 14-7 as Jerusalem hoisted it's first CHIP in the franchise's history. 

Jerusalem's historic playoff run was led by Imran Merchant, who batted an astonishing 0.824 in the playoffs, including 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored, all the while holding down the outfield, on his way to his third CHIP in the last four years.  Taha Iqbal, a newcomer to the league, battled in game injuries while holding down third base, and batted an impressive 0.684, with 11 RBIs and 13 runs. Ali Nazir played lights out in outfield and at shortstop, while scoring a league leading 14 runs as the team's lead off hitter.  Hassaan Khan played gold-glove caliber first base, and drove in a league leading 16 RBIs as the team's clean-up hitter.  Tyler Jackson played outstanding at the shortstop and LCF positions, making all his catches, including the CHIP winning catch, while delivering clutch hits and 7 RBIs.  Faheem Kotwal cemented his legacy as a clutch playoff performer and defender at 2B with The Catch, and 7 RBIs.  Khurram Channa played lockdown defense in RCF and RF, living up to his reputation as a top 3 outfielder in the league, while claiming 6 RBIs.  Aftab Khan secured the mound for Jerusalem, leading all playoff pitchers in all major statistical categories, while maintaining a batting average 0.556, and driving in 7 RBIs on an impressive 0.833 average for hits with runners in scoring position (H/RSIP). Shoaib Gaya was a conerstone defender in Jerusalem's playoff run, securing all his catches in LF, while driving in 5 RBIs and 7 runs.  Zia Beg came clutch in the playoffs, batting a full 0.150 better than his regular season average.  Saqib Alvi had a monsterous playoff campaign.  He was the fourth best hitter on Jerusalem during the playoffs, improving his batting by a full 0.210 percentage points compared to the regular season, including an inside the park home-run and scoring 9 runs.  Last, but not least, Jibran Khan came alive in the finals games, going an astounding 5 for 6, driving in 3 RBIs and scoring 5 runs in the finals games, earning himself the nod for finals MVP. 

Overall, during a six game playoff spread, Jerusalem as a team batted 0.537, hitting 0.532 with RISP, with 31 extra base hits (including 7 triples and 21 doubles, and 3 home runs). Jerusalem led the league in all major statistical batting and pitching categories.  Their hitting and defense led them to eliminate 4 of the 5 other teams in the playoffs (Cairo, Cordoba, Lahore, and Baghdad twice), as Cordoba was the only other team to eliminate another team from the playoffs (Medina).  Jerusalem was the best team in 2023, and their strong showing in the playoffs leaves no room for doubt.  

Everyone in Jerusalem banded together for this historic playoff run, bringing home the first CHIP in Jerusalem's history, in Aftab Khan's first year as GM.  

After the finals games, the team went out for well-deserved pizza, wedges and wings, and celebrated late into the night. 

2023 Playoff Bracket (Update)

2023 Playoff Bracket (Update)

2023 Playoff Bracket

Double knock out Tournament

Teams in Matchups A and B will be engaged in a 1 game elimination match for a chance to move into the double knockout round.

Seeds #1 and #2 from the regular season get an automatic bye into the double knockout round.

Double knockout means teams have to lose twice to be eliminated from championship contention.

- Matchup A – Seed #3 vs Seed #6 (Elimination Game)

- Matchup B – Seed #4 vs Seed #5 (Elimination Game)

- Winner of Matchup A moves to Matchup C where they will play the # 2 seed

- Winner of Matchup B moves to Matchup D where they will play the # 1 seed

- Winner of Matchup C moves on to Matchup F while the loser moves to the elimination bracket and plays Matchup E

- Loser of Matchup E is eliminated

- Winner of Matchup E moves on to play loser of Matchup F and plays Matchup G

- Winner of Matchup F moves on to finals which is Matchup H

- Winner of Matchup G will move on to finals which is Matchup H

- Winner of Matchup H will be crowned 2023 BSL Nights Champion, only if they have not yet lost a game. In the case the loser of Matchup H experiences their first loss, the 2 teams will face off again in Matchup I.

- Winner of Matchup I* will be crowned 2023 BSL Champions

Home Team by Matchup

- Matchup A to F: Higher Seed is Home

- Matchup G & H: Home team is team coming from Winners Bracket

- Matchup I*: In this scenario where the team from Losers Bracket comes back into the winner's bracket and they beat the team that was in the winner's bracket, they are now back in the winner's bracket and would be the home team.

2023 Season Preview

BAGHDAD

Its been 3 years since Baghdad was added to BSLN as an expansion squad. In those 2 years Baghdad has won a chip and made a trip to the Semi finals last year only to fall 1 run short of the finals. Looking to make another deep run this year, GM Hamid Malik came into the draft with a game plan. With the first overall pick, Baghdad went with Ismail Kara who can clear a 300 field in his sleep. To help protect the big man, Hamid Malik decided to bring back 2 of its core players that helped Baghdad to the promise land in their inaugural season. Aslam “Big bat” Abdullah will be relied on to haul in runs and man the outfield while playoff MVP Nirvi continues to dominate the mound and captain the infield. Add in gold glovers Imran Qureshi, Riyad Ramjaun AKA Rated R at 1B and 2B, Kara at SS and Rookie Fahad Mallik at 3B, this could arguably be one of the better infields in the league.  Fahad Mallik is new to the league and based on chatter from around the globe, most think he was over valued but wait till you see him compete. He could give everyone a run for gold glove at 3B. To answer some of the questions about the outfield, we have 2 gold glovers in Asad Ahmed and Hamid Malik who will be anchoring Center field. Fawad Sheikh took massive strides last year and Baghdad was targeting him in the draft to secure that outfield. Look for him to continue to dominate and improve his bat. Syed Raza another new comer, will also be out there in the outfield. Given his speed, athleticism and humour (That’s right, he’s also a stand-up comedian), he’ll be all over the field making diving catches while making us all laugh.  Faisal Shamshad is another player Baghdad was targeting in the draft as his improvement last year did not go unnoticed. He was one of the more consistent batters in the playoffs and is looking to build on a great season. Last but not least, Salman Aziz who was recruited from league 2 thanks to his batting (.500 batter) and quickness. Word on the street is he was too good to stay in league 2 and will now be playing for a winning franchise who will look to make its mark this year. Baghdad may not look the best on paper but this team has a history of proving the league wrong. Its no wonder why guys like Nirvi and Aslam take massive pay cuts to play with a winning franchise. Add Kara to the mix and this team should be firing on all cylinders! BSLN’s here we come!!

JERUSALEM

After a successful 2022 campaign, Salman Ahmad, the stalwart GM for Jerusalem decided to take a break for personal reasons. Wishing Salman the best, Jersulam began their search for a new captain at the helm. Jerusalem recruited Aftab Khan, who is new to softball management, but has varied management experience outside sports. Once the GM contract negotiations were done, Aftab immediately began scouting players to build out the 2023 Jerusalem roster. Being a pitcher himself, Aftab prioritized defensive soundness in his draft plan. With the draft plan set, Jerusalem sought Imran Merchant, the gold glove reigning MVP, with their first pick in the draft. Imran brings with him a championship pedigree, having played a salient role on all of Damascus' title runs. Imran's elite defensive play and power hitting are part and parcel with his high in-game IQ and on-field leadership. With their second pick, Jerusalem chose Taha Iqbal, a newcomer to BSL nights, who brings with him a very impressive softball resume. A highly decorated gold glove veteran, Taha is a top 10 all-time hitter in BSL Sundays.  In addition to having won the batting title in BSL Sundays in 2021, Taha is a lockdown defender at third base.  With their third pick, Jerusalem took Khuram Channa, arguably a top-5 centre fielder in the league, with a cannon for an arm, and hard-hitting to match.  With Imran and Khuram locking down the outfield, with their fourth pick, Jerusalem selected Tyler Jackson, a newcomer to brotherhood sports, who showedcased elite defensive mechanics and form at the combine. Tyler is earmarked to hold down the shortstop position for Jerusalem and provide timely hitting in the line-up.  Jerusalem next selected Ali Nazir, a top utility defender, able to play anywhere in the field, including short-stop and centre field, with speed and power hitting to boot.  In the following rounds, Jerusalem picked up Saqib Alvi and Shoaib Gaya. Saqib may be one of the fastest guys in the league, with a solid glove, providing a sure hand in the outfield and speed at the lead-off spot. Shoaib has been improving his game year over year, and is shaping up to be a power-bat with significant outfield presence. Jerusalem rounded out the remainder of their roster with Hassaan Khan, Faheem Kotwal, Zia Beg, and Jibran Khan. Hassaan Khan is a gold glove infield defender with spray hitting and pop.  Faheem Kotwal is new to the league, but not new to softball. He was previously a gold glove in the outfield with BSL Sundays, and has since been keeping in prime shape playing ball-hockey during his time away from his one true passion and calling.  Zia Beg brings a dominant presence to the mound, and can also second as a utility defender anywhere in the infield.  Jibran Khan has prominent defensive presence at catcher, and power in his bat roaring to be unleashed. With a filled roster, Jerusalem's greatest strength is its defence. Jersulam may have the most gold glove, or gold glove caliber, defenders, in the entire league.  The team also has substantial chemistry, with Imran actively leading kumbayas around the campfire. Although Jersulam has great on-base hitting and speed, it may be lacking in the home-run power some of the other teams display. Look to Jersulam's gritty and tenacious defence to hold down opposing bats to low-scoring games, while their bats look to wear down opposing defences with a thousand small cuts, as the 2023 iteration hopes to make a splash in the league.  

CORDOBA

Cordoba has a new GM, with 2 years of BSL Nights under his belt, Shoaib Rangrez takes the helm for the franchise. Cordoba has an experienced core led by Safwan Khan who was taken with the 2nd overall pick in the draft, and then with the next two picks Rangers was able to snag Zane Sheikh and Suleman Mann. That gives Cordoba a pretty experienced OF foundation, all Gold Glove worthy candidates and a very hard hitting matchup for pitchers down the batting line up. Omar Khan and Faisal Saeed were called upon to make the jump to the big leagues, as these rookies look to make some noise this season. The Malton City connection can also be felt in the lineup, with Rangers scooping up Erfan Bhanapatel and Zahid Panchbhaya to help cement the infield. With the OF being as strong as it is, the infield will really be relied upon to ensure limiting errors and extra bases.  Mohammed Yusuf will be called upon to take control of the mount, and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure as the starting pitcher.  Umer Jabbar will be on the hot corner, and with his experience, the infield and pitching could really be where the season hinges for Cordoba.

CAIRO

Cairo has a new Sherif in town! Similar to 2022 Lahore, Tash has also decided to build his team around the Bash Bros by focusing on power. Not only do Paygham and Hammad pack dynamite on the bats but these new Bash Bros bring speed and are dynamic in the field. Hammad will be looking to take over the league similar to that of Erling Haaland in the EPL. Can he break records? Can he dominate? Can he strike fear into other teams? Cairo will depend a lot on PG’s drive to win. Rumour has it he’s never been hungrier, which could lead to a potential MVP caliber season. Will PG lead the franchise out of the desert and into the promise land? Cairo thinks so! Hamza, who achieved the lowest earned runs against last year as pitcher, will look to improve on his throwing arsenal and is on a mission to win the Pitcher of the Year. Cairo has secure the talents of Mohamed Ali at shortstop , an all around athlete, who looked like a swiss army knife at the combine. Rumour has it he raised a few eyebrows with his hitting in Cairo's first exhibition game this year. Farooq Sani AKA the Lebron James of Nights has the most playoff Finals appearances in BSL Nights history. With his spray hitting ability and legs he is expected to do a lot of damage as lead off. His stock rises considerably with dedicated attendance. Saqib will be bringing his golden glove experience and a solid campaign last year in L2 to Nights and is projected to have a career year at bat. He has demonstrated improvements in all his numbers throughout the years and has all the skills to take it to the next level…his name will be in a lot of convos this year. Baseer, another key piece to Cairo's roster, will try to replicate a season similar to the one he started with last year and brings great spray hitting and a reliable glove in the OFD. Gold glove possibilities? We will find out. Neal Irfan's upside at bat and versatility on defence will be Cairo's Xfactor for a deep post-season run. He brings a ton of experience and looks to have a breakout year as he has all the skills to do so. Abdo has put in some serious work and is looking to utilise his athleticism to make a huge impact both at the plate and defensive end. He’s coming off a championship campaign from brotherhood soccer and that championship mentality to Cairo. Can he be the key winning ingredient and be a late round robbery to bring a chip to the land of the nile? Finally, Fawad Sheikh brings power at the end of the lineup and has been proven to be a reliable glove in the infield over the years. If he can come up with the key hits at the right moments…. You have been warned. Cairo will have to try to stay healthy and maintain consistent attendance to go far. If the risks pay off and the newcomer talent delivers on the infield, they will be at the big dance.

DAMASCUS

The reigning champions Damascus look to continue to dominate the league as they did last season. The 2022 Damascus squad set multiple league records on their way to the title. The first of which is the highest run differential (RD) in league history with +85 (team with second highest RD in 2022: +23), they were above +100 RD at one point in the season! They also finished with the most runs ever and the second lowest runs against for the season. This led to Damascus having the largest point difference in the standings between 1st and 2nd place in league history. As a matter of fact, 2nd place was closer to 7th place in points and out of the playoffs than they were to 1st place Damascus... Now with all that being said, when asked about his team for 2023, GM Ali Chaudhry was quoted saying "This team may actually be even better than the legendary 2022 Damascus squad. Our defence may be lacking some when compared to 2022 but our offence may be the best this league has ever seen. You'll need 20 to beat us."

Which brings us to the 2023 Damascus Squad which consists of:
Ali Chaudhry - GM of the 2022 Champions & future 2023 Champions. Good with both glove and bat. (Career High Average (CHA) 0.705)
Omer Chaudhry - 2-Way player who has had the top 3 average all 3 years in the league. Over 0.700 AVG all 3 years (Career AVG 0.723)
Miqdad Jaffer- Elite pitcher who brings knowledge and experience. Great 2-way player (CHA of 0.759) (highest among all active pitchers)
Omar Khattab - One of the leaders of the 2022 DMC Champs, Power hitter who is also a great OF. (CHA 0.621)
Rameez Siddiqi - 2022 Batting Title. Acquired through trade and looks to bring his experience and offensive abilities. (CHA 0.733)
Khizer Channa - Former GM who brings knowledge and experience. No added GM duties so he'll look to have a career year. (CHA 0.650)
Raza Zahur - BSL Nights rookie. Athletic and will be an integral part of the outfield. Contender for rookie of the year. (BSL 2022 OBP 0.622)
Hatf Sohail - 2020 playoff MVP & Champ. Great fielder who looks to improve on his 2022 season with both glove and bat. (CHA 0.605)
Adnan Yusuf - Key piece to the DMC 2022 championship roster. Career highs across the board in 2022 and looks to carry that. Can play IF or OF. (CHA 0.534)
Saad Hasnain - Former all star with multiple years of 0.600+ avg. Injury plagued 2022 (season cut short). Comeback player of the year candidate. (CHA 0.611)
Umair Ashraf - Has made consistent YoY improvements.  Will continue to improve with both glove and bat. Lays his body on the line to make the play. (2021 OBP 0.514)
Arsalaan Abdullah - Former gold glove. Fantastic glove who will be working on improving his bat this season (2021 OBP 0.550)
 

This looks to be yet another competitive Damascus Squad. They do not have a single hole defensively as the entire team is sound with the glove. On the offensive side they look to be at the top of the league and repeat as champions.

MEDINA

Medina looks for revenge in 2023 having lost in the finals in 2022. As is customary to Medina teams in years past, GM Mohamed Kala and Medina are relying heavily on experience and familiarly. With the 3rd overall pick, Medina went with consistency and perennial BSL MVP-candidate Ahmed Ammad. With the next pick, Medina took a calculated risk and drafted an experienced player in Mohamed Kadva. There are rumours he has the potential to be a top-8 pick, and Medina is relying on these rumours to be true. Kala is hopeful that Kadva will excel playing on a team with three other players from the Gujarati community. Kala rounded out his top-3 selections by drafting long-term Medina legend, Zahid Merchant to man shortstop. With the 4th and 5th selections, Medina drafted speedsters Zain Khilji and Taha Durrani to round out the outfield, and add to an explosive outfield already comprising of Ammad and Kadva. Medina will look to small ball teams to exhaustion on the big fields, and smash them to death on the smaller fielders. With the 6th pick in the draft, Medina opted for wily 3B Fahad Panchbhaya, who possess a mean glove, and solid base hitting. With the 8th pick, Medina opted for multiple award winner and two-time championship, Tanseer Khawaja, to take Medina back to the promise land after leading Medina to its only championship in the league's inaugural season. Rounding out the team with the 9th to 12th picks, are Amir Khalil, who provides a good bat and glove as an insurance policy, Aftab Sheikh, who is underrated at 2B, Waseem Kala, a man who has potential to do significant damage with his bat and is happy to play catcher, and Arif Iqbal, who has been struggling with injuries the past few seasons, but has the upside to be a significant contributor. Medina will look to return to the finals in 2023 and win the title that has alluded the team since 2018.

LAHORE

A new Era for Lahore is born as GM Aftab Sheikh bids his fair well as GM and welcomes another experienced GM in Bilal Javed. We thank/appreciate Aftab for all his contributions since the inception of BSLN but its time to pass on the torch and start a new era in Lahore. With the keys in his hands, Bilal Javeds first order of business was to hit Lahore Tikka house for karahi chicken and plan out his draft over some karakh chai. Lahore started off by snatching one of the best Short stops in the league in Abdul Rahim Manjra. Manjra had an incredible season last year and is arguably a top 2 SS in the league. Combine that with his batting/speed and you’ve got an all star! With their next pick Bilal reunited with him long time friend/all star Yousaf Chaudhry who brings a heavy bat, and is a rock solid in the outfield. When healthy, he can help lead this team in a big way. Lahore filled out their roster over the next few rounds with guys like Isfan Prebtani, Umair Sheikh, Emad Ahmed and Amir Multani. Isfan, who was welcomed from league 2 is expected to carry a big chunk of the offensive and defensive load for Lahore. Umair Sheikh brings a big bat and stability to the lineup while Emad will contribute with his speed and a solid glove in the outfield. Amir Multani is new to the league but based on rumours, this man can ball! Ahmed Butt and Akif Waheed were the next 2 guys up. Ahmed is a gold glover and provides a stable bat while Akif provides some good power up the middle and will be one of the leaders on this stacked Lahore squad. Jav Ahmed fell quite a bit in this draft is he is recovering from an injury but he is determined to get back on the field and some think that he will take his game to the next level as he has lost a ton of weight and is looking sharp out there! I think Lahore gets a big steal this late in the draft which gives them a lot of depth. Dr. Ali Furqan is entering his 3rd year in the league and although he has some ways to go on defense, his batting is impressive. He is a 500 batter and he hits the ball hard. With some guidance from some of Lahore’s vets, he can have a career year! Last but not least, Khawar Anwar who seems like he just cruises in the regular season but come playoff time, this man is a menace! He’s back playing with his boys and should have a great season! Lahore seems to have a deep lineup and will look to start off strong. Can Bilal help turn Lahore’s fortune this year and help them make a deep playoff run? Their lineup certainly suggests it but we wont know until these guys hit the field.

Istanbul

Coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs, GM Taqi Ahmed wants to turn things around this season, however, some say he is in a contract year, make playoffs or booted off the GM committee. Though, with a solid roster of seasoned veterans and fresh talent from, this team might just do the impossible. Istanbul enters the season with a strong foundation, led by a core group, gold glove SS Usama Mahmood, stud OF Hassan Chaudhry and new to the league Ahad Bhatti (rumour has it he can clear 300ft with ease and has nasty pitches) Their chemistry and deep understanding of each other's strengths will be the backbone of their success. However, what sets this team apart is their ability to combine experience and leadership. Taqi had drafted batting title winner Rameez Siddiqi but quickly traded him away for Adeel Alam to help solidify their outfield. Will this move prove to be costly for Istanbul, we’ll have to wait to find out! Rounding out the roster, Istanbul brings in veteran Shamil Khadaroo, Mahmood Qasim, Fuzail Thakur, Kamil Siddiqui, Asim Waheed and newcomers to the league Suhail Taji, Umar Rashid. With a well-balanced blend of experienced players and talented draft picks, Istanbul possesses all the ingredients for a successful season. As the season unfolds, fans of wOBA eagerly await the team's journey towards their full potential, ready to witness their triumphs on the field. If all else fails, at least they have WOBA.

2023 BSL Nights League 1 & League 2 Draft Results

League 1

League 2

2023 Season Coming soon

Stay tuned for more details

2022 Playoffs

Are you ready for the BSL Nights playoffs???

League I Playoff Format

We have a condensed playoff format based on previous years so that games can be played with the best chance of good weather. All games will be 7 innings. Please note that teams will be re-seeded after the first round with Damascus playing the lowest seed who wins on the 8th and Medina plays the highest seed who wins.

Playoff Game Locations

• Games on September 8th will be at Brickyard
• Games on September 9th will be at Palermo
• The Championship game(s) on September 15th will be at Brickyard

Other Details

• No substitute players are allowed
• The minimum number of regular season games played to be eligible for playoffs is 13 games.
• Please check the schedule for exact times

League II Playoff Format

Fes and Tripoli face-off in a play-in game with winner taking on Jakarta in the first semi-finals. Timbuktu and Kashgar play in the other semi-finals for a chance to make it to the championship game.

Playoff Game Locations and Details

• All games will be played at River Grove
• The Play-in game will be a regular-timed game
• The Semi-Finals will have an additional 15 minutes of game time
• The finals will be a 2 hour game
• All games will be 7-inning games

Other Details

• No substitute players are allowed
• The minimum number of regular season games played to be eligible for playoffs is 5 games.
• Please check the schedule for exact times

2022 Season Preview

Baghdad

Coming off a championship run in their inaugural season, GM Hamid Malik is hungry and has been planning for another deep playoff run.

He tried to retain most of the championship squad but contract negotiations fell through as half the team had to part ways and find a new home.

I guess everyone wants to get paid when they become champs.

Regardless, Baghdad brought back some key members in Nirvaan, Aslam, and Ali as they agreed to take a pay cut for another championship as long as Baghdad management signed some big names.

Baghdad took that to heart and went to work right away.

They had the 5th pick in the draft but, GM Hamid Malik didn’t want to wait that long and decided to trade his 5th pick away in exchange for the 2nd overall pick.

With that pick Baghdad selected a proven super star in Ahmad Ammad (Reigning HR Champ/Offensive player of the year) and followed that up with AR Manjra (Reigning Batting champ) who will be holding down the Short stop position for Baghdad.

After securing 2 key fielders/2 of the best bats in the league, Baghdad needed a game changing pitcher and another big bat. When Nirv (Playoff MVP) and Aslam fell to Baghdad, Hamid didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger as those 2 were key in Baghdad’s championship run. Nirvi is a well-rounded player who can not only pitch but when his bat heats up, he makes teams pay. Aslam has quietly emerged as one of the bigger bats and is looking to tear it up this year and give IQ a run for his money at 1B.

In the later rounds Baghdad was surprised to see Salim Jaichi and Fahad Panchbaya last as long as they did as both are fantastic bats and will be playing key roles in Baghdad’s offense/defense.

Akif Waheed, Fawad Shaikh, Ali Furqan and Faisal Shamshad rounded up the rest of the team. Fawad and Ali is expected to take a huge leaps this year as both will be key pieces in Baghdad’s’ outfield. Faisal is a huge bat and will look to find some consistency and possibly take his hitting to the next level. With Coach Nirv working with him, he’ll be clearing the fence in no time. Akif brings stability to team Baghdad and will help by adding depth in the batting lineup.

Overall, Baghdad has some great pieces and are quite happy with their draft. Although projected to finish the regular season somewhere in the middle of the rankings, they have no plans to roll over quietly and give up their crown. If there is going to be another champion this year, you better knock out the champ first! Baghdad is coming for its 2nd ring. Is BSLN ready?

Cairo

GM Khizer Channa is returning for the second year to lead Cairo. Khizer started the draft by selecting a power bat in Paygham Whahedi. Paygham Whahedi has versitle skills in the field, where he can play Short Stop/Centre field and his power bat is good enough for the big fields. 
 

Khizer also brought back several players from last year, Khurram Channa , Shamil Khadaroo, Hamza Waheed, Yusuf Ingar. With half the team returning to Cairo from prior year, the team chemisty should not be an issue.  
 

Khizer also added a power bat in Suleman Maan, who should also be able to hold down center field. Cairo also added several utility players in Neal Irfan, Kamil Siddiqui, Arsalaan Abdullah, Jibran Khan.
 

Cario first outing as a team displayed that the team has potential to do really well, if they can play consistent defence. Khizer and Hamza seem to be in mid season form, while Paygham showed that he has the power to hit 305 feet HR's with some adjustments. When Khurram Channa return, they can be a force to be reconked with. 
 

Cordoba 

Cordoba enters year 5 under new management, as BSL Nights stalwart Jav Ahmed takes over the leadership and will look to continue Cordoba’s dominance in BSLN. 

The Cobra’s have made the finals all 4 years and have come out on top once; but the last 2 finals saw them give up 15 and 14 run leads in the finals to eventually lose. 

Jav wasted no time and ensured he was surrounded by guys with high IQ and who have championship pedigree, drafting the multi-talented Hassan Chaudhry to man the OF. 

With his next pick, Jav secured the services of one of the best (and former GG winner) shortstops in the league in Usama Mahmoud.  Usama has been part of the Cobra’s for many seasons and will try to bring glory back to the team. 

With OF and SS locked, the next pick was a no brainer, as Cordoba and BSLN welcomes back OG Tamour Sheikh.  T has been out of the league for 2 years but returns with a chip on his shoulder as he looks to dominate the league and go for the HR title. 

1 Sheikh wasn’t enough, so Jav drafted Umair Sheikh next, securing his gold glove and his big bat.  Umair, often known as the fastest man in the league, is coming off a horrific knee injury, but has spent the past 3 months rehabbing and doesn’t look like he has missed a step. 

The next few picks saw Jav draft the best available players who coincidentally both filled needs at important positions and surrounded him with 2 of his closest friends in the league.  Both former champions, Zain Malik will look to secure yet another gold glove in the infield, while Riyad Ramjaun will take the mound again. 

With his remaining picks, Jav got great value and got steals.  Shoaib Gaya was somehow still available and bring a lot of leadership to the team.  Mahmoud Qasim has only gotten better and provides a solid 1b, while Abdul Butt has become Mr. Clutch in the playoffs.  Finally, after drafting a great team, Jav decided to trade out Saad Ibrahim for Bilal Malik, as Bilal will provide depth in the OF.

With a well rounded out team, the Cobras have a lot of depth and players that can play multiple positions.  Anything less than a finals appearance will be a failure as this team is built to win, and to win now.  The league better watch out, as the Cobras look to reign supreme once again.

Damascus

Damascus, a team that has been a contender since inception, is being led by new GM, Ali Chaudhry.
Ali knew had big shoes to fill so he started the season with the great draft. He drafted BSL veteran Imran Merchant who is versatile player who can play Centerfield and Shortstop.

However, what made his draft great were several steal picks during the draft.
 

He was able to pick up Omer Khattab with the last pick. in the 3rd round. To be able to pick a player who can clear 300ft fields easily in the third round can be a game changer. Furthermore, Omer Khatab is coming off an injury plague year and should be eager to show why he should be a First round candidate.
 

In addition, Ali was able to sweep up players such as Tanseer Khawaja, Imran Qureshi, Amir Khalil who all fell more than they should have. Ali was also able to draft rookie

Hasif Hakim, who also packs a punch on the offence.

Lastly, Ali was able to pick up another pitch in Zia Beg to mix things up on the mount.
 

Damascus is a team that has no visible holes in the defence and intimidating power on the offence. On paper they seem like a contenders, however, can Damascus leadership translate this into a win? Let's find out on Thursday!

Istanbul  

Last year, Istanbul enjoyed its most successful year in its club history.  The club managed to finish its highest position in the league table as well as qualify for playoffs losing to eventual winners of the competition.  In terms of individual player performance last year – Istanbul finally had power representation on the Home Run board with Ismail Kara finishing 2nd in the Home run title race.  Istanbul will look to build on that success by wiping the slate mostly clean with only Baseer Yaseen being retained from last years overachieving squad.  With a higher standard now set at the club, Istanbul will aim to achieve at least a semi final playoff appearance and look to build on last years success after years of withering at the bottom half the table.

Lets Dive into 6 things to keep an eye on from the 2022 Istanbul Squad.
 

1. Who’s playing the Infield?

Not a single player drafted by Istanbul registered themselves as a SS or 3B as their primary playing position.  Istanbul is looking at this as a positive with auditions for key infield roles being open to whoever can “win the job”.  The management is hoping this motivates players to play beyond their previous fielding capacities and enjoy a breakout season defensively.  This is their shot to finally play those premium roles. 

2. Solid Outfield Presence

The Outfield seems set with newcomer Murtaza Mirza projected to be the heart of Centre Field.  Murtaza -  the wildcard in the draft is rumored to be a freak athlete and capable of being an elite presence in a crucial position.  Omer Ch will also be counted on to play his usual OF role and ensure the team remains sharp in terms of baseball IQ.  Azar Zafar who is constantly going for jogs and runs will have no problem covering the 300ft field.  Gm Taqi Ahmed may be shuffled around and used in multiple infield roles but the long term role is to stick to OF.  Lastly, Baseer Yaseen returns and will continue where he left off from last season and assist with his solid IQ and glove.

3. Murtaza Mirza Breakout or Bust

If the rumors are to be believed – Murtaza Mirza will be an elite CF player that should have gone in the 2nd round.  The biggest question mark will be if his hitting ability can be up to the standard of being drafted in the 3rd round.  If Murtaza is legit with both bat and glove – then Istanbul have a great foundation to go for a deep run this season.  If hes a bust – then Istanbul will find themselves always on the back foot in every game.

4. The Return of Miqdaddy

Only 5 players in BSL Nights history have a career batting average of .700 (minimum 20 GP to qualify).  Only 1 of them is also an elite pitcher.  Istanbul will welcome back fan favourite Miqdad Jaffer as a permanent member of the team.  Last season Miqdad played as a super sub for Istanbul and the team was undefeated with him in the squad.  Istanbul now look forward to having arguably the best pitcher in the league take the mound as well as one of the most consistent hitters in league history. 

5. Round 5 to 8 Upside

During the draft – Istanbul focused on drafting guys that have the potential to take the next step in their development whether with the bat or glove.  Shoaib Rangrez was taken 5th round with the hope that he can use his athleticism to propel himself as a top end SS.  Rangrez batting is no worry as he showed last season in his debut that hes capable of being a reliable Table Setter.  Baseer Yaseen was taken 6th round for his consistent batting and the hopes that he can finally fix his defensive issues – if he can take that step then he is a complete steal in the 6th round.  The 7th round saw Istanbul land someone that should have gone earlier.  Zahid Panchbhaya took strides with his pitching last season – going from new to pitching to a reliable gem hurler.  Just like his Malton Hood Rat teammate – Zahid showed great ability to get on base and used his solid speed to round bases.  His versatility when it comes to being a pitcher and infielder allows Istanbul to tinker strategies.  Istanbul will hope the Guajarati chemistry on the field will naturally flourish into a top end infield duo.  Istanbul are happy to nab Sameer Chawla in the 8th and hope he can maintain his batting performance from last season.  With the guidance of Omer Ch in the squad, Sameer can potentially have a power surge once his technique is improved.  Istanbul will hope he can rack up on ribbies at the top half of the batting order.

6. Its gonna be fun

Aftab Khan was recommended by Omer ch because of his willingness to learn and commit himself to be a better player.  Umair Ashraf was chosen by Taqi after having a fantastic experience with him playing Brotherhood Soccer and knowing he is a very determined individual.  The squad is full of great personality so regardless of what happens – its going to be a great experience with great brothers.

7. The Best Chaudhry

Istanbul is a big believer in Omer Ch and his talents as a franchise player.  His numbers speak for themselves and he is the perfect piece to this team due to his coaching skills – which he will utilise to hit the upside of players drafted after the 3rd round.  Istanbul is so confident in him that they were willing to take him with the 2nd overall pick – but decided to trade down and get him 5th overall instead.  He will show time and time again that he should always have gone higher.

Jerusalem

Coming off the inaugural season of the franchise and GM Salman Ahmad’s first as a GM, Jerusalem was looking to build on the culture they had instilled last year. Finishing as a top 3 team last year, Jerusalem folded in the playoffs facing Damascus who was on a tear heading into the playoffs. Salman knew he needed to turn things around this year to avoid another meltdown and come up with a strategy that will lead him back to the coveted championship. 
 

The main thing Salman wanted was to keep that culture he has built and go out and fill the clubhouse with guys with great personalities. He also was aware of the bigger fields this year (especially for the playoffs) and draft his team to be young, fast and skilled defensively. With this in mind, he wasted no time drafting BSL stalwart Umair Jabbar with the 3rd overall pick. Umair brings a lot of experience (and recent championship experience too), power, speed and defensive skill to Jerusalem. Don’t forget his ray of sunshine attitude that is so lauded everywhere he goes.
He was quick to pick up Zain Khilji who will hold down the fort in the infield, playing shortstop, for Jerusalem and this began to shape the defensive identity for them. There were rumblings through the vines that these first 2 picks of Jerusalem were the same first 2 picks that the Egyptians were hoping to get.
 

Speed, speed, speed. With 2 of the quicker guys already selected, Salman went out and got one of the fastest guys on the draft board and reigning gold glove LF Taha Durrani. Taha was exceptional for Medina last year and this definitely caught Salman’s eye. 
 

What’s better than one Jabbar? Two of them! Salman picked up Umair’s older brother, Umer Jabbar to solidify 3B and getting such a premier glove in the 4th round, in a position where there aren’t a lot of options, Salman did well for Jerusalem. Also, don’t forget his big bat, rumour has it that he has already crushed a 300ft monster at Brickyard. 
With the next 3 picks, Jerusalem rounded out the outfield and solidified his infield further while also getting solid vets to maintain the culture in the dugout. Asad Ahmed and Abdul “Sunny” Murad will bolster what is already looking like a quick, dangerous outfield and Rameez Siddiqi will be the calming presence to get those lasers from Zain and Umer at 1B.
Salman used his last 3 picks and a trade to round out the roster and get guys you can plug anywhere to bring production. Jerusalem is banking on Erfan “EBP” Bhanapatel to start off strong like he did last year and continue it throughout the season. Fawad A. Shaikh did some damage in the championship game last year and Jerusalem will count on his playoff performance again this year. Salman had drafted Bilal Malik, but quickly post draft had traded him for another solid hitter in Saad Ibrahim.
 

Jerusalem looks like a force to be reckon with. Defensively there really aren’t any holes and on the offensive side they have a mix of power and solid line drive hitters. Could this be the year that GM Salman leads his team to a championship? Only time will tell, play ball!

Lahore

Lahore is back for another season with GM Aftab Sheikh taking the helm once again. Aftab has definitely changed his draft strategy but focusing on more power (Lahore had the least number of runs scored in 2021) by adding Bilal Javed (who will also be the pitcher), Tash Samadzadeh and Ismail Kara.

Lahore deployed a unique draft strategy by trading down its first pick for 7th (Bilal), thereby retrieving a higher 2nd round pick (Ismail), then trading up in the 7th round (Ali Nazir) and a lower 9th round pick (Atif Pervaiz) - will this strategy work? Only time will tell….

Bilal, Tash and Ismail (we will just call them Bash Brothers from now on) will definitely add offensive power to the line-up as well as veteran leadership with Bilal and Tash winning titles in recent history. 

Lahore rounded out their power by adding dependable players both on and off the field with the likes of Hatf Sohail, Saad Husnain and Ali Nazir. These character player will add the much needed on base percentage opportunities that was lacking for Lahore in years past.

Lahore is looking for a deep playoff run this year and used several picks to add BSL veterans have who proven themselves in the playoffs including Abdo Menla, Atif Pervaiz and Khawar Anwar. Based on their character shown in years past they these players will be in the running for this years Brotherhood Award.

Last but certainly not least, Lahore welcomes back Mohammed Al-Sukhni who played with the team for a couple of years. Lahore will welcome Mohammed’s improved outfield performance.

It can be argued that Lahore has put together their strongest group of players who are have singular focus on winning a championship (rumors have it that Lahore has held 1 practice and another one is in the works…)

Medina

When asked to comment on his team's prospect's 5 time GM of Medina, Moh Kala refused to provide any notworthy commentary.  In true Kala fashion, Moh said wait until the end of the season.  Well, what will happen at the end, Moh?

GM Kala is looking to redeem some of the magic that made gave him the championship in Year 1 of Nights.  He traded up 6 spots, and swapped a couple of rounds in order to get the #1 pick. After that, he drafted solid speedsters and strategist in Zahid and Yousaf.  Then in the middle rounds opted for speed by drafting the likes of Sani, Kazi and TikTok superstar Emad Ahmed.  Kala surprised his fellow GMs by selecting a Khawaja known as Faisal.  Yes, it's the return of Faisal Khawaja, a BSL folklore that only those playing > 5 years know about. To round out his draft, Kala took Fuzail 'Fuzzy' Clemons, Furqan and another Kala named Waseem - yes, they're family but no nepotism here as Waseem is poised to have a great season.

Sources claim that Medina will be missing more players this season than any other team due to injuries, personal obligations and family commiments.  The overall concern is whether the team will be able to field all its players and if so, when? 

On paper the team looks as dangerous as any of its peers - time will tell whether the team will gel in order to take a deep run in the playoffs.

For GM Kala it's either championship or bust.  Will year 5 resemble the same outcome as Year 1?  We are still waiting for Kala to provide comments.   

2022 Season Update

Stay safe and hope to see you soon.  
JazakAllah Khair

BSL Nights 2021 - Finals Recap

FINALS: Baghdad vs Cordoba

Welcome to the final recap of 2021 as we get set to conclude another successful season. The years Finals features the #4 seed Baghdad facing off against the #2 seed, Cordoba. This is Cordoba’s 4th finals appearance in as many as 4 years whereas Baghdad has made their way to the finals in their inaugural season.  Both teams have some insane power in their bats and have rock solid defenders. This game was definitely one for the ages. 

As game time neared, both teams decided to come to the field early to get some swings and have some pregame chats. You could see both teams huddled together firing each other up, getting ready for the biggest game of the year. Cordoba being the home team took the field while Baghdad got ready to put up some runs on to start things up. Both teams started off on the wrong foot as neither team could put any runs on the board. That would change in the 2nd inning as Baghdad got started by putting up 4 runs courtesy of a Fawad Sheikh Homerun, his 2nd in the playoffs and a big one. Cordoba would respond in a big way as they put up a 7-spot taking the lead. Baghdad’s outfield started off by missing some key catches which allowed Cordoba to pick up some extra bases and consistently load the bases and drive in runs while the infield was having issues of their own with routine plays.  Thanks to multiple errors which seemed like there was no end in sight (9 errors on the night), Cordoba put up 18 runs by the fifth inning bringing the score to 18-5. That would change as Captain Hamid Malik called his team in for a huddle, fired his guys up and made sure they understood the gravity of the situation they were in. Not sure what he said but it seemed to have worked as Baghdad came out on absolute fire! Like they dipped their bats in Kerosine because everything they touched was finding the gap or landing on the other side of the fence. Sir Nirvaan Latif got the party started as he launched a 3 run shot over the fence getting his boys fired up. Baghdad got started and didn’t look back as they were hauling in runs in bunches. That momentum didn’t stop there as they carried that over on defense and held Cordoba to 1 run the rest of the way. Still, a mountain to climb with time running out, there was very little margin for error. Everyone on the team came up to bat and got on base, The amount of clutch hits from guys like Abdo, Thaya, Fawad, Ali, Tash, Farooq, Zain and Aslam was incredible. Nirvi and Noor both had some big shots including a pair of homeruns each which brought in a combined 12 RBI’s. On the defensive end, Baghdad tightened up and after the fifth inning, didn’t miss a thing. Everyone was sharp and ready to go down swinging hard!

In the 9th inning, Baghdad was only down by 2 and needed some clutch hitting to tie this game. The crowd was silent and in shock to see such an incredible comeback in motion but would Baghdad be able to tie the game in time and send it to extra innings? Aslam and Nirvi got on base and were waiting to be driven in as Abdo came up to bat. Like he had done all game, he stepped up and smashed a nice hit over 2B bringing in the game tying RBI sending Baghdad in a frenzy of emotions. Cordoba still had a shot to close out the game as they were the home squad but with so much momentum in Baghdad’s favour, Cordoba was shut down sending this game to extra innings. In extra innings, Baghdad had their heart of the lineup come up which was the best-case scenario as they had some of the leagues biggest hitters lined up. They started off with Farooq Sani on 2nd base with 1 out. Thaya was the next man up and with confidence he smashed one between LF and LCF bringing in the game winning run! Baghdad would put up another run but Cordoba’s Short stop Usama made an incredible play to end the inning. With just 2 outs remaining, Baghdad knew they had to shut Cordoba down or they would risk losing this game. Khawar Anwar did a great job of placing the ball right behind 2B as he advanced the runner to 3B. Baghdad was a little nervous as Cordoba had their heart of the lineup coming up with a runner on 3B in a position to close the gap. If Baghdad didn’t get this out, they were going to lose the game. The batter misplayed the ball and played a grounder right into the hands of Noor Zia who snagged it and ran to 2B for the out, completing one of the greatest comebacks in BSL Nights history, reminescent of last years Finals. Congratulations to Baghdad for not giving up with all odds stacked against them and completing the come back. That took a lot of heart, grit, and hard work. Big shout out to Cordoba for playing an incredible season and making another finals appearance. Its not easy to make the finals but to do it 4 years in a row is absolutely incredible. Big shout out to Cordoba’s short stop Usama Mahmood as that guy put on a show. He consistently put his body on the line and made snags nobody in the league could make. Baghdad had to stop hitting to him in order to get their offense going. He also had 4 RBI’s and homerun to LF. Abbas Allidina and Abdul Murad both combined for 6 RBI’s and 1 homer (Abbas hit 1 to CF). Big shout out to Bilal Javed for leading a great group of guys to the finals and battling all the way till the end. 

Congratulations to the 2021 Champions, BAGHDAD! Very up and down season but they stepped up when it mattered most and played their hearts out. Big shout out to Nirvaan and Noor for their big homeruns and Abdo for his big game. Abdo had to go 4 for 4 on some very clutch hitting for Baghdad to have a chance at winning this game. He has constantly put his body on the line to make plays and is one of the reasons Baghdad was able to become champions. Thaya, had an incredible game as he had 3 RBI’s including the game winning run. This caps off an incredible first season as he played above expectations. Nirvaan controlled the mound all year and caught fire in the playoffs. Without a hot Nirvaan Latif, Baghdad doesn’t win a chip. Nirvaan Latif is Baghdad’s “2021 Playoff MVP”. Well deserved my brother! 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for being a part of the BSLN family and we hope everyone had a fantastic season. Until next time Inshallah, take care and Asalam-0-Alaikom

Final Score: Baghdad  21 vs Cordoba 19 (in Extra innings)

BSL Nights 2021 - Playoff Recap

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 8 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 7 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 6 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 5 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 4 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 3 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 2 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 - Week 1 Recaps

BSL Nights 2021 Preview

2021 Season Update

BSL Nights 2020 - Semi Finals/Finals

BSL Nights 2020 - Playoff Recaps

BSL Nights 2020 - Game 7 Recaps

Cordoba @ Medina

This game was an exciting one as it was the final game of the season with so much on the line. Cordoba needed a tie or a win to secure that 2nd seed while Medina needed to win the game to get that 2 spot. The game started off in Cordoba’s favor as they jumped on the offensive very quickly putting up a 7 spot. Medina responded by putting up 4 runs and getting right back in this game. Both teams played well defensively but both offenses found the gaps making the defenses work. In this high scoring game, each team had 1 inning where they scored 0 points but the rest of the innings had at least 4 runs scored. There must have been a glitch in the matrix as Bilal Javed and Yusauf Chaudhry had identical stats with 7 RBIs and 2 homeruns each while Zain Khilji also pitched in with a dinger and 3 RBIs. Medinas bats were also flowing as the usual suspects, Omer Chaudhry and Sulemann Man hit a combined 3 homeruns bringing in 11 big RBIs.

Final inning, Medina would need 6 runs to win this game which isn’t an impossible task but not an easy one against the dangerous defense of Cordoba. Medina’s top was up to bat so if there was ever a time for Medina to make a comeback, this was it. The top performed as expected and everyone got on base. With some smart base running and 1 out, they were only down by 2 with 2 runners on base. That’s when the Kala Mamba stepped up to the plate. He knew that we needed 3 runs to win the game and he just needed to make good contact to keep the chains moving. Instead of playing it safe, Kala stepped up and blasted a 3 run homerun to not only win this game but will his team into 2nd place. You wana talk about leading by example, look no further. If there was ever a time for Kala to hit his first homerun or the season, he couldn’t have timed this any better.  Medina had a very up and down season but this game summed up what Medina is all about. Down but never out. Although, all teams are more or less equal in terms of skill, It doesn’t matter because what you really need is 100% effort from all of your guys. Effort and working hard is what wins games. As long as everyone plays hard, you can be proud of the result. Cordoba may have gone winless in their last 4 games but they are one of the most dangerous teams with their fire power and can turn a game around at any moment. Whoever faces Cordoba in the playoffs is going to need lots of duas and some good luck.

These 2 teams have a chance of meeting again in the playoffs. If that happens, the gloves are coming off and at that point, its do or die… Medina takes this one in a thriller 25-24

 Game Highlights

• Aatif Parvez – 4/4
• Aslam Abdullah - 3/3, 2 RBIs
• Omer Chaudhry – 3/4, HR, 6 RBIs with some nice grabs in LF
• Suleman Mann – 2/3, 2HR, 5RBIs
• Mohammad Kala - 3/4, 4 RBIs and Game winning walk off HR
• Tanseer Khawaja – 2 RBIs
• Sunny Murad – 2 RBIs
• Hamid Malik/Sulaman Mann – excellent play in CF
• Bilal Javed - 4/4, 2HR, 7RBIs
• Yusauf Chaudhry - 5/5, 2HR, 7RBIs
• Ahmad Ammad - 3/3, 2 RBIs, 2BB
• Zain Khilji – HR, 3 RBIs
• Furqan Usman – 2 RBIs

Damascus @ Medina

Week 7 pitted 2 teams looking to claim the 2 double knockout positions entering the playoffs, with Damascus looking to cement 1st place, and Medina looking to claim the all-important 2nd place.  Just as important, was also the BBQ wars as both teams were planning big BBQ’s this week.  Food aside, the game started off with Damascus putting up a quick 5 runs in the first 2 innings, but Medina would counter, adding 4 of their own to keep the game competitive.  As has been the case all year, Damascus proves that the next man up is always waiting and ready.  With leadoff man Hatf Sohail missing this week, Riyad Ramjaun was bumped up to lead off and lead the way with 4 hits and was on base all 5 at bats.  The game was split wide open in the 4th inning, with Damascus putting up a mercy inning, with Farooq Sani & Safwan Khan each hitting big time homeruns.  Damascus got some big time hitting from the bottom of the lineup, with Awais Malik continuing his hot hitting, going 3-4, while Aftab Khan drive in 3.  Medina got within 7, after a big day from Tanseer Khawaja (hitting a big time HR) and Imran Qureshi but could not muster any more.  It’s quite possible that Medina was concentrating more on the food waiting instead of playing softball, as the boys in yellow made another 7 errors in the field.  Damascus claims the win and 1st overall, while Medina goes back to the drawing board against Cordoba in game 2, attempting to right the ship and try to get that elusive 2nd place.

• Riyad Ramjaun leading the way with 4 hits
• Farooq Sani & Safwan Khan both with a HR a piece
• Abbas Allidina & Aftab Khan driving in 3 runs each
• Awais Malik going 3-4
• Hassan Chaudhry & Imran Merchant going a combined 5-8 and driving in 4 runs
• Tanseer Khawaja going a perfect 3-3 and driving in 4
• Imran Qureshi adding to his league leading average, going a perfect 3-3

Damascus @ Lahore

The nightcap placed Damascus against Lahore, but more importantly, the BBQ was up and running.  With Damascus already locking up 1st place, the boys in blue looked like they were more interested in eating and grilling than playing, with several the team’s leaders sitting off to grill instead of fielding.  On the flip side, Lahore was looking for a win after tying their first game.  The game started exactly as one would expect, and Damascus not concentrating on the game, and running on a pop fly wit only 1 out.  Lahore would look to capitalize, and quickly put up 3 runs from timely hitting by GM Aftab Sheikh and Omar Khattab.  With heads back in the game, Damascus would start chipping away at the lead, with GM Safwan Khan leading the way.  Trying to will his team to another win, Safwan hit not 1, not 2 but 3 HR’s in this game, and driving in 8 runs.  Unfortunately, the rest of Damascus decided to take the night off and did very little.  Lahore kept adding to their lead, with Neal Irfan hitting a HR, and Saad Ibrahim and Fawad Shaikh, both hitting doubles and driving in 4.  Up 8 going into the final inning, Damascus made a final attempt, and put up 5, but fell 3 runs short.  Lahore picks up the win in the final game of the regular season, while Damascus leaves knowing they only lost by 3, while not being really involved in the game.  Afterwards, is what was the thing this league is all about, and both teams came together and broke bread, in true brotherhood fashion.  With the final standings set, all teams are now gearing up for next week’s playoffs, with Damascus getting a double knockout, and Lahore in a do or die.  On a final note, we would like to congratulate Safwan Khan on finishing the season by tying the all-time HR record with 16 and breaking the all-time RBI record with 60.

• Safwan Khan hitting 3 HR, and driving in 8, claiming the HR title and breaking the all-time RBI record with a total of 60
• Imran Merchant batting a perfect 3-3
• Aftab Sheikh and Omar Khattab both with 2 hits
• Neal Irfan going 3-4, and hitting a big HR
• Saad Ibrahim & Fawad Shaikh both with 2 big doubles and both driving in 2 runs each
• Nirvaan Latif with a double and driving in 3 runs

BSL Nights 2020 - Game 6 Recaps

Welcome back folks! 6 weeks in with 1 more regular season week to go. That means we’ve got playoffs coming up! some teams are trending up while others are trending in the wrong direction and with our final week coming up, this was a very important 2 games for everyone. Let’s see how the teams faired on this cool night.

Medina @ Cordoba

Cordoba was coming off a big win against Medina last Thursday as that team helped identify some gaping holes in Medina’s defense. Medina went back to the drawing board, shook things up and came back with a new look. A lot of the guys brought snacks, hot chocolate and even had a BBQ going for warmth. Team spirit was very high in Medina’s corner this week while Cordoba was missing 3 of their core players and were trying to adjust. With Medina first at bat, Atif Parvaiz was the leadoff man and boy did that pay dividends for Medina on this night. He started off with a nice line drive double to CF and he continued that trend all night, ending with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s. Medina however would only score 2 runs that inning. Cordoba didn’t do much in the first inning but there was a controversial out called again Zain Malik who thought he should have been walked but was called a strike out. in my opinion and many others, it looked like a walk but you always respect the umps calls. The Action picked up in the 3rd where Medina put up 4 runs stretching the lead to 7-1 but Cordoba’s bat’s started to heat up as their hardest hitters would punish Medina’s defense. Over the next 3 innings Cordoba would put up 16 runs to Medina’s 11, constantly finding the gaps and timely homeruns by the usual suspects. Ahmed Ammad played well as the main threat for Cordoba as he crushed a nice homerun and added a massive double helping his team drive in 4 runs. Zain Khilji, Zain Malik and Hamza Waheed would also add a nice homerun each bringing in a combined 7 RBI’s. This was Hamza Waheed’s first homerun in BSL nights and what beauty it was as it sailed over RCF.  Medina was in trouble and needed to put some runs on the board as their bats were slowing down. Furqan Usman played fantastic at 3B as he robbed Medina twice on a hard hit ball and turned a double play. He looked like one of Cordoba's best fielders on the night.  Medina really needed to their bats rolling. That’s when Imran Qureshi sparked his team as he stepped out to the plate and blasted a very timely 3 run homer. Medina went into the final inning down by 3 runs and that is when their bats started to roll. With their top of the lineup, Atif Parvaiz as usual hit a double and got on base just in time for Hamid Malik to step into a homerun down CF bringing in 2 very important runs. That would help build momentum as Medina put up 6 runs in that inning to go up by 3. Cordoba would have to put up 4 runs to win but this time, Medina wasn’t going to let that happen as they quickly shut the door on Cordoba’s offense when it mattered most and took home that win they so desperately needed.   Medina had some misplays but overall they kept their composure on defense. Most importantly, every single player on Medina played hard and made an effort on both ends. That is what Captains Mo Kala and Hamid Malik have been preaching all year. Rumours have it that Mo Kala was seen smiling throughout the night. sources haven’t been confirmed though. Medina’s chemistry looks like its on the right trajectory as the team looks like they are starting to bond, play for each other and have fun. Cordoba shouldn’t hang their heads as they had 3 very important players missing and almost pulled this one off. Cordoba’s guys played hard and you can tell by the way they rallied back and took the lead for a while. Great overall effort in this game as both sides played hard in the cold weather. Medina Holds off the power house Cordoba to take this one 20-17

Game Highlights: 

• Atif Parvez – 3/4, 2 doubles, 3 RBI’s
• Hamid Malik – 4/4, HR, 4 RBI’s, great diving catch on Abdul Butt
• Suleman Mann – 3/3, RBI, excellent catches and great communication
• Omar Chaudhry – 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s, excellent catches and great chemistry with Mann in LCF/LF
• Jav Ahmed – 1/2, 2 BB’s, 2 RBI’s - Great catches and positioning in RF
• Imran Qureshi – 2/2, BB, HR, 3 RBI’s – Great play at first
• Tanseer Khawaja – RBI, and excellent pitching on a windy night,
• Zain Malik – 4/5, HR, 2 RBI’s – Great play at 1B
• Ahmed Ammad – 5/5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI’s – great fielding
• Hamza Waheed – HR, 3 RBI’s – Excellent pitching on a windy night
• Akif Waheed – 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s
• Zain Khilji – HR, 2 RBI’s
• Furqan Usman – 3/4, 2 RBI’s - Robbed 2 Medina players and turned a double play with no errors on the night

Lahore @ Medina

Medina was coming off a win and wanted to carry that momentum over to their next game while Lahore was trying to shake off their big loss to Damascus. The first 2 innings were uneventful for Lahore as they put up a combined 0 runs while Medina put up 9 runs including a mercy inning. Lahore bats started to catch fire after the 3rd period when their homerun hitters started to come around. Ismail Kara had 2 monsters homeruns brining in 6 RBI’s along with veteran’s Shamil Khadaroo and Neal Irfan hitting 1 homerun each and brining in a combined 6 RBI’s.  Going to the bottom of the 4th, Lahore was down 10-11 as they smashed their way back into this game. Medina however was having a great day and their bats were waking up when they needed them most as Omar Chaudhry and Suleman Mann both hit 2 dingers each bringing in 7 RBI’s in total. Hamid Malik had a nice line drive triple to RF right on the foul line as that shot brought in 2 runs. The story of Medina’s day however came from the bottom of the lineup. Fawad Shaikh and Umair Ashraf have been working very hard and both of them connected a on a homerun tonight bringing in 6 RBI’s. Fawad was inching closer by the day and it was only a matter of time before he banged one out of the field. His team lost it as they were genuinely excited to see him accomplish that in front of his kids who come out every Thursday and help us track down the homerun balls. Excellent work team Shaikh! Umair went a perfect 3 for 3 and had a nice shot down LCF as he finally got that monkey off his back. Lahore’s issue was mainly their defense as their bats were looking good and Medina’s defense was also much better. Their outfield is looking solid as centerfielders Suleman Mann and Hamid Malik have locked that section down. Jay Ahmed and Omar Chaudhry were impressive and made some big plays down the stretch to help Medina’s outfield while Sunny Abdul Murad held it down at SS and played well throughout the night going 2/3 and 2RBI’s. Tanseer Khawaja controlled the mound well and was seen coaching our players every step of the way. His presence has been a game changer for all of team Medina including the new guys. Lahore has some cleaning up to do as they had some mental errors while base running and couldn’t capitalize on key opportunities to bring in more runs. This game could’ve/should’ve been much closer. The absence of Nirvaan Latif was felt by everyone (even players in the other fields), as his leadership and communication is key to Lahore’s success. Looks like Lahore is going through what Medina went through last week. sometimes teams will fly very high and other times it’ll feel like rock bottom. That’s the way competitive sports go. Lahore cant hang their heads as they are too good a team for that. If guys start playing a bit harder on defense, that’ll change everything as defense leads to momentum, and momentum leads to offense. Captains Aftab Sheikh and Amir Khalil have some things to talk about but inshallah, they will turn things around with the help of their team mates and get ready for an epic playoff battle. Medina takes this one 20-14

Game Highlights: 

• Atif Parvez – 2/4, RBI
• Hamid Malik – 3B, 2 RBI’s, great positioning in the outfield
• Suleman Mann – 2/3, 2HR, 3 RBI’s, Amazing diving catch and great composure all night
• Omar Chaudhry – 3/3, 2HR, 2B, 4 RBI’s, Great communication in the outfield and best wardrobe. He kept coming out with an extra piece of clothing every inning including a toque
• Abdul Murad – 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI’s, great play at SS
• Fawad Shaikh – HR, 4 RBIS’s – First HR of his career
• Umari Ashraf – 3/3, HR, 2 RBI’s  – First HR of his career
• Ismail Kara – 4/5, 2HR, 6 RBI’s - Both Massive Homeruns
• Shamil Khadaroo – 2/3, HR, 3 RBI’s
• Neal Irfan – HR, 3 RBI’s
• Amir Khalil – 3/4, RBI
• Omar Khattab – 2/3, excellent catches in the outfield

Damascus @ Lahore

Week 6 started off with Lahore hosting Damascus.  Lahore was playing without their seasoned veteran leader Nirvaan Latif, but still boasted enough fire power to come out with a win. Damascus on the other hand were dealt a bad blow earlier in the day, as Hasan Afzal was injured playing soccer and would miss the game.  Lahore wasted no time in this one and put up a 5 spot after 1 and were up 5-1 after some timely hitting from Amir Khalil (who went 3-4) and Ismail Kara (who went 2-2 with a SF).  Unfortunately, this was pretty much all they would get as Damascus put the foot to the pedal and didn’t relent at all.  Scoring 6, 4 & 7 in the following 3 innings, DMC held a comfortable 18-7 lead heading into the 6th.  With the RD under 15, DMC kept going, and put up a 9 spot in the 6th to record the largest margin of victory in BSL Nights this year at 20.  As always, GM Safwan Khan led the way with 6 RBI’s, while Hassan Chaudhry (making his return after missing the past 2 weeks), hit a perfect 3-3 and drove in 6 of his own.  Another returning playing, Aftab Khan who missed the past 3 weeks, returned with a boom, driving in 3.  On this night, DMC could do no wrong, and everyone hit, while Abbas Allidina (who took the mound in the absence of starting P Salman Ahmad) was stellar.  Allowing only 5 ER, DMC can take comfort in knowing they have not 1 but 2 quality starting pitchers.

• Amir Khalil going 3-4 and coming home twice;
• Ismail Kara batted a perfect 2-2;
• Safwan Khan & Hassan Chaudhry drove in a combined 12 runs on 6 hits and 2 HR’s;
• Farooq Sani continues his hot batting, going 4-5;
• Shane Worthington hitting yet another HR (that’s 3 off Doc this year) and driving in 4;
• Aftab Khan driving in 3 after missing the past 3 weeks;
• Abbas Allidina pitching a gem, allowing only 5 runs;

Cordoba @ Damascus

In game 2 on Field 2, a shorthanded Cordoba was taking on a red-hot Damascus.  Cordoba was coming off a loss but made a furious comeback and were feeling good, while Damascus was coming off the largest margin of victory and were equally feeling great.  Unfortunately for Cordoba, they were missing too many top talent and players were playing at positions they never played at or were comfortable.   Damascus was able to shut down Cordoba’s bats through 3 innings, as Abbas Allidina continued his pitching wizardry, from game 1.  On the flip side, DMC were hitting and were also getting some lucky bounces from players not playing at their regular positions.  Leading the charge was Farooq Sani, going a perfect 4-4 and driving in 2.  On this night, majority of DMC players were driving runs in one way or another, with Hatf Sohail & Safwan Khan driving in 3 each, and Riyad Ramjaun, Imran Merchant, Abbas Allidina driving in 2 apiece.  In the 5th inning, Cordoba bats began to click, and were able to drive in some runs and put up a mercy inning.  Commissioner Akif Waheed was trying his best to make up for the absent players, going a perfect 3-3 with 2 big doubles and driving in 2, while Zain Malik went 2-3 and drove in 2 himself.  Unfortunately, Cordoba was too short handed and although put up a great fight (they actually outhit DMC in this game), could not cut into the deficit anymore and DMC won 17-9.  With 2 big wins (and by large RD’s), Damascus has essentially wrapped up 1st place, but as they know all too well, it means nothing to finish in 1st place, and all that really matters is momentum going into the playoffs.  Cordoba will look to move up to 2nd place heading into the last week and are hoping their big bats will stop vacationing and return as soon as possible.

• Zain Malik going 2-3 and driving in 2;
• Akif Waheed with 2 big doubles, batting a perfect 3-3;
• Furqan Usman batted 2-3 and drive in a run;
• Hatf Sohail & Safwan Khan driving in 3 each;
• Riyad Ramjaun, Imran Merchant, Abbas Allidina driving in 2 apiece;
• Farooq Sani hitting a perfect 4-4;

BSL Nights 2020 - Week 5 Recaps

Welcome back folks! Chilly day for a night of softball but we hope everyone came dressed in appropriate weather friendly gear and ready to play! 5 weeks in the books and 2 more to go before playoff time. Y’ALL EXCITED?? Great! let’s jump right into action.

Medina @ Lahore

 Lahore has been on a 3 game undefeated streak coming into this one as they hosted the ever so dangerous Medina squad. With Medina batting first, they laid it on thick. In 2 innings, Medina was sitting tall to a tune of 12-2. Jay “Swag” Ahmed had a nice double to start the game then second time around stepped up and smashed his 1st official homerun in BSL nights. What a G! Suleman Mann also participated in the HR derby along with Medina’s usual suspect, IQ Smash. Things were looking great as Medina slowly let their guard down and that’s when Lahore pounced. Medina’s defense decided to take a hiatus from fielding for a few innings and instead started bird watching. I say this because Medina couldn’t catch a beach ball if its was lobbed at them as they missed play after play. Lahore outscored Medina to a tune of 20-4 in the final 3 innings or 14-1 in the final 2 innings. Whichever sounds better. Some notable dingers from Lahore’s side when it counted most. Shamil Khadaroo hit a grand sham bringing in 4 RBI’s while Omar Khattab had 2 of his own cruising atop the homerun race. And who can forget the ageless wonder, smoking dingers since 1995, Nirvaan Latif.

Medina has been playing great over the past few weeks but with a full squad, there was no excuse for this unit to play that bad. Captains Mo Kala and Hamid Malik were very frustrated and need to go back to the drawing board to make some serious changes. With the playoffs around the corner, this is the worst time for a team to fall apart. Medina has a great bunch of guys and alhumdolillah it’s a pleasure hanging with them but its time to get down to business. They need to hold each other accountable and more importantly try to focus on their strengths/weaknesses as individuals. Medina has some amazing strengths but its up to the captains to utilize the squad to the best of their abilities. With the hour glass running out of sand, Medina needs to bring their team back from rock bottom and play for each other. They have 2 weeks to figure it out before the big dance and with the guys Medina has, I know they’re taking this loss to heart as they should. Inshallah they will fair better in the coming weeks

Highlights of the game: 

• Shamil Khadaroo – HR, 4 RBI’s
• Salim Jaichi – 4 / 4, 4 RBI’s
• Omar Khattab – 4/4, 2 HR’s, 4 RBI’s
• Nirvaan Latif – 3/4, HR, 7 RBI’s
• Neal Irfan – 3/3, 3 RBI’s
• Suleman Mann – 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s
• Jay Ahmed – 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s
• Fawad Shaikh – 2/3, 2 RBI’s excellent hitting!
• Atif Parvez – 2/3 2B, 2 RBI’s

Cordoba @ Medina

 Cordoba was coming into this game having lost their previous game to Damascus as they doubled Cordoba’s score to take if 14-7. Cordoba wasn’t happy about that so they decided to pull it together and give Medina a run for their money. Medina was coming off a demoralizing loss as they went from almost mercying Lahore to being outscored 20-4 in the final 3 innings. Needless to say, both teams were gunning for a win. Cordoba took to their bats first but Medina made quick work of them holding them to 0 and in return, Cordoba did the same. Then they went to work. Cordoba, usually known for their power hitting only hit 1 over the fence, courtesy of Mr. Khilji who also brought in 5 RBI’s. These guys were doing well placing the ball but mainly, targeting 3B and SS all game long as the infield couldn’t get it together. Medina had allowed 9 run on errors that game (as opposed to Cordoba’s 1) which included some very easy outs had the ball not been fumbled or if the throw was on target. Medina’s infield showed a lot of rust and couldn’t come up with the plays when needed the most. The bad bounces weren’t doing Medina any favours either as the pitch made it difficult to gage the ball but Cordoba seemed to have done okay with it, making most of the common plays. Cordoba was picking up runs consistently through out the game including 2 mercy innings. Medina did respond by putting up a 6 run inning but that would be all Medina had in the tank tonight as those 8 runs weren’t even close to being enough. Cordoba closed out this game on a 14-2 run honouring our beloved Kobe Bryant in this one to a legendary score of 24-8

Highlights of the game: 

• Zain Khilji – 4/4, HR, 5 RBI’s
• Yusauf Ch – 2/4, 2B, 3 RBI’s
• Mohammed Ali Pasha – 3 RBI’s
• Zain Malik – 2 RBI’s, great play at 1st
• Bilal Malik – 2/3, 2 RBI’s
• Furqan Usman – 2 RBI’s
• Ahmed Butt – 2/4, 2 RBI’s
• Ahmad Ammad – 2/4, RBI, some nice catches in the OF
• Bilal Javed – 3/4, 2 RBI’s
• Atif Parvez – 2/3, 2 RBI’s
• Mo Kala – 2/3, 2 RBI’s
• Jay Ahmed – Great catch at RF, reaching over the fence to rob Yusauf Ch of a HR.
•  

Cordoba @ Damascus

Week 5 pitted Damascus vs. Cordoba with both teams missing some big bats.  On Damascus’ side, Hassan Chaudhry & Aftab Khan were still nursing injuries, while on Cordoba, Zain Malik was serving his 1 game suspension from last year.  Damascus started off the game with a 3 spot in the 1st inning but was countered quickly by Cordoba with a 3 spot of their own.  This game was the epitome of small ball as neither team relied on their big homerun hitters and instead were each chipping away.  With Damascus up 5, Hamza Waheed was helping his own cause on this night batting a solid 2-3 including a big time double.  Not to be outdone was his teammate Mohammed Ali Pasha who went a perfect 3-3 at the plate, all while showing these youngins that he was still a stellar SS.  Up only 3, Damascus went into the 5th inning and using the small ball strategy and some timeline base running put up a 7 spot and blew the game open.  Riyad Ramjaun & Abbas Allidina led the way, both with 3 hits on the night, while Shane Worthington & Salman Ahmad both drove in multiple runs.  The play on the night though was made by Farooq Sani who tracked every ball hit in the outfield his way and made 1 spectacular catch after another.  Damascus secured the win and would look to keep momentum going into game 2, while Cordoba looked to regroup, knowing that their leadoff man Zain Malik would be back in the lineup.

• Riyad Ramjaun & Abbas Allidina led the team with 3 hits each;
• Imran Merchant returned, playing through multiple injuries but was his stellar self at SS;
• Every Damascus player would reach base at least once using the small ball strategy;
• Hatf Sohail & Farooq Sani with multiple hits;
• Salman Ahmad pitched a gem, allowing only 5 earned runs and walking only 1;
• Mohammed Ali Pasha hit a perfect 3-3;
• Hamza Waheed went 2-3 and drove in 2;

Lahore @ Damascus

In the 2nd game of the night, Lahore and Damascus were both coming off big wins, and the winner of this matchup would end the week in 1st place in the standings.  Damascus continued their hot hitting, as the 1-2 punch of Hatf Sohail & Riyad Ramjaun (both on base machines) went a combined 6-7, allowing GM Safwan Khan to do what he does best, and drive in runs.  Safwan hit another monster HR and drove in 5 on this night, and Damascus was up by 6 after 2 innings.  Not to be outdone, Lahore’s bats came to life shortly after and Shamil Khadaroo and Nirvaan Latif both hit timely homeruns and drove in multiple runs, reducing the lead to just 2.  Unfortunately for Lahore, on this night, rookie sensation Omar Khattab had a bad night at the plate and went an uncharacteristic 0-4, which would hurt any chance Lahore had to make a comeback.  Adding some insurance, Shane-O-Mac Shane Worthington, would send one over the fence, while Awais Malik ended the game with one of his better statistical games ever, going 3-4 including a massive double (not to mention his amazing play in the OF).  As was the case throughout the night, pitcher and AGM Salman Ahmad was stellar on the mound, allowing only 7 ER’s and walking only 1.  With stellar pitching, fielding and batting, Damascus was not going to lose this game and redeemed themselves after a poor 0-2 showing last week and end up 2-0 on this week and atop the standings.  Lahore meanwhile have no reason to hang their heads as they have shown that they will be one of the top teams to contend with come playoff time.

• Farooq Sani hitting 2 doubles and hitting a perfect 4-4;
• GM Safwan Khan batted 3-4 and drove in 5, adding another HR to his total;
• Riyad Ramjaun, Hatf Sohail & Awais Malik all produced 3 hits each and finished a combined 9-11 batting back to back to back;
• Shane Worthington with a big time HR
• Salman Ahmad pitching yet another gem, allowing only 7 ER’s and walking only 1;
• Shamil Khadaroo & Nirvaan Latif both with HR’s;
• Fawad Shaikh going 2-3 and driving in 2;

BSL Nights 2020 - Week 4 Recaps

What’s happening gentlemen?? welcome to our week 4 recaps! As usual we’ve got tons of action to talk about ranging from mercy games, to individual performances and of course some heartbreak. Let’s just dive right into it

Damascus @ Medina

 On this windy night, Damascus got their boys ready as they thought they were walking into a shootout against another offensive juggernaut in Medina. Damascus batted first and put up 2 quick runs to get the night started thanks to a Safwan Khan blast down CF. Medina responded posting 6 runs to get momentum on their side which started with an Omer Chaudhry moon shot to the stands. He raked in 3 RBI’s on that dinger. He would go on to hit 5 homeruns on the day bringing in 11 RBI’s. Damascus only combined for one more run after that inning while Medina put the pedal to medal putting up a 7-spot in the second inning. Medina’s bats were rolling as Omer C hit another 2 run shot followed by a Hamid Malik solo homerun and an Imran Qureshi 3 run homer. Other notable hits came from Aatif Parvaiz, Jay Ahmed, and Fawad Shaikh who went 3 for 3 on the night with some beautiful hits! He always brings his kids to watch and they were very proud of their dad! Mashallah!!

Medina would go on to score 12 more runs to activate the mercy rule which ended the game in 5 innings. Most of the credit goes to Medina’s defense and to Hassan Chaudhry of course for missing the game . Damascus was missing 3 of their big hitters so this performance isn’t up to their usual standards.

Medina made some major changes to their defense and they paid dividends as Jay Ahmed was making all the right plays in the OF. Omer Chaudhry moved over to short stop and held it down there. There was some rust on his game as he hasn’t played short stop in over 4 years but it seemed like he was pretty comfortable there.

Highlights of the game:

• Omer Chaudhry – 2 HR, 3/3, 5 RBI’s
• Hamid Malik – HR, 2/3, RBI
• Imran Qureshi – HR, 2/3, 5 RBI’s
• Mo Kala – 2 Walks, massive double
• Omar Khan – 2 RBI’s
• Fawad Shaikh – 3/3, excellent batting!!!
• Robocop – 3/3, 2 RBI’s and excellent pitching
• Aatif Parvez – King of doubles. 1 double 2 RBI’s and excellent play at 3rd
• Hatf Sohail – RBI
• Safwan Khan – HR, 2/3, 2 RBI’s
• Salman Ahmad – 2/3
• Shane Worthington – 2/3

Medina @ Cordoba

With Medina coming off an impressive win against Damascus, they were looking to carry that momentum over to this game as Cordoba had the last laugh, when these 2 teams previously clashed. With both teams containing tons of fire power, these 2 teams were rolling right off the gates. The first 3 innings saw the teams deadlocked at 8. Crazy and Chu started the team off right with a dinger each (both ended up with 2 on the night) followed by a Bilal Javed Miandad blast. On the other side, Omer Chaudhry was having one of those days as he cleared 3 homeruns in this game ending with 5 on the night. Both teams were airing it out as the outfielders were quite busy on this day. Medina was missing their left center fielder in Suleman Mann but Hamid Malik filled in and held it down in the outfield making multiple key grabs and controlling the outfield all game. Medina’s bats finally slowed down as Cordoba held them to 0 runs in the 4th inning while putting up a cool 5 of their own. Medina didn’t give up though as they continued to push despite going down by 5. Aslam “The Savage” Abdullah did what he does best as he blasted a 3 run shot when Medina needing it the most. Medina was down 14-11 going into the final inning as they brought in 4 runs to take the lead by one. That lead would be tough to hold on to as 1 run is no task for the high-powered Cordoba offense. With Crazy leading off and getting on base, Yusauf Chaudhry stepped up to the plate and smashed a walk off homer to take the win against Medina for the 2nd time in 2 weeks.

Highlights of the game:

• Omer Chaudhry – 3 HR, 4/4, 6 RBI’s
• Hamid Malik – Excellent fielding in LCF
• Imran Qureshi – 3/3, 3 RBI’s
• Mo Kala – BB, massive double, RBI
• Aslam Abdullah – Timely homerun, 3 RBI’s
• Fawad Shaikh – Amazing double. Fielder dove hard and still missed it
• Robocop – Controlling the mound/infield
• Aatif Parvez – 2/3, RBI
• Ahmed “Crazy” Ammad – 2 HR’s 3 RBI’s
• Yusauf Chaudhry – 2 HR’s (Including walk off HR to win the game), 4 RBI’s
• Bilal Javed – 1/4, HR, 2 RBI’s
• Zain Malik – 2/d, RBI
• Akif Waheed -2 RBI’s
• Bilal Malik – 2 Sac Flies bringing in 2 RBI’s

Cordoba @ Lahore

Lahore was coming into this game trying to get their second win a row while Cordoba had dropped to Damascus on their last game, trying to get back on track. Lahore welcomed their beloved star Salim Jaichi who had to miss the first half of the season due to injury. Lahore thought they would have to slowly work him into game shape but he proved that he didn’t miss a beat as he smashed 2 homeruns this game. Cordoba started the game off putting up half of their total in the first inning with 6. Lahore returned the favour with 3 runs but Cordoba would pull away as they were up 10-5 after 2. Yusauf Chaudhry and Bilal Javed did what they do best blasting homeruns and bringing in a combined 6 RBI’s on the night. Cordoba would go cold the next 4 out of 5 innings only brining in 2 runs the rest of the game. A large part of that was due to the fantastic pitching of Amir Khalil. Lahore would slowly chip away as they continued to score while holding Cordoba. Omar Khatab and Khurum Channa would join in on the homerun fun as they both crushed 1 each for a combined 3 RBI’s but Cordoba’s strategy of putting Lahore on a homerun limit might have helped a little as batters had to hold back from crushing the ball. Regardless, Lahore was playing great as everyone on the roster had at least 1 RBI on the game. Talk about team effort. Lahore battled hard to get back in this game and were down 4 entering the final frame. The Lahore squad played hard and managed to get 4 to tie the game but weren’t able to get the go ahead for the win. This game would end in a tie. Cordoba would put much of the blame on their poor base running as they made several errors costing them runs. Lahore on the other hand ran the bases well, and had some close calls go their way.

Highlights of the game:

• Zain Malik – 2/3, BB
• Bilal Javed – 2B, HR, RBI
• Ahmad Ammad – 2/3, BB
• Yusauf Chaudhry – 4/4, HR, 5 RBI’s
• Akif Waheed – 2/3, RBI
• Hamza Waheed – 1/2 , RBI, BB
• Amir Khalil – Excellent pitching, 2/4
• Khurram Channa – 3/3, HR, RBI
• Omar Khattab – 2/3, HR, 2 RBI
• Salim Jaichi – 2/3, 2HR, 3 RBI

Lahore @ Damascus

Lahore entered the night cap after making a huge comeback to tie their previous game while Damascus entered the game on an all time low, after getting mercied in their first game.  Lahore wasted no time putting up a 7 spot in the first inning and things looked eerily similar for DMC as they were already down a mercy inning.  With a squad full of guys with a lot of heart, Damascus took their turn and the bats came to life as they were able to put up a 7 spot of their own after some timeline hitting by Hatf Sohail and Shane Worthington.  Not to be outdone, team Lahore’s bat kept going and with probably the deadliest middle lineup in the league (Ismail Kara, Omar Khattab, Salim Jaichi & Shamil Khadaroo) all hit monster HR’s and put Lahore up by 4 going into the bottom of the 5th.  As been the case all year, with DMC needing runs, GM Safwan Khan rises to the occasion, and hit his 2nd HR of the night capping a 9 RBI night to tie the game.  It was Lahore’s turn to put runs up and with DMC’s defense stepping up, Lahore was not able to put up a big number but mustered 1 run.  With DMC down 1 and 2 on, Riyad Ramjaun was up to bat.  A single or walk would bring up GM Safwan Khan but unfortunately, a liner back to the pitcher ended the game.  Lahore goes undefeated this week with a 1-0-1 record, while DMC drops both and will look to regroup next week.

• Rookie phenom, Omar Khattab with a 3-4 day, adding to his HR total;
• Salim Jaichi went a perfect 3-3 and hitting his 3rd HR of the season in only his 2nd game;
• Another rookie sensation, Arsalaan Abdullah goes a perfect 4-4 and driving in 3;
• Hatf Sohail goes 4-5 with stellar play at 3rd base;
• Shane Worthington a perfect 4-4;
• GM Safwan Khan with 2 HR’s and driving in 9;

BSL Nights 2020 - Week 3 Recaps

Welcome back folks! We hope everyone is staying safe and well. Week 3 action resumed with our usual 4 game schedule with some teams coming off winning streaks and others trying to put one together. We ready to dive into week 3 Recaps?? Let’s do it!

Medina @ Cordoba

Medina was coming into this game red hot having won their last 3 games and they were looking to extend this streak. Medina was however missing Jay smooth Ahmed who has been a consistent play maker on the offensive end.  Medina started off slow at bat as they picked up 3 quick outs including an embarrassing Hamid Malik strike out. Cordoba turned around and put up 4 runs to take the lead while Medina struggled to get their bats going. Medina’s bats finally woke up thanks to 2 run smash job to RF by Hamid Malik who picked up his 2nd homerun on the season. That strike out must’ve really gotten to him because after that, he smashed 4 homeruns and remained perfect on the plate the rest of the night.  That dinger helped spark Medina’s offense as they put up a mercy inning going into the 5th inning up 8 – 7. Cordoba however wouldn’t back down as they took advantage of Medina’s weak fielding and kept picking the gaps. They scored 2 runs going ahead of Medina by 2. Final inning, with Cordoba up 2, Hamid Malik stepped into his 2nd homerun of the game putting Medina up by 1. With the home team getting ready to close out this game with just 2 runs required in the final inning, Cordoba torched Medina for 7 runs including a Zain Malik grand slam to RF to counter his brother’s multi homerun game and steal the show. Cordoba took this one to a score of 16 – 10.

Highlights of the game:

• Hamid Malik – 2/3, 2 HR, 4 RBI’s
• Imran Qureshi – 4 RBI’s
• Tansweer Khawaja – 2/3 – 2 RBI’s
• Zain Malik – Grand Slam – 4 RBI’s
• Ahmad Ammad – 2/3 HR, 3 RBI’s
• Zain Khilji – 3 RBI’s
• Abdul Butt – 2 RBI’s
• Hamza Waheed – 2 RBI’s

Damascus @ Lahore

Week 3 started with Lahore entering riding a high from their previous weeks big win against Cordoba, while Damascus entered this week, losers of their past 2 games.  Damascus also entered the week fielding only 9 players (misunderstanding by management, but we thank everyone for their understanding), while Lahore themselves were also playing shorthanded, still missing their big blockbuster trade asset Salim Jaichi and rookie phenom Omar Khattab.  Salim is still nursing a lower leg injury and we pray for his quick recovery.  Damascus took full advantage of the strong winds blowing this week and produced a total of 9 walks.  The proved to be very important with so many people getting on base, DMC’s big bats would come to life with runners in scoring position.  Shane Worthington hit his 1st HR of the season, while Hassan Chaudhry continued his tear this year, hitting another HR.  Damascus is also getting fantastic production from Farooq Sani, who continues his hot hitting, going a perfect 5-5 on this night.  On the flip side, Lahore’s big bats seem to finally be coming alive, with Shamil Khadaroo finally breaking his mini slump, knocking out 2 monster HR’s (we believe 1 of them hit his buddy Amir’s car).  Lahore hit 4 HR’s but could not keep up with the timely hitting of Damascus.  With everyone on DMC hitting and everyone on the team producing at least 1 RBI, this was all that was needed for Salman Ahmad to lock down Lahore’s bats.  Damascus breaks out of their 2-game losing streak while Lahore goes back to the drawing board.

• Farooq Sani hitting a perfect 5-5 with 2 doubles;
• Shane Worthington knocking out his 1st HR of the season, and driving in 5;
• Hassan Chaudhry perfect at the plate (5-5) with 3 extra base hits (2 doubles & 1 HR);
• Shamil Khadaroo 2 monster HR’s and driving in 5;
• Zia “Doc” Beg continues his hot hitting, going 3-3 including a double

Damascus @ Cordoba

In the night cap, Damascus took on Cordoba as both teams were coming off big wins in their first game of the week.  Damascus continued with their patience at the plate and hot hitting as they quickly scored 4 runs to open the game.  As was the case in game 1, the winds were strong on this night and clearly affected pitching.  Hamza Waheed was trying everything in his arsenal to counter the strong gusts, but to no avail unfortunately.  3 innings in and Damascus was up 6-2 and continued to pile on the runs.  Smart and patient hitting by Awais Malik saw him draw 3 walks and the 4th inning was capped off by a Farooq Sani HR that ended the inning due to the mercy rule.  DMC was cruising until they were forced to field 9 players and use one as a catcher.  Unfortunately, management misunderstood the rules and fortunately for DMC, Cordoba was nice enough to provide a catcher for most of the game.  With the rules appropriately being enforced, Cordoba made a furious comeback of their own.  Zain Malik has turned into quite a HR hitter this year as he knocked out his 3rd HR of the season.  Meanwhile, the usual suspects like Bilal Javed & Yousaf Chaudhry led their team by example, solidifying the fielding while hitting HR’s themselves.  The star for Cordoba on this week though was Abdul Butt, who only had 1 hit, but what a hit it was.  Abdul hit a moonshot for his 1st career HR.  Cordoba fought back valiantly, putting up 9 runs in the bottom half of the final inning only to fall ever so close, losing by 2.  Cordoba ends the night with a split, while Damascus ran the table this week and goes back to the top of the standings.

• GM Safwan Khan driving in 4 runs;
• Farooq Sani hits 4-5 and driving in 5 (he went 9-10 on the day);
• After taking a league low 4 walks in the first 2 weeks, Damascus showed their patience this week and took 9 walks in each of their games this week for a total of 18;
• Hatf Sohail’s play at 3rd base while also hitting 2-4 and driving in 2;
• Zain Malik hitting yet another HR, now sitting at 3 on the season;
• Abdul Butt hitting his 1st career HR;
• Mohammed Ali Pasha getting back in the groove, hitting a perfect 3-3;
• Leaders Bilal Javed & Yousaf Chaudhry both hitting HR’s, while playing stellar defense in the field;

Lahore @ Medina

Coming off a hard loss to Cordoba, Medina was looking to get back to their winning ways. As the home team they took the field first, allowing Lahore to get things rolling as they put up 4 runs on multiple hits. Shamil Khadaroo had a great hit to RF, allowing multiple runners to advance.
Fast forward to the 3rd inning with Lahore leading 5 to 3, Medina was struggling to put together any offense. Tonight was Hamid Malik’s night as he blasted anything/everything over the fence that touched his bat. He stepped into another 2 run homer to help Medina take the lead by 1. Sunny Abdul Murrad also had a sick shot down CF which resulted in an inside the park homerun. Great hit and even better wheels!! Lahore however would chip away behind the heavy bats of Ismael Kara and Nirvaan Latif. Fast forward to the 6th inning where Lahore was up 12 – 9 when everyone on Medina decided to take a sip of coffee and wake up. with one hit after another, Aslam Abdullah and Hamid Malik slapped another couple of homeruns, helping Medina put up a 7 run Mercy inning to go up by 4 entering the final frame. With Lahore playing with their backs against the wall, they would need a massive inning to take the lead and hold the home team. They did exactly that and a lot more, torching the black and gold for 9 runs, all of a sudden up by 5. Medina’s defense just couldn’t figure out how to make those simple catches. Hats off to Lahore for playing a great final inning but Medina only has themselves to blame after that horrendous display on defense. With one last chance for Medina they took to their bats and quickly picked up 2 outs. But then they started to rally as IQ Smash stepped up to the plate and blasted a 3 run homer closing the gap to 2. With their top coming up, Lahore needed that last out to ensure their top didn’t get going as Medina has been known to rally after 2 outs multiple times this season. Tonight’s game wouldn’t be one of them as Nirvaan Latif closed out the game with a fancy catch. Lahore takes this 21 – 19.

• Nirvaan Latif – 4/5, HR, 5 RBI’s
• Hamid Malik – 4/4, 2HR, 5 RBI’s
• Aslam Abdullah – 4/4, HR, 5 RBI’s
• Imran Qureshi – 4/4, HR, 5 RBI’s
• Abdul Murad – 2/4, inside the park HR, 2 RBI’s
• Shamil Khadaroo – 3/5, 3 RBI’s
• Zia Beg – 2/5, 2B, 3 RBI’s with a nice deep shot to RF over the defenders head
• Arsalan Abdullah – 3/5, 2B, 3 RBI’s and great play at 1st
• Amir Khalil – 4/5, 1 RBI, 1BB

BSL Nights 2020 - Week 2 Recaps

Welcome back to the action everyone! With week 1 in the books and teams starting to realize their strengths/weaknesses their was a lot of good softball and a lot of clutch hitting. Teams seem to match up equally in terms of skill now the question is, how will the teams utilize their strengths and gain an advantage over one another? Does your team have what it takes?

We’ve got some hot Recaps for you below. Enjoy!

 Medina @ Lahore

 Lahore played host to the Medina in our first game and as expected this game started off with a bang. Sulemann “The Hammer” Mann stepped out to the plate and crushed a solo Homer to get Medina started. Immediately after that, Hamid Malik stepped into a 3 run homer padding Medina’s lead. Medina went on to mercy Lahore in that inning only to have Lahore came out and tie the game! Ismail Kara showed why Lahore picked him 2nd overall as he smashed a giant homer into LF finishing with 3 on the night (You owe us 3 lost softballs buddy!!). Omar Khatab complemented that clean up job with a solo smash of his own and that followed by a “solo shlam” by Shamil Khadaroo. 14 run scored in just the first innings. Now that’s what I’m talking about!! Medina’s offensive party continued as IQ Smash launched a HR to RF followed by an Aslam Abdullah HR to RF (first of his BSL career) pulling in 5 runs to Lahore’s 1.  Balls were just flying out of the park in this game as the wind was carrying everything.

Medina eventually separated themselves from Lahore and managed to gain a comfortable lead 18 to 11 going into the final inning (short game as game was called after 5 innings). With Medina up 6, they were looking to close out this game but Lahore had some plans.  They came out guns blazing as Nirvaan Latif and Ismail Kara smashed a pair of homers to bring this game within reach but Medina was able to hold off the onslaught as they ended Lahore’s night 1 run short of a tie. Bad guys take this one 18-17. With Medina’s offense flowing, their defense is getting bailed out game after game. Medina is looking to separate themselves and take that top spot but if they don’t figure out their defensive woes, they wont be enjoying this success for much longer. Lahore has got some serious fire power and have fallen just short in a couple of games being edged out by a run but we expect these guys to go on a serious run as they do every season. Question is, will history repeat itself or is Lahore ready to make a deep playoff run?

 Final Score: Medina 18     Lahore 17

 Game Highlights: 

• Sulemann “The Hammer” Mann with a solo homerun and 3 RBI’s
• Hamid “Super hot shot AGM” Malik with a run homerun
• Imran Qureshi AKA IQ Smash continues to take the league by surprise with another couple of HR’s and 6 RBI’s
• Aslam Abdullah with a homerun to RF and 3 RBI’s
• Omer Chaudhry with a solo homerun
• Abdul Murrad 3/3 with 2 RBI’s, 2 doubles and excellent play at SS
• Tanseer Khawaja – 2 for 2 and a double. Controlled the mound well on a windy night
• Ismail Kara – 3 Homeruns with 8 RBI’s
• Omar Khatab – 2 solo Homeruns
• Nirvaan Latif – Massive homerun in the final inning helping Lahore comeback. 4/4, 3 RBI’s
• Shamil Khadaroo – homerun with 2 RBI’s
• Zia Beg – Excellent pitching on a windy night
• Medina’s quote of the day “What did you have for breakfast today” - Total of 14 Homeruns in this game from 9 different batters

Damacus @ Medina

 In our 2nd game of the double header Medina was flying high coming into this game with 2 wins in a row looking to get some revenge on Damascus. Damascus was coming off a hard loss where they so nearly tied the game, rallying to bring the game within reach with just 1 out remaining.  As the home team, Medina took the field first and got butchered by the high powered offense of Damascus putting up 6 runs courtesy of a Safwan Khan power shot to the parking lot. Medina took to bat and immediately picked up 2 outs, expecting the inning to come to a quick close, guys were preparing to get back on defense only for the bats to catch fire and somehow find a way to mercy Damascus. The next few innings were quiet for Medina… like really quiet as they put up goose eggs while Damascus slowly added to their lead every inning. Fast forward to the 4th inning where Damascus put up 3 runs to extend their lead to by 6, that’s when the Medina’s bats woke up. Sulemann Mann smashed a big time double bringing in an RBI, Down to 2 outs, Medina rallied and pulled in 6 runs knotting this game up going into the 5th. With that momentum, Medina shut Damascus down and jumped back in the dug out where it seemed like they were dowsing themselves in kerosene because Medina came out on fire! Omer Chaudhry smoked one out of the park for a solo run but then the next couple of batters were quickly called out leaving Medina to rally yet again. As Medina tried to break the tie they had scored 3 runs with 2 runners on base. Aslam Abdullah was up and sitting at a full count when he connected on a perfect pitch and launched that ball into parking lot as he brought in 3 runs with his clutch shot. That would prove to be an important hit as it would stand as the game winner. Damascus had 1 more inning to erase a 6 point deficit. Playing from behind, Damascus fought hard putting up runs and getting batters on base. For a moment it looked like Medina couldn’t stop the offensive onslaught as 4 runs were brought in with just 2 more to tie but for a second game in a row Damascus couldn’t complete the comeback. Hats off to them as they fought hard both games and showed how resilient they can be.  Although this counts as a loss for Damascus, I think both games helped this team build character and realize that despite the losses, they are one of the best all round teams. just because they fell short today, doesn’t mean they wont learn from this. With Captain Safwan Khan and the 2nd best Chaudhry in the league (just kidding buddy) they are being lead by 2 of the best hitters in the league. Can Damascus rally behind Captain Safwan and turn things around in week 3? Can Medina keep up this offensive pace? Only time will tell as we wrap up yet another successful week of softball

 Game Highlights: 

• Imran Qureshi – 3/3, 4 RBI’s
• Omer Chaudhry – Solo Homerun
• Aslam Abdullah – Game winning Home run – 4 RBI’s
• Mo Kala – finally making his presence felt – 2 Doubles, 4 RBI’s
• Jay “The Mechanic” Ahmed – Rock solid in RF with some nice catches
• Umair Ashraf – 1/1, RBI
• Fawad Shaikh – 1/2, 2 RBI’s
• Sunny – Great play at SS with some nice throws to home
• Tanseer Khawa – Excellent pitching to go with his 2/3 at bat and 1 RBI
• Suleman Mann with a very timely Double – 3/3, 1 RBI
• Aatif Parvez – 2/3, double, 1 RBI
• Safwan Khan – Homerun and 4 RBI’s and excellent catches in the OF
• Hassan Chaudhry – Homerun and 4 RBI’s
• Excellent pitching by Abbas Allidiina – 3/4 at bat with 3 RBI’s
• Imran Merchant – 3/4 and a double
• Hassan Afzal – Big time double with 2 RBI’s
• Farooq Sani – 2/3, 2 RBI’s
• Riyad Ramjaun - 2/3 at bat and a walk

Cordoba @ Lahore

With Lahore starting the season with three straight losses they felt this game was a must win. Lahore only has one win against Cordoba in the past 3 seasons so the odds were already against them. The game started with Cordoba putting up 4 hours courtesy of back to back smashes from Ahmad ‘Crazy’ Ammad and Bilal Javed. Lahore chipped away in the bottom half of the first inning with a towering shot by Omar Khattab (first of 4 home runs this game – yes you read that right – 4 home runs!). Zia Beg continued to be a calming force on the mound with stellar pitching, and helped his own cause by going 3/3 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI. Cordoba continue to chip away at Lahore’s lead with a home run by Zain Khiji to get them within 1 run. Lahore broke it wide open in bottom of the 4th inning with potent hitting from Shamil Khadaroo and Ismail Kara. Hamza Waheed kept Cordoba in it with strategic pitching as much as possible. Mohammed Ali Pasha showed his age and left the game with a lower body injury (just kidding brother – inshallah you are well). Lahore pulled through with a win and glad to get that monkey off their backs.

 Game highlights: 

• Omar Khattab – 4 home runs, 8 RBI (yes, 8 RBIs)
• Ismail Kara – 3 RBI
• Shamil Khadroo – 2 doubles, excellent defense
• Amir Khalil – 3/4, 3 runs
• Zia Beg – excellent pitching, 2 doubles
• Everyone on Lahore recording a hit
• Bilal Javed – 2 home runs, 2 RBI
• Ahmad Ammad – 2 home runs, 5 RBI
• Abdul Butt – improved hitting, double
• Ahmed Butt – top tier outfield defense

Cordoba @ Damacus

Damascus entered week 2 on a high, entering as the only undefeated team, while Cordoba was also on a high, fielding their entire team this week with suspensions out of the way.  Damascus started off sluggish while the high-flying offense of Cordoba was on display at the get go.  2 innings into the game and Cordoba were up 10-0 as Damascus was struggling on the mound with the hard winds blowing.  Meanwhile, Hamza Waheed was making his season debut after nursing a finger injury the past few weeks and looked stellar on the mound.  As you can expect, Bilal Javed hit his usual HR but Cordoba now looks like they have another HR hitter in Zain Malik.  Zain hit a monster HR and drove in 3 to put the boys in Yellow up.  Not to be outdone, Damascus started clawing their way back and shutting down the opponent’s offense, as the 2 teams entered the final inning with only 4 runs separating them.  Some costly errors by Damascus in the field allowed Cordoba to add another 4 as Yousaf Chaudhry had a great day at the plate going 3-4 and driving in 2.  Down 8 with 1 inning left, Damascus did everything in their power to overcome the deficit.  GM Safwan Khan led by example as always, knocking out 2 more HR’s in this game, while Abbas Allidina hit 2 more himself.  A furious comeback was 1 run short as Cordoba was able to stop the bleeding just in the nick of time winning the game by 1.  With Cordoba at full strength, their season outlook is on the rise.  Damascus on the other hand need to clean some things up defensively, but the team showed a lot of heart, making it a game at the end.

• Zain Malik with his 1st BSLN HR and driving in 3, while locking down 1st base;
• Bilal Javed driving in 6 runs on the day;
• Yousaf Chaudhry batting 2-3 with 3 RBI’s and commandeering the outfield;
• Hamza Waheed making his season debut as pitcher and striking out 3;
• Safwan Khan with 2 more HR’s to add to his season tally;
• Abbas Allidina driving in 6 and hitting 2 HR’s;
• Imran Merchant with stellar play at SS while getting on base all 4 AB’s;

BSL Nights 2020 - Week 1 Recaps

Medina vs Damascus

 With everyone coming off an extra long offseason, everyone was happy to be out but a lot of us had some rust to shed. Damascus was the home team and took the field first while Medina got ready to put up some runs. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way as Damascus quickly shut them down and in return put up a mercy inning. Down 7 runs, Medina wasn’t too happy but they knew the game was just getting started.  While Medina`s top order struggled to get going right off the bat, their middle and bottom of the lineup were heating up. Imran Qureshi had a monster day as he Smashed 2 bombs over the fence bringing in a total of 5 RBI`s, and a walk. While Imran was tearing things up for Medina, Safwan Khan was equally dangerous on the night smashing 2 HR`s of his own along with 6 RBI`s. After a few good innings the game turned in Medina`s favour as their bats caught fire and were ahead by 4 runs going into the final frame. DMC had a great 7th inning as their batters loaded the bases just in time for Imran Merchant to walk up and smoke a grand slam putting DMC in a position to close out the game. With 1 out remaining, DMC needed 1 run to win but Medina couldn’t get the out they so desperately needed to keep the game tied. Damascus takes this one in an exciting walk off victory.  A few highlights to mention as there were some fantastic plays by many individuals.

• Safwan had some nice grabs in the outfield saving a bunch of runs and hitting 2 big HR’s
• Fawad Shaikh made an unbelievable catch near the end of the game which saved a few runs and kept Medina in the game
• Aslam Abdullah had a big double in RF
• Imran Qureshi with 2 HR’s and a walk
• Chaudhry brothers trading HR’s
• Imran Merchant’s game tying grand slam in the final inning
• Omar Khan, Aatif Parvez and Fawad Shaikh making great contact at the plate

Medina vs Cordoba
 Cordoba was just coming a walk off victory while Medina was coming off a walk off loss hoping to turn things around against a stacked Cordoba squad. With Medina being the away team they batter first and quickly took advantage of a 3 run smash job from Omer “Shuffle Master“ Chaudhry.  After 2 innings Medina was up 10-1 and was looking to continue that momentum but Cordoba had other plans as they turned around and put 6 runs in the following inning cutting the lead to 3 but Medina’s batting lineup has proven to be resilient as the entire batting lineup played their game and continued to pour in runs. Imran “the sledge hammer” Qureshi continued his dominance as he launched another HR into deep space (or the dark bushes.. point is he lost the ball) and after reaching the HR limit, he adjusted and started smashing base hits. I don’t know what he’s eating these days but captain Kala just ordered 10 boxes of it! Aslam Abdullah had a great Debut as he went 3 for 4 this game with an RBI. Medina was sitting comfortably with a 19-8 lead after 4 periods but their defense was starting to make mistakes allowing Cordoba to slowly close the gap. In the final inning Medina was up 20-10 and all they had to do was shut the home team down and pick up an easy win. We all know that the defending champs Cordoba have a lot of chemistry and with the core they have, and they are always in the game. With their top coming up, Cordoba was starting to capitalize on a few dropped catches and other minor errors as they started closing the gap in this open inning. Ahmed “Crazy” Ammad hit 3 fly balls this without clearing the fence in this game (very odd) but each time the fielder misplayed the ball allowing him to pick up a double. Yusuf Chaudhry then stepped into a monster HR down CF closing the gap to 4 runs. With 2 outs there was only so much they could push as Medinas was able to stop Cordoba dead in their tracks and pick up the much needed victory.
 
Highlights:

• Imran Qureshi – 3/3 and a HR
• Omer Chaudhry – 2 HR’s
• Aslam Abdullah – 3 for 4 and trying to catch Crazy’s long shot with his chest (u better ice that)
• Akif Waheed HR
• Yusuf Chaudhry’s HR in the final inning
• Bilal and Tanseer Khawaja’s slick pitching
• Zain Malik’s HR not a HR (Massive shot to LF only to go foul by a couple of feet)
• Zain Malik and IQ’s play at first base
• Sunny Murad constantly picking up the shallow outfield pop flies (bailing out the senior Chaudhry) and excellent play at SS
• Jay Ahmad - 5 for 7 on the day with 4 RBI's

Lahore vs Damascus

Both Lahore & Damascus were coming off intense walk off games with different outcomes; Lahore lost a heartbreaker by 1 while Damascus were riding a high coming back 5 in the last inning to win game 1.  Damascus went with their 2nd pitcher of the day, starting Abbas Allidina, while AGM Salman Ahmed took a breather after pitching great in game 1.  Through 2 innings, the game was tight and was tied at 2 apiece.  Unfortunately, that’s when the wheels fell off for Lahore and Damascus took control of the game, with 6, 7 and 6 runs in the next 3 innings.  The onslaught was headed by GM Safwan Khan who went 4-4 and drove in 5 RBI’s, upping his week 1 stats to a perfect 8-8 on the day, while 1st pick Hassan Chaudhry was also perfect and drove in 5 runs.  The player of the game for Damascus on this night though was none other than Hassan “Desert” Afzal who cranked out a monster homerun and drove in 4.  On the flip side, there were also positives to be taken from Lahore.  Newcomers Arsalaan Abdullah and Saad Ibrahim went perfect at the plate and will definitely help Lahore as they progress through the season.  Lahore was also playing without their big bat, as Salim Jaichi was forced to sit this one out with an injury.  Unfortunately, after 5 innings, Damascus had run up the score and the game was called due to the mercy rule as Lahore dropped this game 21-4.  Lahore ends week 1 with 2 losses while Damascus comes away with 2 wins.  There is still lots of season left so both teams shouldn’t read too much into this week’s scores, as history has shown, week 1 means nothing with an entire season left to play.

• Safwan Kahn went 4-4 and hit another HR, driving in 4 RBI’s
• Hassan x 2 (Afzal & Chaudhry) both hit HR’s and drove in a combined 9 runs
• Imran Merchant was stellar at SS and hit a monster HR and drive in 3
• Abbas Allidina allowed only 4 ER’s in his pitching debut while also helping his own cause and batting a perfect 3-3
• Damscus’ top 2 batters Hatf Sohail & Riyad Ramjaun went 6-8 and ensured they were always on base with big batters behind them
• Arsalaan Abdullah & Saad Ibrahim were perfect at the plate in this game
• “Sir” Nirvaan Latif continued his hot hitting, cranking a HR and driving in 2

Lahore vs Cordoba

In one of our first games of the season Cordoba hosted a stacked Lahore squad hoping to get their first game off to a good start and that they did. Holding Lahore to a goose egg, Cordoba poured in 6 runs to start their season off right. Lahore responded by going on a 9-2 run holding on to a 9-8 lead after 3 periods. Not sure if something changed in the air but everyone stopped putting up runs and it seemed like a struggle to get anything going. Finally top of the 6th, Cordoba brought in the game tying game putting pressure on Lahore to break the tie and develop some sort of a lead. With just 1 run scored in that inning, Cordoba needed 1 to tie and another to taste victory and that they certainly did as Cordoba takes this game in an exciting walk off victory

2020 - Team Previews

Team Medina

Captain Mo Kala has been leading the Medina Faithful’s since day 1 of BSLN and this year is no different as he teams up with super hot shot AGM Hamid Malik to help continue his legacy. Hamid Malik will be the new #2 on team Medina and will look to build on his 2 all star-appearances. Medina had the first overall pick and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on Omer Chaudhry. His experience along with his leadership (and the Chaudhry Shuffle) are valuable assets and will be leaned on to help train/build chemistry with the rest of the team-mates. When Medina’s turn came back around, and Robocop was still available, the duo didn’t hesitate to snag him. Tanseer Khawaja has been known to control the mound with his pitching and at the same time help mentor some of the new guys. Medina continued to stack their team with veterans like, Suleman Mann, Imran Qureshi, Sunny Murad and the one and only Jay “The mechanic” Ahmad. As the draft was nearly complete, Medina rounded up Umair Ashraf, Omar Khan and Atif Pervez who played a major role in Medina’s offense last year. Medina also decided to take a chance on 2 new comers, Aslam Abdullah and Fawad Shaikh. Fawad Shaikh has played softball for a long time and will rely on his past experience to contribute to Medina’s winning ways. Aslam Abdullah might be the difference this year for Medina as he flew under the radar and landed on Medina’s doorstep. Aslam is an all-round player who can help in various ways and will look to make some noise in his BSLN Debut.

Medina may have one of the strongest outfields and will look to make most of their impact on defense. If these guys can build some chemistry and learn to play off one another in this short season, Medina is poised to make another deep playoff run especially when being led by “Kala Mamba”. Can the dynamic duo of Kala and Malik help lead Medina to the promise land and bring home a 2nd championship in 3 years? We’re about to find out!! Game 1, Medina vs Damascus. 7pm SHARP!! LETS GOOOOOO

Team Lahore

Team Lahore brings back most of its core from the first two seasons. Dubbed “The Rexdale Boyz”. Lahore has added top talents in Ismail Kara and Nivaan Latif to help take Lahore to their championship aspirations.  Like their 2nd overall pick Ismail Kara, Lahore continued to select new to the league players Omar Khattab, Saad Ibrahimi and Arsalan Abdullah.  Little is known about these players, If they can contribute early, Lahore could be a potent offensive team.

In order to keep the core together Lahore made a block buster trade sending Zain Khilji for former gold glove first basemen Salim Jaichi.  The move left a hole in centre field for Lahore, Captains Aftab sheikh and Amir Khalil will have to work to find solutions for Lahore to reach their title hopes.

Lahore does have depth, Fawad Shaikh will be expected to grow from his rookie season. Neal Irfaan should build on his breakout season last year both at the plate and defensively.  Shamil Khadaroo should continue to be serviceable both at the plate and in the field. Pitcher Zia Beg mans the mound for Lahore for a second season.

Lahore goes into week one with depth at the plate, with two legitimate power bats, but are expecting a lot from first year players.  Although they have depth in the outfield they are lacking and elite defender to control the outfield. 

Win or lose, Lahore is looking forward to a fun season while growing the brotherhood on the team.

Team Damascus

Captain Safwan Khan takes the helm of the Damascus ship once again. He is joined by Salman Ahmad as his assistant. Safwan would be looking to take his team to the final again and hoping to lift the trophy this time. Damascus had the last pick and grabbed Bilal Javed in their first pick who they later traded for Imran Merchant, strengthening their defence. For their second pick, they did not miss the opportunity to grab “post shadi” Hassan Chaudhry and would be looking to benefit from his team building, all round abilities and overall game experience. After the first two picks, team Damascus was sitting pretty with 3 solid batters and 3 solid fielders.

Captain Safwan continued to boost his team’s offence by picking two all-stars Farooq sani, “no one can stop my cricket shots” and Riyad, “the better”, Ramajun. Shane Worthington and Hatf Sohail, who played a major role in the team’s appearance in the final last year, will be wearing the team Damascus jersey again. They continued to pick Hasan, “desert” Afzal, Aftab, “I can feel no pain”, Khan and Awais Malik. Abbas Allidina makes his debut in BSLN and will benefit the team with his past experience from the JMS league. Salman will be taking the mound and looking to improve on his rookie year pitching.

Damascus is packing a strong defense and offense and one of the best all around teams. If they can quickly build the team chemistry and overcome the mental lapses, they will be a strong competitor for the championship. Time to put in work Damascus and LET’S HAVE FUN!

Team Cordoba

Team Cordoba is keeping its core intact with several players returning from the championship team. In 2020, the team added Triple A (Ahmad Amad, Akif Waheed, Abdul Butt) who are some of the former players that are returning from year 1. So, the team should hit the ground running with strong team chemistry.

The GM agreed to take on the 13th player in Abdul Butt (aka Big Butt) via trade, as Abdul Butt promised the team for a breakout year. Will he hit his first homerun in year 3?

The team has also added BSL veteran Zain Khilji and thus became one of the most top-heavy teams in the league. Zain Khilji's contributions will be key on both offensive and defensive end for Cordoba's success.

Cordoba has always been a batting juggernaut and that hasn’t changed this year however, there are several question marks on the defensive end. They will need their new members Bilal Malik and Furquan Usman to learn the game and contribute on the defensive end.

With no clear favorites so far, Cordoba has their work cut out for them to contend for the title again.

2019 All-Star Game Recap

2019 All-Star Game Recap

The much anticipated 2019 all star festivities went underway last night as all of BSL Nights brightest stars were under the shining lights, chatting, laughing and just enjoying each others company. We had some notable drop outs such as Ismael “guys my flight is delayed” Akhtar, Farooq Sani, Khizer Channa, Mo Kala “Jadoo” and Neal Irfan.

The game started off very relaxed as guys were merely jogging after hits rather then sprinting at full speed, making jokes at each other, laughing at drop catches.  We all know that mood never lasts in BSL as the competitive juices eventually start pumping through out veins and all everyone wants to do is win. It took about 2 innings for guys to get serious but after that, we weren’t messing around. Jay “Smash” Ahmed making his All-Star Debut smoked his first dinger out of the park on his best friend Riyad Ramjaun bringing in a couple of RBI’s. He walked over to first base, touched it like a pro and walked off to go fetch his ball like he’s been doing this all year… Great hit!! Hamid Malik thought he knocked one out of the park as he stood there admiring his handy work, pointing/waving to the adoring fans (o there were tons!) only to see it drop and hit the fence. What could’ve been an easy triple turned into an “OMG the guys are gona yell at me double”.

Other notable homerun hitters were the usual suspects in Bilal “Miandad” Javed, Ahmed “crazy” Ammad, Waseem “Patience is a virtue” Kala, Zane Sheikh and Bis Bass (Baseer).

Both teams were having a great time until the game started getting close. Defense was getting tighter and guys were trying to find the gap. There were some pitching changes throughout the game as Ali Chaudhry, Riyad Ramjaun, Zahid Merchant and Safwan Khan all tried their hand at pitching on this windy night. Riyad had a superb game on the mound, striking out countless all-stars with his fancy pitching. That being said, It was a rough night for all pitchers as hitting the plate was extra diffifcult tonight due to strong winds, bright lights and a new daimond.  We know that everyone that played, tried their best and certainly didn’t intend to walk anyone on purpose as this was just a final pickup game amongst friends before a long hibernation period for most of us. Unfortunately, the game ended at the bottom of the 6th as there were some disagreements on the field.

Once all the dust settled the power batters took their positions in the HR derby as fielders were lined up inside and outside the diamond hoping to see some monster hits. Rameez Siddiqui got things started putting 3 over the fence followed by Zane Sheikh who managed to rock 2 right down CF. Ahmed “Crazy” Ammad, who is always one of the favourites to win any Derby nailed 5 followed by Faisal Shamshad who had 5 monster hits of his own and Bilal Javed who very casually had 4. The story of the night was Safwan Khan who eventually found a rhythm and started smashing everything over the fence. He had 8 to cap off his night as we have a new HR Derby Champion this year. Congratulations Safwan!

We know that things tend to get competitive but as Muslims, as fathers, as husbands, as brothers, as men, we should all understand that real life is out there, off the softball diamond. This is an escape to come out, hang with the boys, have some fun and leave all that stress behind. Sometimes we lose sight of that due to our competitive nature and as a result we end up offending one another. This attitude needs to change if we want to continue to grow as a league, as Muslims but more importantly as individuals for ourselves and our families. Its up to all of us to esnure things like this dont get out of hand, and not just the league management. May Allah give us all the patience and the strength to always do the right thing.  

Finally, I wanted to thank Akif Waheed for doing a fantastic job as commissioner for a 2nd straight year. There is a lot of pressure that comes with organizing a league of this calibre, not to mention the time it takes away from your family and your actual job. Communicating with volunteers, renting diamonds, securing umpires for the season, ensuring accuracy of stats, rules, regulations, while also hearing everyone’s concerns and opinions. Believe me when I say this Akif, it hasn’t gone unnoticed. We look forward to season 3 of BSL Nights. Keep up the excellent work!

It was a pleasure playing with each and every single one of you. Thank you to all the volunteers who really made this league happen. Without you we wouldn’t have such an amazing league. Until next year, peace out my brothers!!

Asalam - O - Alaikom!

Congratulations to the 2019 Champions Cordoba!

Congratulations to the the 2019 Champions, Cordoba. They defeated a Damascus team who played their hearts out but in the end fell short. Both teams deserve major recognition but in the end, there is just one champion. Hats off to Safwan Khan and his squad for an amazing year!

Congratulations Cordoba. You are the 2019 Champions!!

BSL Nights 2019 Finals Preview

Finals Preview - Damascus vs Cordoba

And then there were 2…

 Its been a long season and with everyone playing their hearts out, its unfortunate anyone had to taste elimination. That being said, the 2 teams that cruised all season long thanks to their incredible efficiency and all round team play finally meet in a much anticipated finals. This game will have a combination of big hitting along with some incredible defense. Damascus is well known for their high powered offense but their defense has been heavily under rated. With Imran “the gentle giant” Qureshi manning 1st base, Abul Murrad at SS, Ahmed “Crazy” Ammad, Akif “ Commiss” Waheed and Safwan Khan anchoring the outfield, it looks like their most important positions are rock solid and are looking like a dangerous squad. On the flip side, Cordoba has a batting lineup full of power and place hitters and so far, no defense has been able to fully stand in their way. Their offense has carried them all season long thanks to guys like Bilal “Miandad” Javed, Rookie Sensation Faisal Shamshad, Zaid “steady” Ghansar and Umair Wasim. That doesn’t mean they don’t have defensive gem’s hiding amongst their rosters. With guys like Yusauf Chaudhry, Khurram Channa, and Sulemann Mann, Cordoba is never out of the game. With all this talent gushing out of these 2 teams, its only fitting that this highly anticipated clash will be one of the most anticipated finals in BSL nights history. As the newest expansion team, does Damascus have what it takes to go the distance or will they suffer the same fate as the Vegas Golden Knights? A fired up Cordoba team will definitely have something to say about that.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? We’re about to find out!

Damascus vs Cordoba

Thursday September 19, 2019 @ 8:00pm. Don’t miss it!!

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 14 Recap

Medina vs Cairo

In our final regular season game on this Super Thursday, Cairo and Medina had a lot riding on this. Loser of the 2 will face off against a 5th place Lahore squad in a do or die match where the winner moves forward to face off against the ever so Dangerous, Damascus.

The game started off slow with both teams getting on the board early. There wasn’t much that happened early in this game but one of the highlights for Medina was the fact that Ismail Akhter finally found his form as he launched 3 homers out of the park bringing in 7 RBI’s. Zane Sheikh followed that up with a solo homer to give him his 4th on the season. On Cairo’s side, Captain Yasser Malik had a fantastic game as he put 1 over CF Hamid Malik’s head who managed to track it down to make the grab before colliding with the fence and losing the ball. Yasser then followed that up with a homerun right down CF bringing in a couple of RBI’s. Just as this game was looking like another dud, Both teams stepped up and combined for 24 runs in the final 3 innings.

Fast forward to the top of the 7th where Cairo was down 3. With some slick hitting, they consistently found the gaps and made Medina’s outfielders pay. Jay “Smooth” Ahmed sailed one over RF hitting the fence giving him a triple which brought up the top of the lineup. Hassan Khan stepped into a grand slam which helped Cairo take the lead. There was nothing Medina could’ve done as they watched Cairo pick them apart in that final frame. As the bottom of the 7th rolled around, Medina was unable to string together any hits as the Cairo shut them down and went on their merry way.  With this game in the books, the playoff picture is finally set in stone.

Medina will host Lahore in a kill or be killed wild card game. Are you ready for playoffs??? You better be, cause a single mistake can/will cost you your entire season. Hope ya’ll are ready to roll up your sleeves and get some dirt on your jerseys. ITS PLAYOFF TIME BABY!!! LETS GOOOOO

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 2 Recap (Make up games)

Istanbul vs Cairo 

In the 1st makeup game of the evening, BSL Nights were provided their first “unofficial” playoff game with the two bottom teams facing off.  With an Istanbul win, super Thursday would be set up with all teams with a chance at the playoffs.  A Cairo win would eliminate Istanbul and super Thursday would be about playoff seeding amongst the remaining 5 teams.
With the boys in red facing elimination, unfortunately, ALL 3 Ramjauns were missing in action this week, including AGM Riyad Ramjaun, however, GM Zain Malik was able to secure the services of Taher “T-Man” Mirza as a substitute for this do or die game.  On the flip side of things, Cairo themselves were missing a few top guys but were able to secure the services of some of the top subs this league has to offer in Zain Khilji and Ali Nazir.  Cairo started off strong and put up 7 runs in the first 2 innings, but not to be outdone, Istanbul came roaring back with 8 runs of their own.  The game would be back and forth affair, with Istanbul up 11-9 after 4 innings.  Unfortunately, this is where the wheels fell off, and a misplay at 3rd base would cause both teams to get chippy and would both receive multiple warnings for arguing.  In the spirit of Brotherhood, cooler heads prevailed in the end, but with Istanbul now playing annoyed, Cairo quickly put up 5 runs while Istanbul would not score again.
With the loss, Istanbul is officially eliminated from playoff contention while Cairo will now fight for their lives to not have to play the wildcard game.  A 3rd place seeding is still in the realm of possibility, but they will need to beat Medina on super Thursday, while also getting help from others.  Meanwhile, GM Zain Malik is left pondering what went wrong.  His team on paper were one of the deadliest hitting teams, but defensively, things never materialized.  Coupled with a few bad breaks during the season, the boys in red will look to play spoiler on Thursday, while unfortunately, not playing for something themselves.

Lahore vs Medina

In our 2nd makeup game of the evening we have 2 teams trying to fight for that 3rd place in the standings to avoid playing an unpredictable Cairo squad in the wild card game.

Medina started off shutting Lahore down in the first inning and scored 4 runs to start this game off. W K and Zane Sheikh were both hot coming into this game as both picked up right where they left off with a pair of deep Homers. W K is really embracing this patience thing as he looks like he’s found his form just before heading into the playoffs. It was nice of Zane Sheikh to grace us with his presence as he came off a flight that landed at 715 and still made it in time for his first at bat following up W K’s homer with a deep shot of his own. He would later have another homerun but it would count as an out instead since Medina was over the HR limit.

Medina continued to score runs until the 4th inning where they had a comfortable lead with a score of 9-3. As soon as Medina’s bats slowed down, Lahore took that opportunity to start a run of their own, storming back to tie this game. There were great performances by Salim Jaichi and Aftab Khan as they combined for 5/6 at bats and 6 RBI’s. On the defensive end, Salman Ahmed held it down on the mound and did what he could to keep his team in the game. Amir Khalil was on point as he made some nice grabs in RF not letting anything get by him. Medina had an opportunity to close this game out in the final inning but yet again left runners on the bag resulting in another tie. That’s 3 ties where Medina left multiple runners on the bag. If Medina expects to make another deep run this year, they need to learn to close out games especially when they have the upper hand. Despite Lahore missing key players they played great against Medina as they rallied to tie this one up. This point will be huge for both teams as we head into Super Thursday. With Istanbul out of the picture, everyone has secured a chance to play again next Thursday but who will play in the wild card game? Nothing is confirmed yet but we’ll find out when that clock strikes 11pm tonight.

Cordoba vs Damascus

Cordoba and Damascus met each other for the third time this year as number 1 and number 2 ranked teams battled each other to secure the first seed. Damascus came into this game confident as they dominated the previous two match ups. They experimented with their batting line up as the GM, Safwan was the last batter and had four different players play the critical short stop position. Cordoba were missing both their GM, Chu and AGM, Billa and had speedster Taher as their substitute.   
 

Damascus took the early lead, courtesy of some timely hit by Ahmad Ammad, Tanseer Bahi and Imran Qureshi. However, some sloppy fielding in the 3rd and 4th inning by Damascus and a clutch in the park homerun by Umair Wasim led to Cordoba taking the 12 -7 lead.  Damascus made another little run in the 6th inning but it was too little too late. Damascus was able to stay in the game despite their underwhelming fielding displaying on the day, which shows why they are the Number 1 seed.  Their middle order is clicking at the right time with Imran, Talal and Muzamil all going ¾ on the day. As expect, Ahmad Ammad continued to have a monster year and hit the only HR of the game. He is now almost doubling the amount of HR hit by anyone else in the league. 
 

Cordoba also had a good day at the plate with Saad, Umair, Suleman, Fasil and Hamza all hitting over .500. Saad also had a good day with the glove and showed he is capable of hold down CF position. Lastly, Hamaza showed why he is still in contention for the pitcher of the year award by getting another W for his team.

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 13 Recap

Medina vs Cordoba

Final game of the evening was also our featured game and let me tell you, this game did not disappoint. Cordoba, (arguably the best team in the league) faced off against a powerhouse Medina (on paper at least) who are currently in the hunt for a playoff spot. A win would go a very long way for them.

As the away team, Cordoba took to bat first and put up a 7 run mercy inning to start the game. Medina responded with 4 runs of their own and from that point on kept the game close. Medina scored runs constantly throughout the game where is Cordoba had 2 big innings (1st and last). Although this game was close throughout the entire 5 innings played (that’s right, this game was cut short due to time restrictions), this game was all about the swag of W K. He went 4 for 4 including 2 homeruns and 5 RBI’s on the night. W K put on a clinic of patience and he let a couple of pitches hit the plate without swinging his bat. And here guys were thinking this guy swings at everything, pshh… more on W K later. Bilal Javed and Umair Wasim did what they do best as they both picked up a HR each combining for 6 RBI’s and 7 for 8 at bat and on the other side we had a pair of dingers from Hamid Malik and Zane Sheikh. Cordoba was missing their captain Yusauf Chaudhry as he was seen with a wrapped sweater around his leg. Hopefully its nothing too serious and we wish Yusauf a full recovery in time for the playoffs, Inshallah. The rest of the squad did what they could to fill in for their injured captain as they kept Medina on their toes all game. Fast forward to the 5th and final inning where Cordoba put up 5 runs to take the lead by 4 going into the bottom. With 2 quick outs, Medina was looking to rally as Zane Sheikh stepped into a 2 run homer cutting the lead to 2. After a couple of batters got on base, W K stepped up with a chance to win the game. All he’d have to do is put it over the fence which we all know he loves to do. He obviously didn’t swing on the first pitch (cause he’s crazy patient like that) but when he swung on the second one, he made sure that ball was GONE! W K stepped up when it mattered most and got Medina the win they so desperately needed. CAN YOU SAY CLUTCH???  This win takes a bit of pressure off Medina while Cairo and Istanbul battle it out for that final spot. The playoff standings still aren’t set and in 2 games, I don’t have to tell you that anything can happen. With Super Thursday around the corner, everyone better be ready to roll. Cordoba may have fallen to Medina but they are still one of the toughest teams to beat. 

Medina 18- Cordoba 17

Istanbul vs Damascus

Game 1 this week pitted the top team in the league vs the bottom team in the league.  But don’t let the standings fool you, as both these clubs could put on fireworks on any given day or put up a dud.  With Istanbul fighting for their playoff lives, the team finally saw the most players they’ve had all year with 11 showing up.  The game started quickly with the first 4 Istanbul batters getting on base, while the bottom of the lineup cleaned up and ensured that the boys in red would finish the 1st inning with a 7 spot.  With all the momentum on their side and riding a high, as has been the case all year, the defense could not fully hold on to that lead and Damascus proved why they were the top team in the league, answering right away with a 6 spot of their own in the bottom of the 1st.  Damascus also showed how important veterans are, as GM Safwan Khan could not make the game (congrats on the new addition brother), but leaders Tanseer Khawaja, Akif Waheed and Ahmad Ammad ensure the team kept their composure, even after being mercied.
Unfortunately for Istanbul, the majority of their runs were capitalized in the 1st inning, as they kept the bats going to the tune of 22 hits in the game but could not muster many more runs.  The top 3 batters, Riyad Ramjaun, Umer Jabbar and Abdullah Akhter put up a combined line of 10/12, but when 3 batters make up almost half your hits as a team in a game, the rest of the lineup needs to cash them in.  On the flip side, Damascus kept their foot on the pedal, scoring in every inning (including a mercy inning in the 3rd) to end up with 21 runs on 18 hits.  The highlight for Damascus has been the bat of rookie Muzamil Mohammed who 3 weeks ago was batting .273 but has since figured it out and has risen his average by almost 100 points.  When this league started up, the hope was for veterans of softball and BSL to develop a new crop of players and see them improve, and 2019 has been amazing in this regard.
With only 2 games left on the slate, Damascus is now vying for that 1st overall seed and will play the bottom seed on super Thursday.  Meanwhile, Istanbul faces a do or die game on Tuesday against Cairo.  A win will set them up nicely for a playoff spot come super Thursday, while a loss will all but eliminate them.  Can the boys in red turn things around or is too little too late?  

BSLN Super Thursday Fantasy (2019)

With just 2 more weeks remaining in the regular season, we’re expecting some major fireworks as team’s get ready to make a final push in hopes of securing a playoff spot.

In anticipation of one of the most exciting races in BSLN history, we thought we’d spice things up even more and introduce a fantasy element to BSLN for the final 2 games of the regular season.  If this sounds like its up your alley and you think you’re the next great GM, then fill out the form below by clicking the link and get it back to us no later than 12pm on  Monday, September 2nd, 2019 and email transfer $15 to [email protected].  Please set the password as "nights"

All proceeds from the BSLN Fantasy pool will go directly to supporting Naseeha Youth Hotline.

The winner will receive a BSL Nights sweater and a Q and A which will be posted on our website the following week. So, pick your friends, don’t pick your friends, choose teammates, it doesn’t matter.  With the playoff race going right down to the wire, you never know who’s going to step up.

Do you have what it takes to be the BSLN Fantasy champion??

If you’re interested in signing up:

1. Pick your team at: https://forms.gle/M7mZn1m41ecyzTS26
2. EMT $15 to [email protected]

Scoring Breakdown:

BB:         1pt

1B:          2pts

2B:          3pts

3B:          4pts

HR:         5pts

RBI:        1pt

The leaderboard will be posted shortly after Super Thursday (prior to the start of playoffs).  Unfortunately, once selected, you cannot change your picks after your form has been submitted.  Also, we have not canvassed with the teams as to whether any of the players available will be missing games.

ENTRIES & PAYMENT MUST BE COMPLETED BY NOON ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND.  GOOD LUCK!!!

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 12 Recap

Istanbul vs Lahore

With only a few weeks left and the playoff race heating up, week 12 pitted a red hot Lahore team against an always dangerous Istanbul team.  Lahore came in to this week as one of the hottest teams and after going winless in their first 5, they have reeled off 3 wins in the last 4 games to put them back in the playoff picture.  On the flip side, Istanbul is coming off a game in which they missed out on beating Medina by a half a step at home, but still boasts one of the most dangerous lineups in BSLN.

Week 12 started off with Lahore’s GM Aftab Sheikh not able to make the game, so as usual, sub extraordinaire Hammad Afif was called in again.  Seems like week in and week out, Hammad plays for a different team.  Istanbul on the other hand came in with 11 out 12 guys (the most they’ve had all year in a given week) ready to play and ready to move up in the standings.  Unfortunately, several players called in with minutes until game time with family emergencies (we make duah that nothing was overly serious IA), and 11 quickly turned into 9 players.  To further add to Istanbul’s woes, AGM Riyad Ramjaun had to move out from the OF and emergency pitch, which left the OF and the IF scrambling to place players in positions unfortunately they hadn’t had much reps at, not to mention, thin out the OF to only 3 players.

The game started with Istanbul quickly putting up a couple of runs, but once Lahore came up and saw all the green with only 3 OF’s, they quickly turned on the pressure and mercied the boys in red in back to back innings to go up 14-2 off the backs of Hammad Afif and Shahid Saya both hitting big homeruns.  The onslaught did not stop there as after taking an inning off from scoring in the 3rd, Lahore put up another 6-spot in the 4th inning; every Lahore player put up a hit while all but 1 recorded an RBI.  If there ever was a time when an entire team took over, this was the game.  The shorthanded boys in red did the best they could, but with so much inconsistency on the defensive side, the team morale was already down and reflected on the offensive side, with the team gaining only 7 hits on the day and 5 runs.  After 5 innings, the game was mercifully called off, as those in attendance could see that Istanbul’s management were not a happy bunch and once again left to question what they could possibly do to turn things around.

With 3 games to go, Lahore seems to have figured things out.  More importantly, they seem to have found a diamond in the rough in Salman Ahmed.  Ahmed’s ability to pitch effectively, allowed them to add another big bat at the trade deadline and the team seems to be running on all cylinders.  Istanbul on the other hand can’t seem to piece things together.  One of the most talented teams on papers, issues like attendance could be the thing that ultimately decides their fate.  The decisive game for the men in red could come on the makeup day (September 3rd, 2019) against Cairo with a potential winner goes to the playoffs game.  Stay tuned as things are only heating up. 

Medina vs. Cairo

Our final game of the evening had some major implications as both teams are desperately trying to pick up a win in hopes of making the playoffs. Cairo is currently sitting in last place and a loss could really hurt their chances of making the playoffs. As for Medina, they’ve been struggling with their bats recently and have been dropping in the standings. They cant seem to wake their bats up and with the playoffs a couple of games away, things are getting too close for comfort. Let’s see how last nights game played out

Cairo went to bat first as the visiting team and put up 2 quick runs to starts the game off. Medina’s bats didn’t start off well as the opening period for them was quick but their outfield was on point tonight. Nothing got by Center fielders Zane Sheikh and Hamid Malik as they were nearly perfect on the night catching anything that came their way. Cairo on the flip side also had a fantastic day on defense as Captain Yasser Malik had some nice catches which really helped their team shift the momentum at times. This game was straight up a defensive battle as both teams were struggling to get some decent hits. Dr. Zia Beg put on a clinic ensuring Cairo’s top guys weren’t getting the pitches they wanted. His counter part, Miqdad Jaffer also had a great pitching game keeping Medina’s offense at bay. The only bat that seemed to be working on Medina’s side was that of Zane Sheikh who is also dealing with a back injury… for someone in that much pain, he shouldn’t have been the best player out there as he kept Medina in the game with his solid hitting. Lets fast forward this game to the bottom of the 7th where the game was tied at 4 a piece. Medina’s top came up but wasn’t able to win this game. The final play is one that Medina will remember for a long time. Bases juiced, winning run at 3rd, 1 out. All Hamid Malik had to do was hit a simple sac fly and Medina would’ve won. Instead he hit a grounder to Hot shot short stop Ali Chaudhry who is virtually automatic from there. He picked up the double play ending this game in a tie. Although Medina as a team didn’t bat well all game, Hamid Malik is hanging his head and takes the blame for this tie as he could’ve easily won this game for his team. After this tie, Medina still sits at 4th place and will look to turn their luck around against the highflying Cordoba. Cairo now barely occupies that 5th spot as Istanbul trails them by a run differential of just 2 runs. Playoffs are almost here and this race just keeps getting tighter and tighter. Look for Cairo to come out firing against a hot Lahore squad with their backs up against the wall. 2 games left, 1 team wont make it. who’s it gona be?? We’ll find out soon enough

 Summary of Main Stats:

Cairo

Ali Chaudhry – 3 / 4, 2 RBI’s

Yasser Malik – 2 / 4, RBI

Baseer Yasseen – 2 / 4, RBI

Medina

Zane Sheikh – 3 / 3, 3 Runs

Mo Kala – 3 / 4, RBI

Zahid Merchant – 2 / 4, RBI, 1 Run

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 11 Recap

Lahore vs. Cordoba

Lahore started this game off right by smashing a 3 run homer (Courtesy of Shamil Khadaroo), thanks to Bilal Javed’s rookie pitching ways. Cordoba can thank Hamza Waheed for those 3 runs as he strolled in late with samosa in hand.  Turns out he had to stop for fresh Samosa’s which delayed his arrival. Lahore using this momentum came out and shut Cordoba down in their first at bat. The very next inning Cordoba turned around and shut Lahore down and double wammied them with a mercy inning. Cordoba did most of its damage in the 2nd and 3rd inning combining for a 11 points which was already out of reach for Lahore. Still, they continued to scratch and claw while trying to keep their composure on defense. Lahore did have a chance at winning this game but their shaky defense lead to their demise as Lahore goes back to their losing ways. Lahore was excited to have Shahid Saya back as he contributed with 2 RBI’s. Salman Ahmad was fantastic on the mound as he struck out 3 players tonight and tried to keep the pressure on Cordoba. We caught up with Captain Lahore after the game who despite the loss was very proud of his teams performance. He thought they played hard and stayed in the game with the top team.   Cordoba did their damage without clearing the fence but their team had 7 doubles which definitely helped bring in some runs! Their game was overall solid with Chu continuing to make double plays at Short Stop. Cordoba’s defense has consistently improved every game which leads captain Yusauf Chaudhry to think they can start to take it easy in preparation for the playoffs. Codroba has been known to dominate the weaker teams but has had to go toe to toe with some of the better teams in the league. although they’ve been quite successful, all it takes is one mistake in the playoffs. Will Cordoba be the Cairo of this year and make a brief appearance in the playoffs or will they go on to write their own history and prove that they are the best team in the league? we’ll find out soon enough…

Summary of Main Stats:

Lahore

Aftab Sheikh – 3 / 4, 3R

Shamil Khadaroo – 1 / 2, HR, 3RBI’s

Shahid Saya – 1 / 3, 2 RBI’s

Cordoba

Saad Husnain – 2 / 3, HR, 3 RBI’s

Zaid Gansar – 3 / 3, RBI

Yusauf Chaudhry – 2 / 4, 2 RBI’s

Damascus at Cairo

In a rematch of week 1, where Cairo walked off against Damascus, these two teams reunited for an epic matchup in week 11.  Unlike the beginning of the season, now both teams have a sense as to where they stand, and what their weaknesses and opportunities are.  Since week 1, Cairo has battled (to their credit), facing adversity through injuries and players missing, finiding themselves at the bottom of the standings.  Damascus has been playing like the second best team in Nights all season, having only yielded two losses (one being to Cairo).

Before the game started, players on both sides were seen warming up.  Especially Cairo, who took the adjacent baseball field to practice some fielding and hitting - they looked determined to win this one.  It seemed to work, as they toook the lead after the first inning 3-2.  After that it was downhill, as Damascus put a 7 spot up in the second and never trailed after that.  

It's been a recurring theme for the Egyptians from Cairo, and in the words of its GM Yasser Malik, Cairo has been a work in progress all year around.  Outside of the top 4 hitters, Cairo did not manage to get much production from the brothers in the middle and bottom of the lineup.  Defensively, the team had a combined 7 errors which is a recipe for disaster.  Despite the lack of hitting and defensive, it was a great effort that Cairo should be proud of.  Although the outcome was not what Cairo had in mind, this writer believes Cairo is trending upwards because brothers are consistently coming out and putting up a good effort (except for Miqdad who showed up just in time for his first at-bat - j/k Miq, the writers adore you). As three weeks remain in the season, does Cairo have enough time to figure things out?  Rumour has it that Cairo is securing various fields in the Peel region to hold day/night practices 

Damascus played well enough to get the victory in this one, though Cairo made it easy for them by committing 7 errors.  Damascus may think they are championship material, but they have had one of the easier schedules this year, as they face league leading Cordoba twice more, in the last three weeks of the season.  Call it luck or skill, or a bit of both, Damascus finds itself sitting pretty in second position.  In this game, Ahmad Ammad kept doing Ahmad Ammad things, clubbing another two homer game.  Unfortunately he went only 2/4 and saw his average drop to a disappointing .830 - he will need to pick up the slack for next game.  Surprisingly, out of no where, Neal Irfan has shown immense power this year... rumour has it that he has enrolled in Ammad's patented workout regime and it looks to be working.  While the hitting was decent for Damascus in this game, the writing group believes Damascus is at where they are because of the super play of none other than Tanseer Khawaja, who has recovered from his left shoulder strain, to put a strain into the rest of the league with his pitching and hitting.  Damascus continues to roll on, but faces a tough test in week 12 as it squares off against Cordoba, who will look to avenge it's earlier loss to Damascus.  Will Damascus continue to get lucky or will reality finally settle them back to Earth? 

Cairo Pros 
- Awais Malik made some brilliant catches in RF. 
- Ali Chaudhry with two XBH including a HR
- Baseer Yasseen continues getting on base by getting hit after hit... he had 3 in this one
- Jav Ahmed one of the most versatile players in our league he can pitch, play outfield and can hit, despite not getting any hits this game
- Abdu Shark looking healthy
- Bilal Khan getting that 2018 confidence back, in which made him a .500 hitter
- Adnan Yusuf went perfect 3/3 with two doubles in his BSL Nights debut as a regular   

Damascus Pros 
- Talal Hayat produced three clutch hits... he may be one of the best bottom hitters in our league
- Neal Irfan has a smoking hot bat
- Akif Waheed is a great role player, going 3/5
- Hatf Sohail been balling since the trade
- Defense was decent in this one, but if they faced a team with a calibre like Cordoba then it's a different story

Medina vs Istanbul

After a 2-week layoff, Istanbul entered this week looking to add to their point total and try to secure a playoff spot with the season coming to an end very shortly.  Unfortunately, things started off rocky with as many as 5 Istanbul players calling in not being able to make the game, including GM Zain Malik.  But with a bit of luck, the men in red got back one of their best players, as Rameez Siddiqi was able to make the game last minute.  Meanwhile, on the flip side, Medina almost boasted an entire team if it weren’t for a last-minute issue at the airport causing Ismail Akhtar to be delayed on his flight.  Rumor has it, his younger brother Abdullah, called in an extra security search on Ismail to ensure he missed the game.

As is the case in most of their games played, the game quickly got out of hand from Istanbul early on.  Medina quickly scored 2 runs in the 1st inning and added another 5 spot in the 2nd to push their lead to 7, coming from a monster home run by WK.  with their backs against the wall, Istanbul responded with their own big bats and put up 9 straight to go up by 2, courtesy of Istanbul’s week 11 hero, Saoud Ramjaun, who finally broke out of his slump, and went down the line for a 2 RBI double.  The highlight of his hit though came shortly afterwards while standing on 2nd, when you could hear Istanbul’s dugout breaking out in one of the best team chants in BSLN history: “SOOD SOOD SOOD SOOD SOOD”, chants could be heard all the way to the parking lot, and it was this type of energy that Istanbul would rely on for the rest of the game.  Saoud was also very instrumental in the field, making plays at 2nd including a key tag on a player stretching a single to a double.

With their lead evaporated, Medina’s bottom order decided it was their turn to step up, and with runners in scoring position, with 2 outs, Abdul Butt knocked a double right to the fence, bringing 2 runs in and closing the gap, while Hannan Uppal had himself a solid day at the plate going 2/3 and a key RBI.  With Medina up 11-9, GM Mo Kala could be heard shouting to his team to preserve the lead, while Zahid Merchant was playing stellar defense all day at SS to ensure they were going home with a win.  With Istanbul being all pumped, they slowly chipped away 2 more runs and with the game tied, found themselves in the envious position of having home field.  In the bottom of the 7th, with 1 out and Fuzail Thakur sitting on 2nd base (winning run), Arif Iqbal came up to bat, and with 1 swing of the bat, he was able to find the gap between OF’s.  The entire Istanbul team were jumping up and down, calling for Fuzzy to come home, but unfortunately, as he was rounding 3rd base, his foot got caught and stumbled ever so slightly.  With that stumble, Medina’s SS Zahid, was able to gun him out at home by half a step.  All was not lost, as Istanbul still had a shot with a man on 3rd and 2 outs, but a slow grounder ended the game at 11’s, giving both teams a much needed and much earned point on the night.

With no further bye weeks, and 3 games to go, both Medina and Istanbul are fighting to remain in a playoff spot with only 2 points separating these 2 and 2 more teams for the final 3 spots.  Medina solved an issue by trading for a full-time pitcher in Zia “Doc” Beg, but did they give up too big a bat in the process?  As for Istanbul, the main issue has been attendance.  With GM Zain still missing a few weeks, can AGM Riyad Ramjaun rally the troupes that show up in time to secure that playoff spot?  Only a few weeks left and still too many questions remain for both these teams but gaining that 1 important point was extremely valuable to both clubs.  Final score: Istanbul 11 – 11 Medina.

Summary of Main Stats:

Medina

WK:  2/4 – 1 HR – 3 RBI’s

Abdul Butt: 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Hannan Uppal: 2/3, 1 RBI

Istanbul

Fuzail Thakur: 4/4, 1 RBI

Tamour Sheikh: 3/4, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s

Saoud Ramjaun: 2/4, 2B, 2 RBI’s 

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 10 Recap

 Medina vs Damascus

Medina was well rested coming off a bye as they visited the high flying Damascus squad. Medina had as close to a full team as they could get (Minus 1 no show and 1 newly married Zane Sheikh which is like half a person) and were looking to start a run.  It was almost impossible to recognize Zane Sheikh as he packed on some healthy pounds (Mashallah, sign of a happy marriage) but don’t worry, he shaved off his facial hair to balance it out so all is good… Especially after that first strike out where he tweaked his back by just picking up the bat. Where is the week 1 Zane Sheikh that put the league on notice??

As the home team, Damascus took the field while Medina got set to put up some runs. Unfortunately their bats started off kind of flat as the top of the order didn’t bat well enough to start the game as they only scored 1 run and left 2 players on the bags. No worries as Medina shut Damascus down in the very next inning highlighted by newly acquired Zia “Doc” Beg striking out a frustrated Ahmed Ammad (sorry guy, had to mention it). Medina went back on the attack and put up a massive 1 run which obviously didn’t hold up against a team like Damascus. They simply came out and fired on all cylinders, placing the ball over the outfielders heads more times then we can count, ending that inning in a 7 run beat down. The outfield was extremely tough to handle as the winds were constantly changing the direction of the ball. Many outfielders had to dive to make simple catches as the ball would drop well before its original projection. Ahmed Ammad and Safwan Khan had a couple of nice grabs as Safwan dove ahead and caught a line drive from Hamid Malik which really had no business being caught. Crazy fumbled a very routine catch as it popped out of his glove but with his cat like reflexes he quickly snatched it in the air preventing the ball from touching the ground, ending the inning in disappointment for Medina. The rest of the game was quiet for Medina as they only managed to muster up another 5 runs. The bottom of the lineup played well for Medina as Atif Parvaiz had 2 massive doubles bringing in an RBI and Abdul “Big” Butt went 3 for 3 smoking one over Crazy’s head for a deep shot in CF. If the Butt man was quicker, he would’ve bolted to 3rd but he was more than happy to just get on base as the top of the lineup came up. Atif and Butt went 5 for 5 in this game. Excellent work boys! Mazamil Mohammad batted well as he put one over everyone’s head for a double and 3 RBI’s.  Captain Safwan Khan has done a great job throughout the year as a first time GM, keeping his team spiritis high and finding ways to win games. Great work by everyone on Damascus for stepping up when it mattered most.

As for Medina, they keeps dropping games and have yet to figure out their identity. With 4 games remaining, they’re starting to feel the pressure as there are 4 other teams desperately trying to make the playoffs. Any team can be left out of the playoffs and if Medina keeps up their sloppy play, it could be them. Time to light a fire under team Medina’s you know what’s because if they don’t wake up soon, this could be the beginning of the end.   Damascus 13 - Medina 7

Summary of main stats:

 Medina

Abdul Butt – 3 / 3, 2 Runs

Atif Parvaiz – 2 / 2, BB, 2 2B, RBI

Ismail Akhter – 2 / 4, 2 RBI’s

 Damascus

Ahmed Ammad – 3 / 4, 3 RBI’s

Tanseer Khawaja – 2 / 2, 1 run, 1 RBI

Muzamil Mohammed – 1 / 3, 3 RBI’s

Damascas vs. Cordoba

In what can be perceived as a potential play-off matchup, the Syrians of Damascus visited the Spaniards (before inquisition) of Cordoba.  After 9 weeks into the season, undoubtedbly, Cordoba has looked like the elite team of BSL meanwhile Damascus, has surprised turned a few heads with their play, albeit they've had the easiest schedule according to some critics.  The first matchup between these two teams was a tested battle, head over to our youtube page to check out the film.

In a surprising outcome, the underdog Damascus came out ahead in this tightly contested battle.  Cordoba took its first defeat of the season, but still maintain their top spot in the standing, with Damascus now trailing them by only two points.  Notable missing players from Cordoba was Khawar "Jun" Anwar and Kamil Siddiqui, and Zaki Bhatti from Damascus.

Great fielding and hitting were observed throughout the game, by both teams.  First, Damascus jumped out to a 9-3 lead, after three innings.  Getting out to a fast start was key, according to GM of Damascus.  As the game wore on, and Damascus clearly looking fatigued from its back2back, Cordoba began to cut into the deficit.  In the last three innings, Cordoba outscored Damascus by a score of 8 to 3, but that was not enough as Damascus went on to win by a score of 14-11.

Offensively, Ahmad Ammad continued his MVP campaign by slugging two homers against his former team.  His teammates supported him well, kudos goes to Akif Waheed and Shane Worthington for their two way play.  Abdul 'Sunny' Murad's excellent play at SS certainly contributed to this positive outcome, and if he can continue this play, then that allows Safwan Khan to go in the outfield, boosting the defensive legitimacy of arguably one of the best defensive teams so far.

Cordoba will be kicking themselves for getting off to such a sluggish start.  If the game went on a little longer, they should feel as though they had the momentum to win the game.  Bilal Javed did all that he could do by going four for four and that's why he leads the league in hitting.  GM Yousaf Chu will look to improve upon his offensive performance the next time these two teams meet. 

Not to be outdone, this matchup featured the number 1 and 2 pitching matchup.  According to his social media followers, who easily dubbed him the best pitcher in Nights, Hamza Waheed had a semi-off day, but still had the secret sauce to keep his team in it.  Had it been anyone other than Tans "Robocop" Bhai at the mound for the opposing team, Waheed may have had a chance to get that 'W'.  But Robocop, at least on this occasion, made a case as to why the debate should carry on.  It's anyone's guess who will be the BSL Nights Pitcher of the Year, but at this point, based on records and ERA, these two could go neck and neck for the remainder of the year. 

Damascas Pros 
- Outfield got better, but still some routine catches are being dropped.  Boys got to clean up not missing the easy catches.  This team makes impressive defensive plays (catches, ground balls)
- All around hitting, 8 RBIs from Shane and Ahmad. Akif continues to have great OBP.  Hatf Sohail been balling after the trade.  Muzamil with his first career multiple hit game
- Prior to this game, Cordoba was averaging 20/21 runs per game, but Tans Bhai, backed by his defense, held Cordoba to its lowest runs produced all year

Damascas Opportunities
- This writer is redacting Cordoba opportunities for competitive reasons

Cordoba Pros
- Great all around hitting, 7 players with multiple hits.  Suleman Mann had a monster Opposite field HR that made it to the other side of Bloor St.
- Defensive was above average.  If some of the plays in the infield right side can get cleaned up, then Cordoba would hav easily won.  Khuram Channa is making a case for Gold Glove in the OF.
- Despite the loss, the boys should remain positive, and still believe that the championship is theirs to lose

Cordoba Opportunites
- This writer is redacting Cordoba opportunities for competitive reasons

Cairo vs Cordoba

Coming off their first loss, the guys were feeling a bit upset as they almost closed the gap against Damascus but ran out of time. They decided to take that momentum they gained in the last 3 innings against Damascus and carried it forward against a last place Cairo Squad. Cordoba started this game off by mercying Cairo and kept their foot on the gas the entire way ending this game early due to the 15 run mercy rule. Cairo showed some signs of life… after the game when they were seen walking back to their cars. This was probably Cairo’s worse game as they only strung together 9 hits and barely managed 2 runs on a Nirvaan Latif (Sub) Homerun. He would have the solo highlight on Cairo’s side. Cordoba however was full or fun highlights. Bilal Javed had 2 Homers with Yusauf Chaudhry and Faisal Shamshad bringing home 1 dinger each combining for a total of 10 RBI’s. Faisal ended the game with a 3 run Homer as his smash put Cordoba up by 16, ending Cairo’s night early.

On the defensive end, Saad Husnain displayed some great reflexes as he made an incredible diving catch while Captain Chu locked it down at SS in 2 consecutive games. Seems like Cordoba is cruising to the finish line while 4 teams continue to battle it out hoping to make the playoffs, Cairo being one of them. Cairo seems to be hanging in there but with the recent emergence of Lahore, Istanbul’s big bats and Medina finally at full strength, the race wont get any easier. Most of the season is behind us and a lot of teams are starting to figure out what their teams are made of. The time to make the final push is now. Will Cairo be able to string together a few wins while staving off other playoff hungry teams or is this the beginning to their demise? Things don’t get much easier for them as they have a date with the red hot Damascus.

Summary of main stats:

Cordoba

Bilal Javed – 2 / 3, 2 HR, 4 RBI’s

Yusauf Chaudhry – 4 / 3, HR, 1 RBI

Faisal Shamshad – 2 / 4, HR 4 RBI’s,

Cairo

Nirvaan Latif – 2 / 2, HR, 2 RBI’s

Jav Ahmed – 1 / 2, 1 run

Miqdad Jaffer - 2 / 3,

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 9 Recap

Istanbul vs. Cairo

To begin week 9, The almighty mighty Egyptians of Cairo battled the Turks of Istanbul to a 17-17 tie.  A visibally perturbed Zain Malik was seen exiting the park knowing that he and his team let one slip away.  That's because Istanbul's nine run lead vanished away, into the sahara desert, where Cairo found its magic by managing to score ten runs in the last two innings of play.  Given how hard its been to accumulate points in Nights, GM Yasser Malik of Cairo must be thrilled with this outcome.  Moreover, several of the Cairoians found their bats.  Notably, Ali Chaudhry continued his desert storm on opposing pitchers and defenses (just check the stats).  It's just a matter of time before he gets called up to the big leagues for real this time. Istanbul certainly matched with their big bats, mister T. Sheikh and R. Siddiqi drove in twelve of the nineteen runs of Istanbul.  Looks like they can use some support.  According to this writer, Istanbul is as feared as any team in this league... offensively speaking.   Cairo, missing its premier pitcher, will certainly take this tie and move onto the next game.  These two teams will face off again in Week 14, where Istanbul will look to avenge a missed opportunity and Cairo will look to maintain its grip on the playoffs.

Istanbul Pros
-T. Sheikh blasting two homers

Istanbul Opportunities
-Now sitting outside the playoff picture, the big boys in Red should maintain self-confidence because of the BSL veteran experience that many of its players hold. There's still 7-8 games remaining for Istanbul to rebound.  But it will need to play loose and relaxed so that the environment is relaxed.  Wins should come in no time 
- OF play deep to cut off the XBH

Cairo Pros
- Yasser Malik starting to get on base, scoring runs.
- A. Chaudhry making strong case for back2back, but will need to translate his production to team victories
- 19 hits as a team, 10 XBH

Cairo Opportunities
- This writer is redacting Cairo Opportunities for competitive purposes

Cairo vs. Lahore 
Fresh after feeling about as good as you can after a tie, Cairo took on the fiery and rejuvenated men of Lahore.  In this game Cairo found it equally challenging to score runs. Their top three hitters were excellent, however, last time that we checked, softball is a team sport.  Nevertheless Cairo somehow managed to score 7 runs in the top of the 7th to tie the game, that they had no business being in.  If Cairo believes it will return to the playoffs as a serious threat, then it will have to begin seizing opportunites to score runs instead of wasting runners in scoring position.

From the beginning of the game, the energy stemming from the Lahorian bench was that like non other before.  The positive mist was felt all the way towards the 3rd row in the bleachers.  Today was the day that Lahore laid off the aloo parathas and came with their A games.  A fresh attitude coupled with a risky, but necessary move by the madcap GM Aftab Sheikh whose hard wired negotiating tactics landed Lahore the very talented Farooq Sani.  Not without a high price, the cost was, premier pitcher, Zia Beg.  Sani, had the game of his life, going 4/4, and belting his first BSL Nights homer.  A couple days after being traded, he leads his team to a much needed victory.  On another note, Salman Ahmad picked up another victory, to start an amazing run to his pitching career.  

Cairo Pros
- Scoring 7 runs to tie the game shows heart, grit and resilience.  This team can make strong run in the playoffs because of these characteristics.  While they fell just short this time around, no need to keep your heads down fellas.

Cairo Opportunities
- Errors...five in a game won't get the job done.

Lahore Pros
- Salman and Sani
- Mohammed Al-Sukhni having a low key good year.  Most improved player?
- Aftab Khan looks like a steal from the draft... The GM is considering putting Khan on waivers so that the GM proclaims his status as the best Aftab, bar none, on the team.
- Amir Khalil doing his job in the leadoff position

Lahore Opportunities
- Momentum, keep it up.
 

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 8 Recap

Lahore vs Medina

Both teams came into this game thirsty for a win. Lahore was missing GM Aftab Sheikh but captain Mo “Kala Jadoo” was present and was extremely stressed out. He was heard telling his team that if they don’t start taking things seriously, they were going on the trading block. Perhaps that was a way to get his team fired up or maybe he was serious. Regardless, both teams came to play and put on a show. Medina started off by putting up 3 runs in the opening inning then Lahore responded by mercying Medina showing them “this aint no walk in the park, we came to play!”.  Medina then responded with another 6 runs. Both teams were hitting well, finding the gaps. Every time Medina thought they had an advantage, Lahore would respond with a strong inning keeping this game as close as possible. Going into the top of the 7th, Medina was down by 2 with the bottom of their lineup coming up. With 2 outs and the tying run at 1st base, Zahid Merchant smashed one into RF which looked like it was gona sail over Amir “I’m too cool to wear my jersey” Khalil who reached up and made the game ending catch and with it, ending Lahore’s dry spell. Congratulations to Lahore for getting on the board. They played a fantastic game and were able to close this game out the way they should’ve been doing all season long. Lahore’s got some life and if they can go on a run, teams fighting for a playoff spot will be in trouble. 6 teams, 5 playoff spots, everyone’s got the same goal. Sit tight, this playoff race just got interesting.

 Summary of main stats:

Lahore

Khizer Channa – 4 / 4, 3 RBI’s

Shamil Khadaroo – 3 / 4, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Amir Khalil – 3 / 4, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s

 Medina

W K – 4 / 4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI’s

Hammad Afif – 4 / 4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Ismail Akhtar – 2 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Zahid Merchant – 3 / 5, 2 2B

Istanbul vs Medina

After a frustrating loss to Lahore, Medina was frustrated but kept their composure thanks to the leadership of guys like Zahid Merchant and… I think just Zahid. Istanbul was ready to pounce on the wounded Medina and came into this game ready to play. Medina batted first and got off to a great start Mercying Istanbul. After 2 innings Medina was enjoying a 10 point lead when Istanbul’s bats finally woke up and started spraying the field bringing in a mercy inning of their own. Medina was getting a bit frustrated but the veteran players took the lead and made the right plays ensuring there was always a decent lead. Atif had a great day at the plate as one of his highlights was striking out a post vacation Zain “I thought that pitch was illegal” Malik catching a nap at the plate. We caught up to him for a comment later on. He said that he was afraid of hitting the ball, because his older brother would catch it anyway.  Truer words have never been spoken. Going into the top of the 7th, Medina rallied after being down to 2 outs brining in 6 runs in that inning courtesy of big hits from Hamid Malik and Zahid Merchant both hitting doubles in the final frame. With a 10 point cushion there was no way Medina was gona give up this game… so they thought. Istanbul continued to chip away in this open inning thanks to some nice hits from Zayd Ramjaun, Zain Malik and Abdullah Akhtar. Medina did all they could to contain their attack as Istanbul continued to push. At the end of the day a 10 point deficit in the final frame proved to be too large a lead as Medina closed out this game. Like last year, Medina was projected to be one of the best teams but had a very mediocre regular season. They did however turn it up in the playoffs and ended up bringing home the grand prize. This year has started off slow for them but it goes without saying that these guys are a powerhouse and when they start rolling, they will be very hard to stop. Istanbul on the other hand also has some impressive talent and probably has the best power bats in the league. Can they continue to play well behind the leadership of Zain Malik and Riyad Ramjaun? We’ll find out as they take on the Cordoba next.

 Summary of main stats:

Medina

Zahid Merchant – 4 / 5, 4 2B, 3 RBI’s

Hamid Malik – 3 / 5, 2B, 3 RBI’s

Hammad Afif – 3 / 5, HR, 3 RBI’s

 Istanbul

Umer Jabbar – 3 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Rameez Siddiqi – 3 / 4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Abdullah Akhtar – 2 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Istanbul vs Cordoba

Istanbul coming fresh off a loss to Medina were hoping to get their bats flowing early as Cordoba has no issues scoring in bunches. Once you fall behind to these guys, its tough to make your way back. Speaking of which, Cordoba decided to blow this game wide open in the first 2 innings, to a score of 13 – 1. 3rd inning Istanbul started to pick it up scoring 5 runs, rallying after 2 outs. Unfortunately, Cordoba also scored 5 runs that inning. Istanbul came out and scored 6 more but Cordoba 1 uped them and mercied them. it didn’t matter what Istanbul did, Cordoba did it better and louder. At one point fans were out here chirping Ahmed Butt hoping to get in his head but he wasn’t having any of that as he very calmly smashed the ball ran to 1st while waving to his adoring fans.  Yusauf Chaudhry has been on a tear as went 4 / 4 at bat with 2 homers and 8 RBI’s. talk about leading your team by example. There isn’t much more to report in this game as no runs were scored by either team after the 4th inning. This one was still a blowout as Cordoba took care of business, doubling up on Istanbul sending em to the locker room with much to ponder about. Istanbul had a rough day as they dropped both of their games but that doesn’t mean they’re down and out yet. They’ll have to pick up the pace if they want a chance at making the playoffs as Lahore is hot on their tail after that win against Medina. As for Cordoba, they can put their feet up and cruise to the playoffs if they wanted to. They have yet to lose a game and have a massive lead in the standings. Can they continue their dominance as we inch closer to the post season?

 Summary of main stats:

Cordoba

Yusauf Chaudhry – 4 / 4, 2 HR, 8 RBI’s

Bilal Javed – 3 / 3, HR, 4 RBI’s

Zaid Ghansar – 4 / 4, 2B, 3 RBI’s

 Istanbul

Tamour Sheikh – 2 / 4, 2 2B, 3 RBI’s

Abduallah Akhtar – 2 / 3, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s

Rameez Siddiqi – 2 / 3, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 7 Recap

Medina vs. Cairo

Week 7 started off with a short-handed Cairo team facing off against pre-season favourite, Medina, who also were missing several players.  On this blistering hot day, which saw temperature go to the mid 30s, both teams were battling against not only each other but also mother nature.  Just like the weather, Cairo started off hot and maintained the temperature throughout the game, scoring 3 or more runs in its first four innings, meanwhile Medina only managed 2 in the same time frame.  That folks is a recipe to get mercied, which is what happened here, as Cairo slapped Medina 20-5.

Medina must ask itself how it failed to score in the first three innings.  By achieving only 1 xbh the entire game, credit does go to Cairo, but also Medina must ask itself several questions.  Is the batting lineup setup to achieve optimal results?  Ismail Akhtar certainly doing all that he can by going 3/3 (he seems to have made adjustments and now the league is feeling his offensive wrath).  However, the bottom only batted .250. The mediocre team performance should force GM Moh Kala to re-evaluate aspects of his team that need upgrading.  According to the GM, no one is safe if a shakeup happens. While it's not the first time we have seen a mercy in this league, Medina now has looked shaky in its last couple games.  The committee believes the team will figure out the recent challenges because of the leadership qualities that several of its players possess.  With a couple bps or defensive practices, Medina is expected to come back strong.  In the meantime, after seven weeks into the season, Medina finds itself in the middle of the pack, which is not where the BSL pundits predicted Medina would be.

On the other hand, Cairo gained a much needed victory, in convincing fashion.  This is exactly what Cairo required as they looked excellent both offensively and defensively.  First, offensively, Cairo may have the most dangerous 1-2-3 hitters.  In this game Basser, Miqdad and reigning MVP, Ali went combined 12/14, which is amazing!  Ali alone had 10 RBIs, thanks in large part to the aforementioned two players getting on base 90% of the time will do that.  But credit also goes to Ali finding his power, and the league should take notice to that.  Also, shout-out Hassaan Khan who had three hits and if he begins to get going then Cairo is looking like the dangerous team of 2018 all over again.  While offensively they were clicking, Yasser Malik (who could not make the games due to work) must be proud of his team's defensive performance.  Giving up only five runs will make Cairo brothers confident that they can regain the defensive form that propelled them to be so dominant last year.

Medina Pros

- As per its GM, there were no pros

Medina Opportunities

- Should not be down on themselves, as Cairo fielded its seven best players, in terms of average, and grabbed two good subs.  As result, Cairo top batters had five to six plate appearances.  Defensively, the right side of the field requires improvements.  They were missing Hamid Malik, who is one of the best OFs in our league, so that caused a defensive gap.

Cairo Pros

- Offense: Solid consistent hitting as the team batted .650 percent, which is outstanding. Several stand-out batting performances.  Miqdad is tearing the league apart with his hitting.  Ali finding his swagger like it's 2018.  Baseer may be the best lead-off hitter.  Hassaan Khan beginning to find his groove.

- Defense: Allowed only one xbh all night long.  Outstanding pitching performance by super utility man Jav Ahmed.  When .875 percent of batters find themselves 0-1 in the count, it puts hitters in a difficult position, so kudos to Jav for hitting those first pitch strikes.

Cairo Opportunities

- Look to continue momentum from this game into its upcoming games.  Opponents should take notice that Cairo is coming after a strong performance against a respectable foe like Medina.  

Cairo vs. Damascus

Fresh off a dominating victory, Cairo looked poised to take on host Damascus.  Though a tight game throughout, Damascus never looked back, leading through the whole game.  This match saw 46 hits in total.  This number can be attributed to two facts - 1. Cairo only had 3 in the OF, so Damascus had ample targets. 2. Cairo had an 8 man batting lineup, which resulted in 5 to 6 abs for some of our leagues top notch hitters.

While Cairo was missing 6 players in total, they were able to field their 8 best hitters, putting non-stop pressure on Damascus defense, as they had seven xbh, with one of them going outside the fence for a home run.  Everyone had a hit, and all but one had multiple hits.  When he returns, GM Yasser Malik has plenty to be optimistic about, as the team looks to be trending upwards.  Notably, he brings defensive awareness, which seems to be where the team needs to get better at. 

On the contrary, Damascus was full squad, twelve deep against Cairo.  Batters knew they were not going to get more than three to four plate opportunities, so they had to make the most with what little they got. Notably, Akif Waheed did not record a single out, reaching on base four consecutive times.  Imran Qureshi had his first HR of the season.  Ahmad Ammad had 7 RBIs and 4 runs scored - he seems to be doing everything offensively possible.  Shane Worthington continues to protect Ammad in the lineup as well. 

Cairo Pros

- Team hitting, despite loss had more hits than opponent suggesting base runners were left on-base, so look to improve H/RISP

- The pitching change slowed down opponent, look to see Miqdad carry the momentum towards second half of season

Cairo Opportunities

- With this loss, they sit tied with two other teams, having earned 4 points out of five games. Having given up the most runs in the league, Cairo needs to identify who its main defensive players are and where they will be positioned as we enter the second half of the season

Damascus Pros

- Team hitting as nine players had multiple hit games.  Good mix of power, walks, xbh and singles

Damascus Opportunities

- Base running, on several plays, players could have taken an extra base, but chose not to, therefore the runners are risk averse

- Outfield Infield communication gap resulting in runners taking extra bases.  

Istanbul vs. Damascus

The last game of the night featured Istanbul visiting Damascus.  This marked the second time these two teams have met, with Damascus winning the first battle.  In this rematch, Damascus once again came out as the victors topping Istanbul by a score of 14-2.  This was a fiesty matchup, as players from both sides were chirping one another, testing the boundaries of what is considered brotherhood.  The league encourages fun trash talking, but if teams begins to get emotional, which can lead to anger, then we will have to issue warnings to both teams and players involved.

Back to the game - Istanbul, despite losing this one, moved up in the standings, due to run difference.  As result, they are 3rd place, which is within striking distance to overtake Cordoba or Damascus.  However, Istanbul must look within to figure out some internal challenges that is preventing them from taking the leap from mid-tier to top-tier.  Offensively, two runs will never win you any games in BSL Nights.  Observers pointed out that Istanbul either goes big or goes home, meaning either a Home Run or an out.  While we are all infactuated with the long-ball, Istanbul would fare much better if it strings together base hits rather than look for the big hit.  Moreover, the batters seem to be patient as they managed to get three walks from a pitcher that usually does not let up more than one per game.  While we encourage being patient, we suggest Istanbul look to swing the bats to get their confidence higher.  On the other hand, defensively Istanbul had few head scratching errors, especially in the OF with soft fly balls.  If they want to go far in this league, they should find help in the OF either through player development or trade. 

After an impressive performance against Istanbul, Damascus is sitting solely in second place.  The team seems to have figured out its batting lineup as the hits are spread out evenly, though the bottom of the lineup will need to go better than 1/8 in future games.  However, when the top performs this way, then it reduces the pressure off the bottom.  Ahmad Ammad is definitely strengthing his case for MVP, carrying the team offensively by himself.  We don't think anyone one man is more important to his team than Ammad is to Damascus.  Defensively, Damascus now has allowed league low in Runs scored against, though we would argue that the team has yet to be tested because they have not faced off against the best teams in the league.  Next week Damascus is on a bye and then will return to face Lahore in Week 9.

Istanbul Pros

- Despite only getting two runs, they may have the most powerful team in the league as six guys legitimately can hit for the long-ball

- Decent pitching performance by Fuzzy, who is establishing himself as a great pitcher/batter in Nights

- Ahmed Qureshi had 100% on-base percentage 

Istanbul Opportunities

- Spread the power/hitting throughout the lineup.  The team seems top heavy and could use a boost towards its bottom half.

- Missing their GM, so getting back Zain M should bring not only more hitting but also composure to the squad

Damascus Pros

- Superior pitching performance again by Tanseer K.  Allowing only two runs by way of 7 hits is as good as it gets.

- Ahmad Ammad, 8 RBIs and 3 Hrs, one of the greatest individual performances in one game in BSL history.  Tanseer K also went 3/3

- Damascus defense still making errors, three in this game, but allowed only one XBH, which is phenomenal

Damascus Opportunities

- Winning both games of a double header may mean confidence is at an all-time high.  It is important to stay grounded, given that Damascus has yet to face off against either Medina or Cordoba. So the team is winning against teams it should beat, but the real test remains, and we hope that Damascus comes out strong against the top teams in our league  

Weekly Commentary

The week 6 commentary has been delayed due to a scheduling conflict among members of the writing committee.

Some community members have voiced displeasure with the lack of consistency in publishing the commentary.  As a result, in an effort to bring you the best and consistent commentary experience, we are undergoing few changes.  

Week 6&7 commentary will be posted shortly, and good luck to you on Week 8.

---------

BSL Nights Writing Committee 

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 6 Recap

Istanbul vs Lahore

The first game of our evening features 2 teams desperatly in need to get some wins on the baord. Istanbul started off this game playing from behind as the green machine jumped ahead for the first time this year to the tune of 4-1. Looking to build on this lead, Lahore kept the pressure on istanbul as captain Aftab Sheikh hit a homerun to RF and held it down in the OF making a nice over the head grab which turned into a double play. Shortly after, Istanbul's bats came to life as Rameez Siddiqi and Fuzail Takhur hit 2 homers each combining for 10 RBI's. They mercied Lahore in the 3rd inning bringing the game to a tie. Lahore would get 4 more runs in the 4th inning but that would be all. Fast forward to the final inning where Istanbul was up by 1 and put up a massive 6 runs to bring the score to 18 - 11. Lahore had a chance to put up some runs in the open inning but were quickly neutralized by Istanbul handing them yet another frustrating loss. Lahore did a good job jumping ahead in this one but failed to contain Istanbuls attack as they let another one slip away. Lahore's sub Hummad Afif helped Lahore fill a position at 3rd place and did an excellent job batting 3/4 plus 1 HR.

Summary of main stats:

Istanbul

Rameez Siddiqi: 2 / 3, 2 HR, 4 RBI’s

Fuzail Thakur: 2 / 3, 2 HR, 6 RBI’s

Tamour Sheikh: 4 / 4, HR, 2 RBI’s

Umer Jabbar: 1 / 1, 3 RBI’s

Lahore

Salim Jaichi: 3 / 4, HR, 5 RBI’s

Hammad Afif: 3 / 4, HR, RBI

Mohammed Al-Sukhni: 3 / 4, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Aftab Sheikh: 3 / 4, HR, 2 RBI’s

Lahore vs Cordoba

Lahore coming off a tough loss were looking to carry whatever little positivity they could for the game against Cardoba.  Unfortanately Lahores story was a short one on this night as they put up a cringeworthy 4 runs on 10 hits. They showed some life to start this game as they put up 3 runs. Cardoba on the other hand did what they've been doing all season long and used this game as a warmup againat their upcoming match with Medina. Bilal Javed hit another one out of the park bringing in 2 RBI’s but for the most part, everyone on Cordoba batted well.  This game was so bad for Lahore that their sub Hummaad Afif had 30% of their hits (3 out the 10 recorded hits) and now leads lahore in multiple offensive categories. Don’t believe me? go ahead and check out Lahore’s team page. In an attempt to turn things around, Lahore may want to exercise some patience at the plate as they have the lowest number of walks this year.
If anybody is looking for a full time gig, Captain Aftab is accepting resumes and is looking to hire ASAP. After speaking to captain Aftab, he seems to be calm and is looking to make some changes. He may not be panicking yet but, he might want to speed up his timeline because losing a few more games may take them out of the playoff race early. We all know Lahore has the potential but perhaps chemistry needs some work as neither their offense or defense is helping them win games. Theyll have the following thursday off to recover from taking a beating but we're hoping to see Lahore bounce back strong and start making a push for that wild card spot. Unfortanately its an uphill battle from here on out but when you cant go any lower theres only 1 way to go. Lets see if Lahore can figure out which way that is.


Summary of main stats:

Cordoba

Bilal Javed: 2 / 2, HR, 2 RBI’s

Yusauf Chaudhry: 4 / 3, RBI

Suleman Mann: 2 / 3, 4 RBI’s

Kamil Siddiqui: 3 / 3

Lahore

Hammad Afif: 3 / 3, 2 RBI’s, HR

Mohammed Al-Sukhni: 2 / 3, RBI

Aftab Sheikh: 2 / 3, 2B

Cordoba vs Medina

The final game of the evening was nothing short of a thriller as this game has “game of the year” written all over it.

As the home team, Cordoba took to the field first as Medina got set to put some runs on the board. Medina must have dipped their bats in kerosene to start the game as their bats were on FIRE! They mercied Cordoba in the first inning, capped off by an Abdul 'Hulk' Butt smash down CF bringing in 2 RBI’s. Building on that momentum, they put up 5 runs in the next inning as they went through their entire batting lineup twice in 2 innings. This game was so crazy that Abdo Menla hit an infield homerun. He smoked it to RF where Suleman Mann had to make a tough running grab and misplayed the ball resulting and speedy Gonzales gunning it home for the 2 run homer. Medina was sitting pretty with a 12 – 3 advantage going into the 3rd inning where Cordoba finally came to life and made a run of their own showing no mercy laying a 7 run beat down in this inning. Suleman Mann, Bilal Javed and Faisal Shamshad all had a HR each combining for a total of 7 RBI’s.

Cordoba shut Medina down in the next inning and took a 1 point lead heading to the fourth. The game was neck in neck as both teams exchanged leads until the final inning where Hamid Malik stepped into his 2nd HR of the year bringing in 2 runs. That helped Medina go up by 5 going into the very final inning. With Cordoba up to bat they quickly gave up 2 outs and the final batter was down to 2 strikes as Medina’s hard work was about to pay off… until it didn’t. On what should’ve been the final pitch of the game, Kamil Siddiqui stepped up and hit a solo homer (first of his BSLN career) keeping Cordoba’s hopes alive but also bringing up the top of the order. With Cordoba unable to hit anymore homeruns the batters were limited as a lot of them are able to send it over the fence but that didn’t hold them back as guys kept getting on base. Khuram Channa hit one to LCF over Ismail Akhtars head as the wind carried it over, bringing in 2 runs. With Cordoba only down 2, and the winning run camped out at first, Captain Yousaf Chaudhry stepped up and hit it to LCF with a fielder under it as this game seemed like it was over but at the very last second the catch was dropped bringing in all 3 required runs to end this exciting game.  Hats off to Cordoba for bringing it when it mattered most. They fought back all game long and won the game on the very last play. Medina has now dropped 2 games in a row to Cordoba but this game shows that they aren’t untouchable.  These 2 squads clash again on the last week of the regular season which could be a preview of a potential playoff matchup.

Summary of main stats:

Medina

Hamid Malik: 4/4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Ismail Akhtar: 2/3, HR, 5 RBI’s

Mo Kala: 3/4, 2B, 5 RBI’s

Abdo Menla: 2/3, HR, 4 RBI’s

W K: 3/4

Cordoba

Khuram Channa: 3/4, HR, 2B, 6 RBI’s

Khawar Anwar: 2/2, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Bilal Javed: 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Yusauf Chauhdry: 2/4, 3 RBI’s

Kamil Siddiqui: 2/3, HR, RBI

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 5 Recap

Cordoba vs Medina (Video Featured game of the night)

Our featured game of the night was between 2 teams that have the potential of being the top teams in the league this year as both rosters are stacked with talent.

Medina was a missing a key player in Zane Sheikh who missed this game due to extreme selfish reasons as he flew out to BC to get married. Can you believe this guy? I mean, the 5 week notice he provided to his team aside, the audacity to abandon his team like that… I guess we know who’s playing catcher rest of the season 😉

 The home team Medina got off to a great start as they shut Cordoba down in the first inning and brought in 2 runs courtesy of a Hamid Malik homerun down CF bringing in Zahid Merchant. Atif Parvaiz did a great job on the mound as he was a completely different player from game 1. He went from throwing 18 walks in game 1 to 6 walks in this one. Pitching is no joke, and for him to turn it around after just 1 game is super impressive to say the least. He helped keep Medina in this game as long as he could.

Forward to the 4th inning where captain Yousaf Chaudhry responded with a homer of his own bringing in 2 RBI’s as he finished the night 3 of 3 at bat capping off a mercy inning to tie the game at 8. Medina had them down to 2 outs and all they had to do was a make a simple play but instead, the infield made 3 costly errors on the simplest of plays resulting in momentum for Cordoba and multiple runs cashed in.  Cordoba kept their foot on Medina’s throat and put up 10 unanswered runs over the next 2 innings, thanks to a grand slam by rookie Faisal Shamshad which really put a dent in Medina’s spirits as he drove the final nail in coffin. Medina had a chance to rally as the final inning saw the top of the order but Cordoba shut them down, closing out this game in style. After 2 back to back beat downs by Cordoba, I think the entire league is on notice. Cordoba is the team to beat this year and if they can stay consistent, they look the scariest team out there.

Final score, Cordoba 18, Medina 8

Summary of main Stats:

Medina

Mo Kala – 3 / 4, 2 RBI’s

Zahid Merchant: 2 / 3, 2 RBI’s

Hamid Malik: 1 / 4, HR, 2 RBI’s

Abdul Butt: 2 / 3

Cordoba

Yousaf Chaudhry: 3 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Faisal Shamshad: 1 / 3, Grand Slam, 4 RBI’s

Ahmed Butt: 2 / 3, 1 RBI

Zaid Ghunsar: 2 / 4, 2 RBI’s

Cairo vs Medina

With Medina dropping the previous game, they’re mind set was totally different coming into this game. Medina strongly believes that they are one of the strongest teams in the league and they weren’t going to lose 2 games on the same night.  Medina quickly got this one started putting up 10 quick runs in the first 2 innings while Cairo seemed like they were stalled on the side of the road trying to get their engine started. W K brought us out first highlight of the game as he very casually smashed a HR down LF bringing in 3 RBI’s. Mr. Farooq “Miandad” Sani changed up his batting style this game hoping to improve his average and boy did it pay off. He went 2 for 4 with and RBI and made great contact. He was hitting the ball well and was a rock star in RF.  On the opposite end, Jay “Smooth” Ahmed was having a day at bat as he went 2/3 at the plate bringing home and RBI and locking it down at LF.  Let’s forward to the 3rd inning where Cairo finally showed signs of life bringing in 4 runs as Ali Chaudhry had 3 of those RBI’s on a massive homer down CF which, didn’t really close the gap… Medina turned around and matched their efforts with 4 runs of their own as they maintained a 10 point advantage. Cairo was having some difficulties in the outfield as there were a lot of misplays on dropped catches. Most of the pop flies could’ve been caught but unfortunately Cairo was unable to capitalize on those nicely gift wrapped fly balls resulting in multiple runs. Cairo showed some signs of life in the final 3 innings barely mustering up 7 runs but that wouldn’t matter as Medina went on to score 17 runs on 21 hits. Atif Parvaiz was once again superb on the mound throwing 4 Strike outs, and 0 walks whereas Miqdad Jaffer with his “ready or not” style of pitching had 0 strike outs and 1 walk. There weren’t too many positive points on Cairo’s side on this evening and yes, they were playing down a few of their regular guys like “Big Bass” Yasseen who could change the game with his consistency and HR power. It might still be early for Cairo to start panicking but it is time for Captain Yasser Malik to go back to the drawing board and start figuring some things out. Cairo gets a bye next week and should use that to reset as they have a revenge date scheduled with Medina upon their return.  You know… the same team that just laid the smack down on them.  

Final score Medina 17, Cairo 7.

 Summary of main Stats:

Medina

WK – 4 / 4, HR, 5 RBI’s

Zahid Merchant: 3 / 3, 1 RBI

Hannan Uppal: 3 / 3

Hamid Malik: 3 / 4, 3 RBI’s

Atif Parvaiz: 2 / 4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI’s

Cairo

Ali Chaudhry: 2 / 3, HR, 3 RBI’s

Jav Ahmed: 2 / 3, 1 RBI

Hatf Sohail: 3 / 3

Miqdad Jaffer: 2 / 3

Lahore vs Damascus

The night game featured a fierce pitching battle between two BSL legendary pitchers.  That's right folks, we had Zia 'Doc' Beg's Lahore face off against Tanseer 'Robocop' Khawaja's Damascus (franchise team).  Lahore was coming into the game in search for its first win this season while Damascus was coming off a convincing win in its prior week.  Both teams came into the game looking confident, so it was difficult to predict who would be the victors.  In the end, it was a lopsided victory, 10-3 for the men in blue, Damascus.

When you assess Lahore's batting lineup, there you will be left wondering how this team remains winless.  They seem to have all the elements - power, speed, spray hitting, on-base and experience.  When you mix those factors with the fact that many of these guys are hard working life long friends then it should lead the team to success.  Early in the season, the problem seems to be that Lahore fails to find a groove, which is nothing but momentum.  In it's last few games, they get going later towards the game.  They're like an old Cadillac - takes a while to get going, due to lots of mileage, but once it gets on the highway it's the smoothest of drives.  Lahore has yet to get on the highway.  Actually they're on the side of the road, with their four-way blinkers on.  But, no need to call CAA.  Indeed, Lahore can fix these problems.  Whether it be more batting practice or adjusting the lineup, we believe Aftab Sheikh and the entrusted men in green will get it together.  In this game, Lahore had only 8 hits, which is some credit due to Damascus defense, but some of these guys just need to get the hitting going and it starts with having that confidence in yourself and your teammates.  We predict Lahore to have better days than mustering only three runs.  Lahore must take a Win next week otherwise pressure will settle in as far as making the playoffs go.

On the other side of the spectrum, Damascus seems to be trending upwards, having won two straight albeit against middle tiered teams.  Damascus has a decent defense.  There were some head scratching errors that lead to Lahore's only runs.  Robocop had zero - that's right zero - earned runs this game. We think Damascus can get better with its defense, despite being one of the better defensive teams in this league.  It seems that lack of chemistry and experience in critical positions is what is holding them back.  Offensively, the team played a decent game.  Ahmad Ammad hasn't gotten out in what seems like since June. As far as the team performance goes, ten runs is a dangerously low.  If the team thinks that that will be enough then it's not really a championship type team, as the minimum required is usually 12-14 runs, so some of the guys will need to pick up their bats or figure out how to get on base, so that Shane Worthington and Ammad can bring them home.

Overall, this was one of the fastest games this season - there were only two walks allowed all game!  Doc threw only 62 pitches, while Robocop had only 70.  For next week, Lahore will be pressured to win at least one of its games otherwise they risk their playoff chances this early in the season.  Meanwhile, Damascus has a bye week, so the question becomes whether Damascus can continue its form even after the time off.

Lahore Pros
- Doc is keeping the guys in it.  Doc's pitching should give its offense a chance every game it plays.  83% of the time he throws a first pitch strike, which puts pressure on batters.

Lahore Opportunities 
- With some batting practice more runs should be produced.  If the team can get two W's next week, it's right back in the race.

Damascus Pros
- Stingy team defense - team is looking strong defensively all around. Only one XBH allowed
- Robocop's pitching was magnificient.  The

Damascus Opportunities
- CF and SS must stop making errors
- Must find more ways to get runs.  Need more runs produced from other than Ammad and Worthington

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 4 Recap

Istanbul vs. Lahore

Finally some nice softball weather. It was a nice long break while it lasted but its time to get back into softball mode!! Istanbul hosted Lahore in the first game of the night as both teams were still looking for this first win. Istanbul didn’t waste any time as they came out of the gates firing, mercying Lahore in the first inning as well as maxing out their HR's. Istanbul`s top 4 batters, Riyad Ramjaun, Abdullah Akhtar, Rameez Siddiqi and Zain Malik went for a combined 16 for 20 at bat pulling in 9 RBI’s and 2 HR’s. The entire team had a great day at the plate going 25 for 41 (61%).  The next 2 innings, Istanbul put on a defensive clinic with multiple double plays (courtesy of Captain Zain). One of them Lahore would love to have back as Sham forgot to tag up before leaving the bag. With Istanbul up big (9-0), we all know what came next. In classic Istanbul fashion, they took a little power nap, allowing Lahore to stroll back into this game tying it up at 13 a piece. Captain Aftab Sheikh lead his team going 4 for 4 at bat which instilled confidence in his group. The rest of the guys started to pick it up late in the game as Shamil Khadaroo, Zia Beg, Shahid Saya and Khizer Chana combined to bring in 12 RBI’s. Late in this game, the score was tied at 14 when Zain Malik hit a double to RF bringing in 2 RBI’s to put Istanbul up by 3. Unfortunately, Lahore ran out of gas and weren’t able to make 1 last push as Istanbul closed out the final inning with ease.

With the L in this game, Lahore is the only team still winless heading into week 5. They certainly have what it takes to turn things around and are hoping to get back on track this week when they square off against Damascus in the late game. Can Lahore turn up the heat and start closing out games? We’ll find out when they visit Damascus next week in what should be a nail biter. Stay tuned!!!

 Summary of Main stats:

 Istanbul

 Rameez Siddiqi – 4/5, 3 RBI’s, 1 HR

Abdullah Akhtar – 4/5, 2 RBI’s, 1 HR

Riyad Ramjaun – 4/5, 2 RBI’s

Zain Malik – 4/5, 2 RBI’s

Umer Jabbar – 3/5, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s

Lahore

 Aftab Sheikh – 4/4, 2 Runs

Khizer Channa – 3/4 RBI’s

Aftab Khan – 3/4, 2 Runs

Mohammad Al-Sukhni – 2/3 1 RBI

Imarn Haq – 2/3, 2 Runs

Damascus vs. Istanbul

For the second game of the back-to-back, Istanbul looked to continue its momentum when it hosted Damasacus in the prime time slot.  Istanbul, carrying only 9 men felt looked great, especially towards the beginning of the game, whereas the Damascus group earned a hard fought win.

The fellas in red showed their capabilities as they lead 8-4 going into the third.  Notably, Rameez Siddiqi and Tamour Sheikh had consecutive long home runs.  After that, Istanbul found it difficult to put runs on the board, since they were only able to manage a total of 10 runs.  Riyad Ramjaun and Abdullah Akhtar certainly did their part each contributing three hits.  Istanbul lower half of the order may require further balance, which is a mulling problem for any GM to have, but Zain Malik seems like he will figure it out.     

Damascus, on the other hand, were able to find holes in the Istanbul defence, leading the boys in blue to put up 21 runs in total.  Six of its players were able to string together multiple hits.  Notably Ahmad Ammad led the way, going 5-5 with 2 home runs.  He looks like a more complete hitter this year - we all know how he can put the ball over the fence with ease, but now he is beginning to drive pitches to un-manned parts of the field.  When you have an OBP of 100%, the guy following you in the batting line-up usually has more opportunities to drive in runs, and credit goes to Shane Worthington for having 5 RBIs on the day.

Despite the loss, Istanbul should be feeling good about its prospects, and they will look to continue to show the rest of the leauge the dangerous team that they can be.  Meanwhile, Damascus will look to build upon its first ever win with its second ever win taking on Lahore in week 3.

Istanbul Pros
- Top of the lineup performing well, getting on base and showing power
- Umer Jabbar made his BSL Nights debut, driving in 3 big RBIs with a bases loaded double
- Only had 3 outfielders.  Having that extra OF would have made it a closer game

Istanbul Opportunities
- Achieving a more balanced line-up so the runs are spread across innings

Damascus Pros
- First win as a group, in its existence, look to build upon momentum
- Abdul Murad made his BSL Nights debut showing impressive skills with the leather.  
- Premier pitching display by Tans Bhai

Damascus Opportunities
- 5 errors - it's still early in the season but this number is too high if the team wants to make the playoffs 

Cordoba vs. Cairo 

In the night game we were excited to see a potential championship matchup as Cordoba visited Cairo.  This game was over after the first inning as the Spaniards crushed the Egyptians by a score of 32-10.  The men in yellow were an offensive jaugernaut striking from top to bottom of its line-up.  Meanwhile Cairo was left defeated but they should not hold their heads down at all.

Cordoba is a skilled team, perhaps one of the most complete teams in our league in terms of talent, experience, and cricketers.  When they are clicking, the outcome can be similar like this against anybody.  That is to say they were definitely on for this game.  GM Chu, who made his season start, led a balanced team, and they outplayed Cairo both offensively and defensively.  Bilal Javed is off to a flying start this season, having not recorded a single out this season! Khurram Channa and Saad Husnain have shown excellent base hitting abilities.  Hamza Waheed is ascending, like we thought he would when speaking about his pitching, but who knew he would be hitting doubles and triples like this? Kamil Siddiqui is leading the league in batting average - this alone makes him a strong rookie of the year candidate.  And lastly, the gentle giant Faisal Shamshad hit his first BSL Nights home run.  This line-up is scary.

Cairo was forced to making adjustments since inning one, and it could not make up for the deficit, especially with respect to its defence.  Having only 3 OF hurt against a Cordoba club that demands opponents OFs to play at their best.  In this game, lots of balls went over Cairo OFs heads, which is a credit to Cordoba hitters, but spectators also saw some misplays which begins to question Cairo's legitimacy as repeat contenders.  Cairo GM will let you know that their best players, most notably star pitcher Miqdad Jaffer was missing, so there is only so many insights we can take away from this game.  Cairo should come back strong, led by example by none other than Ali Chaudhary, who notably had two monster home runs in this game.  Because of the missing players and Ali's strong offensive game, Cairo should remain positive moving forward, however those same spectators are beginning to make predictions around the number of adjustments Yasser Malik will make as a result of this outcome. 

Cordoba Pros
- Everyone is hitting.  Whatever you are doing, keep doing it!
- Defensively strong game, holding Cairo to only 10 runs - much credit goes to the pitcher
- Was able to score 32 runs despite missing Umair Wasim, playoff MVP of 2018

Cordoba Opportunities
- Do not get complacent when leading

Cairo Pros
- Missing key players 
- Some players got to see some action at new positions, Jib Khan at SS, Hatf at 3B, Ali at LF.  This experience will give Cairo more options later in the season

Cairo Opportunities
- When a team loses like this, one of two things can happen.  On one hand, self-doubt can creep in, thinking that there are stronger teams out there.  On the other hand, this loss can motivate a team to want to get better because getting outscored by 20 is never a good feeling.  Last year, towards the end of the season, team Medina was mercied by this same Cordoba team, and we see how that affected Medina afterwards. 

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 3 Recap

How about those Rainy Thursdays huh? So far every team has only played 1 game and are itching to get back on the field but it doesn’t look mother nature has been too kind to our cause. We did see some brief action between Damascus and Medina although that game was quickly called off as the field started collecting massive puddles rendering the field unplayable. The only option was to waddle back to the parking lot covering our heads with whatever we could find and hope for a better day next Thursday. Although we will do our best to schedule make up games, some games might end up not being played at all due to lack of available fields. In any case, there is plenty of softball to be played and lots to look forward to. Next Thursday the weather seems to be looking up, so keep your Duas coming and those spirits sky high! 

Istanbul plays host to Lahore – 6:30pm

• Both teams are looking to pick up their first win of the season. Do we finally get to see the new and improved Istanbul’s this week or will Lahore’s defense rise to the occasion and hold them to yet another underwhelming day at the plate?

Istanbul Hosts Damascus – 8:00pm

• Damascus is still looking for their first ever win and will look to build off a solid performance from last week in a tightly contested loss while the red squad get ready to play their second game of a back to back set.

Cairo hosts Cordoba – 9:30pm

• Cairo hosts Cordoba as both teams try to get their second win in as many games and try to stay undefeated. Which team comes out on top? We’ll find out, this Thursday!

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 1 Recap

Game Summary Lahore at Cordoba:

Bsl Nights Season 2 kicked off exactly how some expected as two of the semi finalists from last year competited fiercly to the end. First, Lahore started off the Season with 3 Runs in the first inning, led by superstar Shamz Khadaroo. Cordoba, on the other hand, was missing its GM, and notable all-star, Yousaf "Chu" Chaudhry (we hear that he is training during his European vacation). Despite not having Chu, Cordoba was able to make him proud as they responded in similar fashion by puting up 2 runs on the scoreboard, with the first home run of BSL Nights season 2 By AGM Bilal Javed.  From then on Cordoba tightened up its defense with the help of veterens in the outfield like  Ahmed Butt, Khuram Channa and Saad Husnain. Up until the final inning, Lahore was able to rally only 6 Runs.  GM Aftab Sheikh must have had a talk with the boys before their final at bats, because they finally woke up by putting up a seven spot on Cordoba.  A monster 3 run home run shot to CF by Salim Jachi was the highlight as it tied the game and this jolted Lahore players with an energy shock - Lahore was confident that they were now going to win the game.  But Lahore was unable to add more than 7 runs, so this meaned that the game was tied heading into the bottom half of the final inning. Needing only one run to win the game, Cordoba, to their credit, showed that they were not rattled despite giving up the big lead.  Zaid Ghansar hit a key double and was brought home by the clutch hitting of Hamza Waheed.  This proved to be the winning run of what was originally a blowout turned into exciting game.  The next time these two teams meet Lahore will look to be more consistent with their bat, and Cordoba will look to keep up its winning ways. 

Cordoba Pros
- Kamil Siddiqui and Suleman Mann made their BSL Nights debut.  Kamil batted perfect while Mann had three RBIs
- Hitting: Cordoba top and middle part of their lineup had the best average compared against other teams in terms of batting average. Bilal Javed went 4/4 nearing the top leaderboard for HR, Runs and RBI.
- 0 errors committed by the defense 
- Hamza Waheed locked down pitching and his ability to limit walks.  Looks like Waheed has developed a curve ball that left a few Lahori batters buckling their knees. 
Cordoba Opportunities
- Getting back GM Chu will help strengthen the batting and fielding
- Not becoming complacent when up by a large margin

Lahore Pros
- The ability to fight back in the last inning by putting up 7 runs to tie the game - opponents should not sleep on this team regardless of how much you are up by.
- Lahore hitting - Khizer Channa 4/4 with three runs scored will be important an piece to Lahore offense.  Bottom of the order went 6/9, .667%, which is superb
- Fawad Shaikh made his BSL Nights debut but could be missing time due to injury sustained late in the game (so this is a pro/con)
- Former pitcher of the year, Zia Beg allowed only 1 walk.  Keeping up these type of performances should propel the Doc once again as a premier pitcher in Nights.

Lahore Opportunites
- Getting back Shahid Saya should help strengthen the batting lineup and fielding
- Reduce the number of Fielder's choice when batting

Game Summary Damascus at Cairo:

What began as a promising start for the expansion team, Damascus, ends with the former regular season champs, Cairo walking off with a thrilling victory.  Cairo entered the game as clear favourites, and murmurs from the Cairo bench thought this matchup to be unchallenging at best.  Boy were they in for a surprise. Damascus jumped out with a quick 5 spot in their opening inning, but not to be outdone, Cairo was able to tie it up when it was time for their turn to bat, led by Jibran "Jibby" Khan's 3-run homer.  Cairo put another 5 spot up in the third by plugging hit after key hit, using speed on the bases to buckle Damascus' infield/outfield defense. Not to be outdone, Damascus put up 7, fighting its way back into the game while regaining the lead.  "Our bottom of the batting lineup guys did an excellent job of getting on base, giving an opportunity for us to catch up" says, Damascus GM Safwan Khan, whose grand salam helped jeer the Damascus bench onwards.  Two batters later, Ahmad Ammad cranked his first homer of the season.  At this point in the game, Cairo was in a dog fight, not a puppy fight. Yasser Malik, GM of Cairo, showed that, unlike last year, this year Cairo will show resiliance when down late in games - and that's exactly how this game ended. Again, speed was helped put a 2 spot up in the bottom of the fifth, this time through timely hitting by Abdu Sharkawy. As the game went tied into the final inning, Damascus was unable to use any of its momentum, going 3 up 3 down, leaving the door wide open for Cairo.  Needing only one run to win the game, and with 1 out and 1 on, Baseer Yaseen decided enough was enough and that it was time for us all to go home as he closed the game with a walk off monster two run homer to win it for Cairo.  With Cairo players jumping in joy, Damascus players should hold their heads up because they took one of the best team's to the max.  When these two teams meet again, it can be a showstopper.  Game video to be available on Youtube soon... 

Cairo Pros
- Clutch hitting: The bottom half of Cairo batting had three extra base hits, which is half of Cairo's total.  The homer by Jibby Khan enabled Cairo to get back in the game, and The Shark put pressure on Damascus' defense. The top of Cairo hitting had a stellar game in terms of average and runs scored.  Their hits were able to find holes in the defense.  Basser Yaseen's skill to take one of the best pitchers long shows how deep this lineup is.  Reigning MVP Ali Chaudhary seems to have picked up where he left off from last year, going 3/3 in this contest with a couple extra base hits.  He seems to be on a mission to show once again that he's the best player in our league.
- The pitching of Miqdad Jaffer and his ability to get quick outs.  His curve ball is nasty.  Several times made Damascus batters puzzled by hitting the corners of the plate.  He's the early favourite for Pitcher of the Year.
- Huzefa Ahmed made his BSL Nights debut

Cairo Opportunities
- Some head scratching errors in routine plays from SS to 1B.  

Damascus Pros
- 0 errors for the first game of players that never played together
- Shane Worthington and Awais Malik made their BSL Nights debut, hitting a combined 3/5 60%. 
- Neal Irfan stepped up with two timely doubles.   

Damascus Opportunities
- Out of the six innings that were played, all their runs were scored in only two innings, so the team struggled to rally runs.  As a result they could look to alter the batting lineup to combat this issue.

Game Summary Medina at Istanbul:

In the Final game of the evening, Medina hosted Istanbul in what was a pretty intense matchup. Istanbul started the game off by mercying the defending champs in the first inning. This was mostly due to the team taking walks as newly promoted pitcher Atif Parvez took the mound in his first BSLN game ever. Atif was feeling the heat on the mound as he was trying his best to figure out how to help Medina win this game.

We didn’t get to see Istanbul’s full offensive Arsenal this week as they only had 7 hits all game due to some pitching troubles on Medina’s end. Some plays to highlight though. Saoud Ramjaun leads team Istanbul for the most RBI’s in the season so far sitting pretty at 2. Fuzail Thakur had a great day at bat going a perfect 3 for 3 while holding it down on the pitching front. Tamour Sheikh went 2/3 but, his team expected a much better hitting game from him. He made up for it at 3rd base as he was rock solid for them all night. Riyad Ramjaun went 1/2 in this game while holding it down in the outfield. There was a slick double play made by Zain Malik getting his brother out at 3rd… his brother obviously got the last laugh in this game.

Medina responded to Istanbul’s mercy inning with a big inning of their own scoring 5. Zahid Merchant started the inning off with a nice hit to RF followed by a deep line drive to RCF by Hamid Malik whizzing over Abdullah Akhtar’s head for a double. Later that inning, Rookie Zane Sheikh stepped up to the plate for his first ever at bat and smoked a 3 run Homer to rid his stomach of all those butterflies. He had another giant hit in the 4th inning that hit the top of the fence but stayed in for a double. We were thinking it before but can confidently say it now, Zane seems like he’s the steal of this years draft. Not only did he do it on the offensive end but he ended up saving Medina the game in the last inning as the ball was hit to 3rd. He fumbled it but quickly picked it up, tagged the guy at 3rd and gunned it to first for the close double play. With the final inning remaining and Medina down by 1, Mo Kala stepped up to the plate with 2 outs and the winning run on 1st. Earlier in the game Mo was furious with himself for getting out prior 2 at bats. Well he more than made up for it here on this play as he put one over Rameez Siddiqi’s head in LF pulling in 2 RBI’s for a walk off victory! Can you say CLUTCH??? That’s how you lead a team to victory! 

Summary of main stats in this game:

Medina

Zane Sheikh – 3/3, HR, 4 RBI’s

Hamid Malik – 3/3, 2 Doubles, 1 walk, 1 RBI

Ismail Akhtar – 3/4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Zahid Merchant – 3/4, 1 Double, 1 RBI

Istanbul

Fuzail "Fuzzy" Thakur - 3/3, 2 RBI’s

Saoud Ramjaun – 0/0, 2 RBI’s, 4 walks

Tamour Sheikh – 2/3

Riyad Ramjoun – 1/2, 1  RBI

BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 1 Outlook

Lahore vs Cordoba (H)

Alright, here we go!!! 

Much anticipated BSLN is back for a second season and boy has it been a long wait. Cardoba hosts Lahore in the very first game of the season. This rematch of last years semi finals should be a great one to watch as Cardoba edged out Lahore for a birth in the finals. Both teams have big power and are looking to get a jump start in the standings.  Captain Yousaf is away on a secret mission and regrets that he'll miss the game but he thinks his boys can handle business while he steps away for a few weeks. Lahore is looking for some revenge but more than that they just want to start the season off the right away. The Channa brothers will face off against one another in the first of many meetings this year. It has yet to be determined who the better brother is and tonight could be a nice glimpse into this life long rivalry. Cardoba or Lahore? We'll find out soon enough...

Damascus vs Cairo (H)

Our second game of the season features the best regular season team from last year, Cairo hosting the newest team in BSLN, Damascus. Cairo again looks like a solid team on paper lead by Yasser and Ali. In order for Damascus to come out on top, they'll have to keep the ball away from hot shot SS Ali Chaudhry as he'll be out there leading the infield. As last years homerun champ/MVP he's also a threat to smash it out of the park at any given moment. On the opposite side, Damascus is no joke and they have super HR hitter Ahmad "Cray" Ammad who is also a threat to score runs in bunches. With 2 of the best HR hitters in our league facing off, itll be a fun offensive game to watch. Will Damascus win their first ever game or will Cairo spoil their much anticipated debut? I guess we'll find out tonight..

Istanbul vs Medina (H)
The 3rd matchup on this opening night is a tasty one as these 2 rivals have been going at it since last year. All games played have been nail biters as istanbul edged out Medina by 1 point in the first 2 games while Medina took the next 2 inclduing a crazy wild card game. Captain Zain Malik will also be going up against his older and much more handsome brother as he failed to acquire him during the draft. Was that by design?? Doesnt matter as Hamid Malik will be out there focused and ready to roll as Medina will look to hand Istanbul their first of many losses. Istanbul has improved alot from last year and are looking to shed that bottom dweller image as they look to make an example out of the defending champs, Medina. Istanbuls got alot to prove this year and it all starts tonight. Istanbul vs Medina... Zain "one Direction" Malik vs. Mo "The Kala Mamba" .. Who ya got???

Team Outlook: Istanbul

Istanbul:

After a disappointing inaugural season, Team Istanbul is ready to bounce back in season 2 of BSL Nights. Istanbul is still led by GM Zain “One Direction” Malik but, unlike last season, the direction seems to be pointing North this time around. Zain is joined by his versatile utility man, and AGM, Riyad Ramjaun who will be plugging in any holes that the team will require.   

This year, Istanbul management took a completely different draft strategy than their inaugural season, making it a point to not reach for any friends or family in the earlier rounds. They made the expected choice with the first round pick and drafted Abdullah Akhter. Abdullah had a stellar first season and should hold the fort in the outfield.  Zain Malik decided to not bring back his brother Hamid Malik instead opting in for some power bats. Istanbul also managed to throw in a curve ball by drafting Fuzail as their pitcher. Fuzail had a great first season as a pitcher. Let see if he can keep up the consistency with changes to pitching rule. Istanbul then followed that by drafting some power bats and bringing back familiar names in the later rounds. Interesting to note, Istanbul drafted the least number of rookies in comparison to other teams, so there should be no surprises for opponents when facing Istanbul.  

In terms of strengths and weaknesses, Istanbul offense looks promising while their defense looks a little suspect. Istanbul has a strong batting lineup. Their main power bats Tamour Sheikh, Rameez Siddiqi each of whom can clear the fence by a mile are complimented nicely by solid line drive hitters like Abdullah and Zain. This team should be able to put up runs on the board easily; however, fielding poses to be a severe threat to Istanbul's post season championship hopes.  Abdullah their only bonafide outfielder and team lacks substantially in speed. Zain Mailk, also known as “Jahli Jibs”, can make regulation plays at ss but accompanied by Tamour Sheikh and Umer Jabbar , the lateral movement  in the infield is going to be very limited.

Istanbul team is experienced and poised for a good season. The X-factor for this team will be Umer Jabbar. He has been both playing with his family and shouldering the responsibilities of being a GM for past several years. He has shown great power and consistency in dome ball this winter and he could due for a big season.  

Team Outlook: Cordoba

Cordoba:

At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Cordoba was sent home with a sour taste in their mouths after a loss at the hands of Medina in the championship game. Despite a slow start to the season last year, it seemed as though Cordoba managed to figure out the keys to success to make a successful playoff run. However, GM Yousaf Choudhry knows that it will take alot more offensive prowess, and certainly some improved defense, in order to take home the coveted championship trophy in 2019. With 2018 MVP candidate Ahmad Ammad being taken as the first overall pick, Yousaf knew he was not going to land his best offensive player from last year at the fourth pick. In the weeks leading up to the draft, Cordoba traded away their first round pick to Medina in exchange for an early second round pick, as well as another pick late in the draft. Cordoba's draft strategy was simple: add offensive depth at any cost, and on paper it certainly indicates that they did a fine job. 

Aside from the big bats of Yousaf Choudhry and Bilal Javed, Khuram Channa and Umair Wasim hold some promise after a stellar end to the 2018 campaign. Umair Wasim will specifically peak the interest of fans after being named the Finals MVP during Medina's historic championship run last season. Cordoba was also able to land Suleman Mann, who is a rookie to the league this season. However, after playing BSL winter ball and attending the pre-season combine, scouts are saying this guy is no rookie to the game, particularly from a defensive perspective should he be used appropriately. Saad Hasnain and Zaid Ghansar join Cordoba as a pair of teammates from 2018, where they played integral roles during Cairo's regular season. As always, Zaid brings a defensive skill set at first base which is among the league's best, and he also led the league in walks last year. Meanwhile, although Saad's defensive capabilities are up for debate, he surely has some offensive potential, showing glimpses of it during last season and even hitting a grand slam on one occasion.

On the pitching front, Cordoba chose to stick to their 2018 ace, Hamza Waheed. Last year, Hamza had an up and down season but was able to lead the team to the championship game. It was uncertain whether Hamza would be playing this season, as he spent most of the offseason in the west coast. However, he's back now and it will soon be seen if he brings a cool and collected west-coast vibe to the mound this season.

Cordoba's goal this season will obviously be to return to the championship game, which is no easy task. Despite losing one of their biggest bats in Ahmad Ammad, they should feel confident on the offensive side of the ball, boasting a lineup with a fair amount of depth. However, on the defensive side of the ball there does appear to be some room for improvement. Yousaf, Zaid and Suleman will likely contend among the league's best on defense. However, aside from that, Cordoba's defensive strengths are not evident on paper, with their only former gold glover being at the catcher position, Khawar Anwar. With that said, however, GM Yousaf has proven himself to be able to take a team to the championship game and we wouldn't put it passed him to coach up his guys for another long and successful season!

Team Outlook: Cairo

Cairo:

One thing is for sure, Cairo GM Yasser Malik has something to prove this year. Despite leading BSL Nights season 1 in Wins, Runs For and Run Differential and not to mention the countless hardware scooped up by the orange men, Cairo couldn’t walk away with the championship (the clipboard did feel the wrath)

Cairo kept AGM Ali Chaudhry as expected who is always fun to watch both offensively and defensively. Malik’s first round pick of Miqdad Jaffer is a solid veteran pick who will definitely keep the team in check and perhaps be Cairo’s pitcher? Yasser is definitely keeping this position close to his chest. 

From here onwards Cairo wanted to ensure that character players rounded out the line up, so they grabbed two above average two way players Basser Yaseen and Jav Ahmed. Cairo, wanting to keep last years team chemistry and brought back Harris Shahzad and Haft Sohail who all provided quality hitting and above average fielding. Towards the middle-late rounds of the draft, Cairo stuck to the formula - stick to the scouting plan.  First, they picked up Jibran Khan (BSL Sunday league experience) and Bilal Khan (.500 hitter) who provided timely hitting for their respective teams in 2018. Then, they found a hidden gem as they were able to snag The Shark, Abdu Sharkawy, who was a key contributing member to Medina's championship run last year.  

Cairo seems to be an interesting team for 2019. Even though they lost many key from last year's squad like Tamour Sheikh, Zia "Doc" Beg and Abdullah Akhtar they still kept their championship level calibre core of gold gloves, pitching excellence and last year's MVP.  In addition, Cairo's deeply scouted picks led them to landing several character players.  As a result, many believe Cairo to be a frontrunner once again this season. 

BSL Nights Season 2 - Teams

2018 BSL Nights All-Star Results