Lehman and Yeshiva Split Battle of Winless Baseball Teams

In life and baseball, few things are certain, but on Tuesday afternoon at Fairleigh Dickinson University, two teams gathered on the baseball diamond sure that at least one of them would snap their years-long losing streak.

Neither the Lehman College Lightning nor the Yeshiva University Maccabees had won a game in a combined 125 tries, but those streaks ended Tuesday.

The Division III matchup, dubbed by a Yeshiva alum “statistically, the worst baseball game of all time,” delivered the drama. Yeshiva led for most of the first game until Lehman tied it up in the seventh inning at six runs apiece.

And then in the eighth inning, the Lightning took the lead when batter Eli Fermin, a senior, absorbed a hit from the pitcher. That was enough to advance the runners on base and bring home Leniel Rivera, the sophomore catcher, securing the team’s first win since May 9, 2023. 

For the Maccabees, there was no joy in Teaneck, N.J., as they crossed the century mark of losses. But a chance loomed for them in the next game of a doubleheader to finally stanch the bleeding at 100 games. The Maccabees quickly got on the board with a three-run lead, and then tacked on four in the third inning before adding another two in the fifth.

The Lightning did score five runs, but Yeshiva Maccabees held on to win their first game since Feb. 22, 2022, and their first-ever victory over the Lightning.