Two college baseball teams had lost 141 games in row combined. Then they met.
Two college baseball teams took the field Tuesday having lost a combined 141 games in a row.
The astounding losing streak finally ended.
Well, for one of them.
Lehman College defeated Yeshiva University 7-6 in extra innings in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader between the Division III schools.
The Lehman Lightning had lost 42 consecutive games entering the contest played at Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, New Jersey, before the victory over the Yeshiva Maccabees.
Yeshiva, a Modern Orthodox Jewish school in New York, suffered its 100th straight defeat.
The game was tied 6-6 after the completion of the seven scheduled innings and Yeshiva did not trail until the final run was scored.
Lehman, located in the Bronx, scored the winning run in the top of the eighth when it opened the inning by loading the bases with three singles and a runner scored when Lehman's Elias Fermin got hit by a pitch.
Lehman's Justin Chamorro, who pitched a compete game, retired Yeshiva in order in the bottom of the eighth and struck out two of the hitters.
Yeshiva, which fell to 0-19 this season, last won during a doubleheader sweep over John Jay on Feb. 27, 2022. Lehman's last victory had come May 9, 2023 when it beat Baruch College 7-4.
The longest losing streak in college baseball history was set by the Caltech Beavers, who lost 207 games in a row between 1996 and 2007.
On Tuesday, the Maccabees took a 2-0 lead over the Lighting after the first inning thanks to two hits and two fielding errors by Lehman. The Maccabees extended their lead to 5-1 with four hits in the bottom of the second before Lehman rallied and tied the game with two runs in the top of the seventh.
Chamorro said he remained determined, even as Lehman fell behind by four runs early. 'I wasn't going to get out of that game regardless,'' he said. 'Truthfully, I wasn't going to let my coach take me out. Not one pitch, nope. If I had to go out 12 innings, I would've went out all 12 innings, I promise you that."
Chamorro, a senior, said ending the losing streak was 'crucially important'' for the Lightning.
'I felt a tremendous relief after, when everything ended,'' he said. 'It's what we needed for our morale.''
Some fans were bundled up at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex, used by Yeshiva for its home games. The temperature was 44 degrees with a 22 mph wind at the time of the first pitch.
"Being on a losing streak is tough, especially a lengthy one,'' Lehman head coach Chris Delgado said before the game in a statement provided by the school. 'As many people will measure success by the number of tallies in the wins column. However, results don't determine the type of program that we have.
'With the new coaching turnover, we're rebuilding a program that's establishing a strong foundation of excellence and integrity. Going into Tuesday's game we're going to prepare for Yeshiva the same way we prepare for any other opponent. No matter what the records show they're still an opponent and we must respect them as competitors. We will do our best to play hard, execute, and come out victorious."
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- USA Today
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Forbes
11-04-2025
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When these two schools ventured to New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, they were sporting a combined 141 consecutive losses. Dayenu!
New York Times
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- New York Times
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