BerksBarrister_Fall2021 - 24

w w w . B E R K SB A R .o r g
Softball Trophy Returns
to Court Street
Patience, perseverance pays off as Bar
squad earns second title in three years
By Jay M. Kurtz, Esquire
The Bar Association team went 8-2 during the regular season and took home the 2021ReadingBerks
Business Softball League crown.
The Preseason
The Berks County Bar Association has participated in the
Reading-Berks Business Softball League (RBBSL) for at least
a decade. Although the team has always had fun on the field, it
struggled to win games prior to making its first playoff appearance
in 2016. Starting with that year, we began tracking statistics,
setting lineups in advance, and making certain there would be
enough players at each game to avoid forfeiting.
Berks Bar was bounced in the first round of the playoffs in
2016 and 2017 before capturing its first RBBSL Championship
in 2018. The team rode a six-game winning streak to the playoffs
in 2019 but came up short in a tough opening round loss. The
2020 season, like so many other things, was lost to COVID. The
team had to wait until 2021 for its chance to recapture the trophy.
Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part.
The Regular Season
The 2021 RBBSL season started off with some uncertainty.
Nearly half of the league's teams were unable or unwilling to play.
When the schedule was set, there were only seven teams in the
RBBSL (down from 14 just a few years ago). Then, just prior to
24 | Berks Barrister
the start of the season, Carpenter Technology's team pulled out.
Although Stevens & Lee's team would commit to the season, they
essentially backed out as well and forfeited every game.
In previous years, teams would play each other once during the
regular season. This year everyone would play each other twice
before the playoffs, creating more familiarity between the teams
and heating up the friendly rivalries more than usual.
Berks Bar would cruise through the regular season with an 8-2
record. The team swept its regular season series against everyone,
with the notable exception of the accountants from Herbein +
Company. Berks Bar dropped both of its games against Herbein,
losing the first 26-20 and the second in a most cruel manner 1514.
The accountants walked off with the win in the bottom of the
9th.
Having the best record in the league meant a first-round bye
for the Bar Association, but it also meant waiting a long time for
the playoffs to begin. The Berks Bar squad had been scheduled to
play Stevens & Lee back-to-back to close out the regular season.
Stevens & Lee quitting during the season meant our heroes
would play their last game July 7 (a 25-5 thrashing of Brentwood
Industries), and then wait until August 25 before taking the field
again.

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BerksBarrister_Fall2021

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