Petah Tikva, Israel ? Puzzled broadcasters calling the first professional baseball game in Israeli history struggled with rendering baseball lingo into the holy tongue of Hebrew.

After a valiant effort at translating some of the terms, they gave up – lacing their broadcast with Hebrew-accented versions of ball, strike, out, majors, pitcher and base hit.

Otherwise, the game looked and sounded like real baseball on a minor-league level, though it seemed as out of place in the Holy Land as polo in Manhattan.

There were no peanuts, no Cracker Jack, no “Star-Spangled Banner.” Three thousand fans cheered as the Modiin Miracles beat the Petah Tikva Pioneers, 9-1.

Wire fences ringed the field, and bleachers were set up along the foul lines. A fast food and snack stand did good business on the sidelines, selling hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and soft drinks – all kosher, of course. The pitchers were a bit on the wild side, and some of the fielding was sloppy.

“How do you say ‘home plate?”‘ asked one of the announcers on the cable sports channel, which carried the game live. No one came up with an answer.

The Israel Baseball League is the project of Larry Baras, a Boston-based bakery czar who has long dreamed of bringing baseball to Israel. To develop local talent, Baras drafted Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Red Sox, to be the league’s director of player development.

“It’s a proud day for Israel because this is the first professional game in 5,000 years,” Duquette said before the game.

Six teams will compete during a 45-game season, with names such as the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Tel Aviv Lightning, Raanana Express and Netanya Tigers.