The Shalhevet Firehawks were suspended from eligibility for any playoff games in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) baseball league until Feb. 16, 2027 because the team missed a state playoff game to participate in a Jewish baseball tournament in Columbus, Ohio last May. The suspension was announced in a press release from CIF.

Hosted by Columbus Torah Academy in Ohio, the tournament hosted 19 Jewish schools from across the country for three days of games. The tournament, established in 2010, is annual, but the Shalhevet team does not always go due to conflicts with CIF playoffs and the senior class trip to Poland and Israel around the same time.

“I was frustrated,” junior Adam Sandler said about the team’s suspension. “I do not know the logistics of the CIF, but what I do know is that our team had no malicious intent whatsoever…

“We work our tails off to win games and win consistently,” said Adam, who plays pitcher and catcher. “And for us to know that we won’t be getting a playoff spot no matter what is a tough pill to swallow.”

Neither the coach, Jeff Woodall, nor the players knew of the consequences to participating in the Columbus tournament until afterwards, they told The Boiling Point.

But the team is still going to work hard to win in the regular CIF season, Adam said, even without a playoff game in reach.

Another local Modern Orthodox high school, YULA, was also suspended from playoff games for participating in the same tournament.

CIF said both schools violated CIF Bylaw 504A 600 by playing in an outside competition during the regular season, which typically spans from March to May. Both schools’ teams are still permitted to play in league games for the entirety of the season, except for playoffs.

At the time of the tournament, the players did not know what consequences would result, and at that time this tournament was everything to them, said Ari Elad, team captain, pitcher and senior shortstop.

“I’ve never been to an out-of-state tournament as a Shalhevet baseball player,” Ari said. “Once that first game started, everything felt real to me and everything that I was looking forward to came together.”

The collective spirit of the players at the tournament reflected Shalhevet’s values, said Rabbi David Stein, Director of Teaching and Learning, who chaperoned the trip.

“They were dancing and singing nigunim [wordless melodies] in the dugout,” Rabbi Stein said. “It was a beautiful thing, and it represented sports and camaraderie, but it really represented the ruach [spirit].”

As the tournament continued, the Firehawks lost a few games before their final round against sixth seed Ida Crown Jewish Academy from Skokie, Ill., in which Shalhevet’s team members pitched, threw, and batted their way to an 11-1 win to end the season.

“We established at the start this was a business trip, that we were here to play baseball and we are not here to mess around,” Ari said. Even after losing games, “we told ourselves we were not going to let this ruin our time here. We’re gonna keep playing baseball to our best ability and we’re going to continue to have an amazing time as a team.”