Baseball Takes On Golden State Rivals

Most Columbia students use spring break to eat some home-cooked food, catch a few rays, or just relax after midterms. Not the baseball team. When classes wrap up on Thursday, the Lions (1-6) will board a flight to California for a packed schedule of 10 games in as many days. When they open up the grueling stretch against UC Riverside on Friday night, they will be hoping for greater success than they have enjoyed so far this season.

Their three opponents will not easily fall victim to the reigning Ivy League champions. UC Riverside and San Diego have been climbing the national rankings, while Cal State Northridge will face a fatigued Columbia squad on the last leg of its road trip.

“We have a very challenging schedule out west,” head coach Brett Boretti said. “We’re gonna see some quality arms and we’re gonna see some quality teams.”

Hitting has been a problem for the Light Blue. Last weekend, the Lions only put six runs on the board in 27 innings of play against UNC Charlotte. The 49ers swept the three-game set.

“We’re doing what we need to do to pitch and play defense and stay in ballgames, which is two of the three keys to being successful,” Boretti said. “As far as hitting right now, it’s no secret that we’re not ripping the cover off the ball by any means at all, but we’re trying to do some things to cut down on the strikeouts and trying to continue to be tough outs.”

The Lions will be aiming for greater patience at the plate than they have shown so far. Last weekend, two Charlotte pitchers had complete games, throwing just 88 pitches each.

Although Columbia’s bats were quiet in North Carolina, consistent defense and strong pitching kept the Lions competitive. Starters Joe Scarlata, Geoff Whitaker, and Dan Bracey all lasted at least six innings, helping Boretti in his effort to nail down a rotation.

“I think our fourth weekend starter is still up for grabs,” he said. “Scarlata and Whitaker and Bracey have thrown well ... this past weekend I thought we pitched it very well, those guys gave us a shot to compete.”

Riverside, with a 10-3 record, will host the Lions for three weekend matchups starting on Friday night. The Highlanders are coming off a 7-0 blanking of Oklahoma State off the arm strength of Paul Applebee, who went the distance for his first shutout and second complete game of the year. Applebee holds a 1.80 ERA and 3-0 record on the season. Matt Andriese has also stood out on the mound for Riverside, with a 3.15 ERA in three starts.

At the plate, the Lions will have to watch Tony Nix, whose .429 average and seven doubles have sparked the Highlanders’ offense all season long.

After finishing with Riverside, the Lions will head to San Diego to take on the Toreros, who will just be returning from a four-game trip against Rice in Houston. San Diego is 7-6 but recently dropped three of four to San Diego State.

Columbia then finishes the road trip with four games at Cal State Northridge. Although the Matadors are only 5-8, they have played a tough schedule and will match up well against the Light Blue.

For Columbia, the West Coast sprint offers a chance to maximize playing time as the Lions prepare to open the Ivy season at the end of March. Coach Boretti knows that the final record is not necessarily the only measuring stick on this road trip.

“By playing the best tier, it’s only gonna help us prepare for the schedule that’s ahead on the second part of our season,” he said. The rigorous schedule will give the team “a lot of opportunities for our pitchers to get multiple times on the hill, which is great.”

Over the long trip, the coaches will continue to shuffle the lineup in search of a winning formula. Nick Cox and Jon Eisen should hold down the top two spots. “They’re catalysts, both of them, if you get them on base they’re gonna start up the engine for the offense,” Boretti said.

The head coach is undaunted by the prospect of sending his team out 10 days in a row. “That’s what we do on spring break,” he said. “It’s what we should be doing: playing every day and trying to get better every day and using some different guys in different spots.”