Divisions differ drastically for Ivy baseball

With only two weekend league series left in the Ivy League baseball season, the drastic differences between the two divisions is quite alarming. While Columbia, Princeton, and Cornell are all tied at 5-7 for first in the Gehrig Division, Dartmouth has practically wrapped up the Rolfe Division, as it is three games ahead of Brown with an 11-1 conference record.

The differences between the leading teams in each division are more than just the six games that separate them. Each team in the Rolfe Division has at least the same record as the squads at the top of the Gehrig Division. Yet, the drastic inequality goes beyond that.

During interleague play, every team in the Gehrig Division played all of the Rolfe Division teams. In the 32 contests, the Rolfe Division teams won 24 games outscoring their Gehrig opposition by nearly 1.7 runs per contest.

Only reigning champion Columbia has drawn even with the Rolfe Division, going 4-4 while outscoring its opposition by two runs. The rest of the Gehrig teams did not win more than two games and were outscored by 14 runs or more. Penn has been the epitome of futility, going 0-8 against Rolfe teams while being outscored by 27 runs.

While team play has been quite unequal, there is remarkable parity in individual play. Three of the top 10 batting averages and five of the top ERAs are from Gehrig League players, and the league leader in home runs is Penn’s Will Gordon with eight.

Penn also has the highest team batting average, though the Quakers only have one win in Ivy League competition. Princeton has the lowest team ERA by more than a whole run. These dilemmas are going to prove quite interesting coming down the home stretch of the season.

With six of eight games being played in the friendly confines of Robertson Field (where the Lions are 2-3), Columbia has a decent chance of redeeming itself in league play after losing three of four last weekend at Princeton. The Lions will probably need to win six of eight in order to contend for the Gehrig title for the second straight year. And, while that seems daunting given Penn’s hitting prowess and Cornell’s play of late, it is a definite possibility.

As was discussed in my last column, Columbia will need to get solid pitching performances out of more than just Joe Scarlata. Scarlata, who was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week last week, comes into this weekend with a 3-4 record and a 4.94 ERA. But the rest of the Lion starters all have ERAs above 5.65 and have been quite inconsistent. If they can get just one more starter in each weekend to pitch solidly, they could win six of their last eight.

What will happen when the Gehrig champion plays the Rolfe Division winner for a spot in the NCAA tournament? Will the individual prowess of the Gehrig compensate for the teams’ poor performances during the regular season? Or will Dartmouth, the likely champion of the Rolfe Division, continue to steam roll its opposition to make up for last year’s difficult defeat in the title game? Only time will tell.