Team Israel to Play Boulders
June 10, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
New York Boulders News Release
Rockland County, NY - Olympic fever is starting to pick up as the Tokyo Games grow closer.
As part of their preparation for their initial appearance at the Games, the Team Israel Baseball Team will be playing an exhibition game at Palisades Credit Union Park this July against the Frontier League's New York Boulders as they prepare to compete for a medal in Tokyo this summer.
Team Israel, with a number of former Major League players including four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler, will play the Boulders in an exhibition game on Monday, July 12 at 7 p.m. They will also have a free workout on Saturday, July 10 from 8-10 p.m.
In addition, Team Israel's roster includes Boulders' infielder Zach Penprase.
Team Israel won the round-robin tournament featuring Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic, the top 5 teams from the 2019 European Championship, in Italy, Sept. 18-22, 2019.ÃÂ As the winner of that tournament, it qualified to be one of the six national teams that will compete in Tokyo.
JapanÃÂ automatically qualified as the host country while Mexico qualified as the best team in the Premier 12 tournament from the Americas. ÃÂ South KoreaÃÂ qualified as the best team in the Premier 12 from Asia (other than already-qualified Japan).
Team USA won the Americas qualifier in Florida earlier this month, besting the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, Canada and Colombia and landing a spot in the Tokyo Games.
One other spot remains to be filled in the Olympic field.
Kinsler, 38, broke into the major leagues with the Texas Rangers in 2006 and also played with the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres in a career that spanned 14 years. He retired after the 2019 season with the Padres. Kinsler was an All-Star in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Kinsler won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2018 and the World Baseball Classic with Team USA in 2017 and is going for the trifecta with Team Israel in the Olympics.
Team Israel's roster also includes infielders Ty Kelly and Danny Valencia, as well as catcher Ryan Lavarnway.
Kelly, 31, saw time with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies between 2016-18, while Valencia, 34, logged time with six teams from 2010-18. Lavarnway, 33 and a member of the Cleveland Indians, has seen time with seven other MLB teams in a career that began in 2011.
Tickets for the exhibition games are on sale on April 19 and are subject to New York State Department of Health guidelines. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Israel Baseball Association to help offset their expenses and help grow the sport of baseball in Israel.
Team Israel team will possess a local flavor with Westchester County resident Eric Holtz as the team's manager. Additionally, Yorktown Heights native Jonathan DeMarte, 27 and a pitcher in the Chicago Cubs' organization, is expected to represent Israel.
To be eligible to represent a country at the Olympic Games, a person must hold citizenship in that land.
After their game in Rockland, Team Israel will continue their tour of the Northeast United States before heading to Tokyo on July 21.
About Israel Baseball
The Israel Association of Baseball was founded in 1986 and has overseen the growth of the sport in the country ever since, culminating with Team Israel's historic qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The IAB is a member of The Israel Olympic Committee, The Confederation of European Baseball (CEB), World Baseball softball Confederation (WBSC), Major League Baseball International (MLBI) and Little League.
As part of the expansion of baseball activities in Israel, the IAB is building new fields and looks forward to the completion of the new Bet Shemesh complex, which will host international tournaments, as well as the Raanana field, which will be a joint baseball-soccer facility, both slated for 2021. There are also plans to expand the Sportek Tel Aviv field and to add lighting.
For further information, please contact the General Manager, Peter Kurz, at peterk@baseball.org.il.
Frontier League Stories from June 10, 2021
- Y'alls Lose First Series of Season After Home Run Derby - Florence Y'alls
- ThunderBolts Fall in Pitchers' Duel - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Miners Take Series from Quebec - Sussex County Miners
- Crushers Win Rubber Match - Lake Erie Crushers
- Wild Things Fight, But Can't Come Back in Defeat - Washington Wild Things
- ValleyCats End Home Stand on a High Note - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Valley Cats Walk off against Boulders - New York Boulders
- KC Royals Purchase Contract of Boulders' Dennis - New York Boulders
- Eighth Inning Helps Boomers Capture Series - Schaumburg Boomers
- Otters Coming Back to Bosse Field for Season-Long Homestand - Evansville Otters
- Zgardowski Humbling Hitters - New Jersey Jackals
- Team Israel to Play Boulders - New York Boulders
- Mistakes Cost Miners at Windy City - Southern Illinois Miners
- ThunderBolts Come from Behind to Beat Miners - Windy City ThunderBolts
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
