Rutgers hosted the Columbia baseball team on Wednesday for a single afternoon contest. However, it was the Lions who looked right at home in their 9-1 blowout victory.
For one day, everything fell into place for the Light Blue. Four pitchers combined to throw nine innings of one-run ball and strand 11 baserunners, hitters came through in the clutch, and Nick Cox even laid down a textbook suicide squeeze in Columbia’s seventh win of the season.
In stark contrast, the Scarlet Knights were out of whack from the start, committing four errors and throwing three wild pitches in a sloppy midseason performance. Rutgers starter Kyle Bradley was tagged with six runs (three earned) in just three innings in his second loss of the campaign.
After a scoreless first, first baseman Ron Williams got things going for the Lions with a second-inning leadoff walk. Third baseman Mike Roberts followed with a strikeout, but then right fielder Bobby O’Brien grounded one to third base. Russ Hopkins’ errant throw marked his team’s first error of the afternoon—Williams and O’Brien each advanced one base on the play. O’Brien was also credited with a single. The Light Blue got its first success as designated hitter Anthony Potter brought home two with a single to left.
Columbia struck again in the third, doubling its lead to four as the Scarlet Knights began to unravel. After Bradley recorded two quick outs, Hopkins made another bad throw, allowing catcher Dean Forthun to reach on an error. Williams stepped in and smacked a ground-rule double to left, advancing Forthun to third. With Roberts at the plate, Bradley delivered a wild pitch, scoring Forthun and sending Williams to third. He didn’t stay there long, as Roberts knocked him in with a double to right-center.
The Scarlet Knights got one back in their half of the third on a single, double, and ground-out. When Columbia starter Zach Epstein then walked shortstop Dan Betteridge to put runners on the corners with two down, the Lions needed a big play to snuff out the threat. They got it when Forthun gunned down Betteridge stealing second.
Columbia put another two up in the fourth, kick-started by Potter’s bunt single to third. Another wild pitch and an RBI single for shortstop Ray Ferrera finished Bradley’s day. Left fielder Billy Rumpke then fouled out on a bunt, but Ferrera was able to advance anyway when reliever Dennis Hill balked. Second baseman Jon Eisen followed with a single to center, and Cox stepped into the box with men on first and third and one out. His well-executed squeeze bunt brought home Columbia’s sixth run of the day.
Meanwhile, Epstein had a stellar afternoon, effectively shutting down the Rutgers offense. He appeared to run into trouble in the fourth, when a pair of singles put two on with no out. But Epstein hunkered down and struck out center fielder Luis Feliz. A walk to Hopkins loaded the bases with one down, but Epstein retired pinch hitter Jayson Hernandez and second baseman Dan Perrine to escape the inning unscathed. He was lifted after the inning.
The Lions put another run on the board in the fifth and two more in the sixth, extending their lead to 9-1. Harrison Slutsky, Max Lautmann, and Derek Squires combined to shut out the Scarlet Knights over the final five frames, allowing only four hits between them. Slutsky picked up the win for his second of the year.
The Light Blue can take a lot of positives out of yesterday’s win as it prepares for division play this weekend. Potter was the offensive hero, racking up three hits and three RBI on the afternoon, but there were plenty of accolades to go around—beginning with starter Zach Epstein, who didn’t stay in long enough to qualify for the win. The defense as a whole also deserves praise, playing error-free ball on a chilly April afternoon.
The Lions will hope yesterday’s win generates momentum as they open a four-game set at Princeton beginning Saturday at noon.