It was a long day that began with the JMS Ladies taking the field, the ladies had two games back to back that got their interest in softball piqued. We’ll be following up with all the participants as we decide how to continue on next year.
The men started off the night with the bronze medal game, which had the Red Sox against the Pirates. The Red Sox came out with an early 7-0 lead, but as the Pirates have shown all year, they can’t be counted out. The Pirates took an opportunity in the 3rd inning to put up a 6 spot and kept it close at 7-6. That 3rd inning resulted in the Red Sox switching pitchers and introducing a new pitcher to the league, Mohamed Walli. Walli was staked a 14-6 lead going into the last inning and was doing a masterful job of holding the Pirates back. Mehboob Ajwani tested the Red Sox defense by pushing a ball to right field for an inside the park homerun, and then disaster struck – a line drive came back and hit Walli, he made the catch, but at the detriment of a swollen, maybe broken hand. Somehow, in what is now part of JMS Playoff lore, he persevered, pitched with a broken throwing hand, and carried the Red Sox to an ultimate 14-11 Bronze Medal Finish!
Which brings us to the main event, Blue Jays and Expos. The Expos have been dominant all season but have tied these Blue Jays twice to begin the season off way back in June. This game had everything, it was close the entire way, the Blue Jays took the early lead on some uncharacteristic errors from the Expos. Which was followed by 2 straight innings of 3-up, 3-down action. The Blue Jays chose to walk the Expos star, and Silver Slugger winner, Asad Hussain. And the Expos’ other big hitter, Abbas Kermalli, was sidelined with a broken ankle, suffered earlier on a play at 3rd base, and barely able to move let alone run. But the Expos have bats throughout their lineup, and took the lead late with an uncharacteristic home run from assistant Captain, Mohez Kamalia.
The Expos held a narrow 9-8 lead going into the final inning, but held the all important home field advantage because of their dominance in the regular season. That advantage proved critical as there is no quit in this Blue Jays team. As was this case the entire game, the lead shifted. The Blue Jays chipped away with some timely hits to take the lead 10-9 going into the final inning. The Blue Jays have shown their ability to shut down any team, but that was not the case in this final inning. Leading off the inning was Abbas Kermalli, and in what will also be added to the JMS Playoff Lore, in what can only be described as Kirk Gibson-esque – Kermalli hit a homerun to tie it off of one leg. This paved the way for the Rahemtulla brothers to win it, with Shahid on base eventual hero in Nadeem hit the walk off triple to win it! The Expos rushed the field to celebrate and cemented their status as the League’s best for 2015.
Congratulations to the Expos!
Season Awards:
Best Pitcher – Tarik Kamel
Gold Glove – Imtiyaz Kara
Silver Slugger – Asad Hussain
Playoffs MVP – Abbasali Kermalli
Photos:
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”3″ gal_title=”JMS Playoffs 2015″]