New Jersey Jewish News
Sports Story

Right combination brings CA softball star to Israel via NJ

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

Lauren Bierman, a sophomore on the Princeton Tigers softball team, is a pioneer of sorts.

She joins two other American-Jewish young women who have agreed to play for the Israel National Team as it prepares for its shot at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“To start baseball and softball in Israel, to be a part of that, would be something amazing,” Bierman said in a phone interview. “They’re not only looking as far as the Olympics, but to implement those sports in universities in Israel, because they’re not dominant sports there.”

Bierman, 21, was born in Washington, DC, but moved to California at age four. A product of the Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School in Irvine, Bierman, like many elite athletes, didn’t find playing for the school team challenging enough. She found her chance to shine on regional travel and all-star teams. “When I was younger, I played every single sport you could imagine, but once I hit middle school I made a decision that I had to concentrate on one sport if I wanted to be great at it.”

Despite the proximity of such softball powerhouses as UCLA, Stanford, and the University of California at Berkeley — schools regularly ranked in the top 10 nationally — she opted for Princeton.

“It was the best balance of softball and academics,” she said. “They usually dominate the Ivy League. I really wanted that balance. I didn’t just want to go for straight academics or straight softball.”

She chose wisely. Since its inaugural season in 1982, Princeton has a softball record of 620-322-4, 14 Ivy League championships, five NCAA tournament appearances, and two College World Series appearances. In 2005 — Bierman’s first season with the team — the Tigers finished with an overall record of 35-20 and won the Ivy League title by going 12-2.

Bierman was among the team’s leaders in offense last year. She considers herself a gap hitter (her first — and so far only — collegiate home run came in against Rutgers), adding that she has bulked up since arriving at Princeton thanks to a weight-lifting regimen.

She is just as proud of her defensive prowess. Bierman committed only two errors last year, splitting time between shortstop and second base, plus a few games in the outfield. Bierman likes the demands of the shortstop position. “That’s where the action is,” she said. “Middle infield is a great place to be.”

Building blocks

In an e-mail to NJ Jewish News, Larry Baras, president of the Israel Baseball League, the American presence of the Israel Softball Association, explained the recruiting process that landed Bierman on the Israeli team.

“To date, Israel has not followed the precedent that has been set by many countries (e.g., England, Italy, Greece, New Zealand) of trolling the waters in the U.S. looking to recruit players whose ancestry would allow for their attaining dual citizenship and thereby enabling the players to join a foreign national team,” he said. “This year, for the first time, Israel is engaging in the same practice.” The Israel Softball Association — the Israeli body that organizes the national softball teams — asked for IBL’s help in assembling a stronger presence.

“The American girls who have been selected for the team so far…are generally recognized as being elite players. For this phase, we are basically recruiting players in the same manner that all-star teams are selected. Lauren Bierman is one of the girls in this elite group.”

Bierman — who participated in the 2005 Maccabiah Games — has committed to play for Israel until 2008. Making aliya, a requirement for the Israeli team, “is part of the package,” she said. “It’s going to give me the chance to go to the Olympics,” a situation in which she feels she stands a better chance than if she were on the American team, which stocks itself with older, more established players.

She will spend this summer in Israel, traveling with the team throughout the Jewish state as well as to Canada, back home to Irvine, and to Boston and generally serving as an ambassador for the sport. In 2007, the team will participate in the European qualifying tournament. If they do well there, the next stop will be the 2008 Olympics. The team is getting in under the wire: The International Olympic Committee has decided to eliminate softball and baseball from the summer games starting with the 2012 games.

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