Fuld Propels White Shul to 15-2 Win Over Island Avenue

By Raimundo Ortiz

Sunday marked the return of the White Shul’s ballyhooed short center fielder Zezzy Fuld, and he did not disappoint, playing a gigantic role in their 15-2 triumph over Island Avenue.

The White Shul after their 15-2 win over Island Avenue that pushed their record to 3-1. Photo by Raimundo Ortiz

White Shul wasted no time in lighting up the scoreboard. Nessaneal Feller singled to start the action, followed by a pop up and a walk by Doniel Pearlman. Batting cleanup, Fuld smashed the first of his three hits, a booming triple that scored two runs.  Sruly Lieber knocked Fuld in with a single, and Dovid Bloom followed suit by singling home Lieber. Aaron Jonas drove in Bloom with a single of his own and starting pitcher Eli Shapiro joined the party by recording an RBI single too. All in all, White Shul batted around in the first inning and scored five runs.

In the bottom of the first, Island Avenue struck back for a pair of runs on the strength of hits by Elie Cohen, Judd Boczko, and Lester Munty.

The top of the second was tame for the standard that White Shul had set for themselves in the first inning. A single by Aryeh Donowitz gave way to surprisingly anemic pop ups by the three and four hitters Pearlman and Fuld. These two pop ups would be the only outs made by the pair. Just when it looked like Island Avenue might escape the inning scot-free, Lieber doubled in Donowitz and scored a run on Charles Levine’s base hit.

Island Avenue was retired in short order by Eli Shapiro in the bottom of the second, going down one, two, three without a ball leaving the infield.

The third inning brought another vicious attack on softballs perpetrated by the White Shul offense. Shapiro got them going with a leadoff walk. Feller hit a single, followed by back-to-back doubles from Donowitz and Pearlman. With three runs in already, and two ducks on the pond, Fuld stepped in the batter’s box unhappy with his previous pop up. He mauled the first pitch he saw deep to left center field and sent two outfielders scurrying after the ball while he broke into a half-trot around the diamond. The two runs scored gave Fuld his third and fourth RBI of the game. It also pushed the White Shul lead to 12-2.

Shapiro got his strikeout pitch working in the bottom of the third, catching the first two Island Avenue batters window-shopping.  Two singles by Dani Schwartz and Cohen before a grounder to shortstop ended the threat.

The White Shul wasn’t done scoring. Shapiro led off the fourth inning the same way he did the third—by drawing a walk. The avalanche of hits began all over again. Feller singled, Donowitz popped out, and Pearlman worked a free pass to bring up Fuld. Fuld had flashed power for most of the game and this at-bat was no exception. He blasted an RBI double, and came home on a two-run double by Lieber.  That double ended the scoring for the White Shul and left Island Avenue in a 15-2 hole that they never climbed out of.

Lieber and Fuld were there stars of the show for the White Shul. Lieber notched four RBIs on three hits and never made an out. Fuld nearly hit for the cycle, only falling short by a single. He was responsible for driving in five runs, and it could have been six. “He (Pearlman) stopped short at third so I wouldn’t get the RBI!” Fuld said with a grin. Pearlman smiled slyly and did not dispute the accusation.  Eli Shapiro racked up four strikeouts in the contest and only walked two. White Shul improved to 3-1 on the year.