3rd straight Maccabi Games baseball title for 17U Sid Jacobson JCC team

First came Houston in 2024. Then came Pittsburgh in 2025. The chance for a third consecutive gold medal in the Maccabi Games for the 17U Sid Jacobson JCC baseball team came on August 6 in Kansas City.

This opportunity wasn’t like the others. This summer’s team featured 12 new players and just two returners. And yet the result remained the same as the team from Greenvale captured a third consecutive gold medal, beating New York’s Hudson, 3-2.

“We ran out there and dogpiled on the mound,” Ward Melville junior Chase Eichner said. “It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

The team has now won 19 consecutive games at the Maccabi Games, an annual Olympic-style tournament for Jewish teenagers around the world. It hasn’t lost a game since it split from being a combined team with another JCC in the 2023 tournament in Florida.

Noah Gross of Uniondale’s Hebrew Academy entered the title game in the top of the second inning, trailing 2-1 with one out and bases loaded. He then struck out two batters on 11 pitches to retire the side. He went on to allow just one hit and no walks across 5 ⅔ scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.

“My job was to throw strikes and my best pitches,” Gross said. “I’ve done Maccabi for four years, and I‘ve never won it. Winning is an amazing feeling.”

Only Roslyn’s Jake Brooks and Mepham’s Justin Lebowitz returned from the year prior, with October tryouts cutting 34 kids down to 14. Coach Mark Rosenman attended some of his players’ club and varsity games in the spring, getting a feel for how they reacted to high-pressure situations and how they treated their teammates.

“These guys were all super talented; they had zero ego,” Rosenman said. “It kind of renews your faith in high school kids and the way they handle themselves.”

The team arrived three days before the start of the Maccabi Games to give the group a chance to bond. From Kansas City barbecue to the NCAA's College Basketball Experience to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, those experiences set the bedrock for a championship.

“The annoying bus rides together, the eating together, staying in the hotel together, that definitely helped bond us on and off the field,” Eichner said.

Mets provide send-off inspiration

The Jacobson team received quite the send-off as Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, A.J. Ewing, Bo Bichette, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos all shared messages with the team before the tournament.

Rosenman said it’s the third year in a row Lindor had done so. The team also received some parting words via a FaceTime call from Dwight Gooden and Mets Triple-A pitcher Ryan Lambert ahead of the championship game.

“Even if we weren’t alive to watch him, we’ve all seen videos about how good [Gooden] was,” Commack senior Evan Kay said. “To see him on the call, knowing we had a big game, was awesome.”

Beyond the diamond

The Maccabi Games feature a day for community service; a reminder to come together and give back as a community. Repair the World Los Angeles ran this year’s charity drive, with teams creating washkits — containing items like laundry and dishwasher detergents and garbage bags — to hand out to those living in shelters.

With an idea on how to spark some competitive spirit, assistant coach Andy DiOrio asked Rosenman to check what the record was for the most washkits made in the time they had.

“I just walked over to another table, didn’t speak to anyone, came back and said, ‘Oh, you guys got trouble,’” Rosenman said. “I go, ‘The record’s like 325.’’

Turns out there was no trouble at all. Rosenman said the team formed “an assembly line and blew away the room,” making over 400 washkits. Three members of the team — Jack Goldberg of Roslyn and brothers Chase and Cole Eichner of Ward Melville — stayed behind to help clean up, continuing even when told they had done enough.

The three were awarded Midot Medals for their selflessness, the highest honor given at the Maccabi Games. Chase Eichner gave the credit to his brother Cole.

“My brother made us stay after and clean up and everything, go the extra mile to help,” Chase Eichner said. “My parents were very proud of that.”