Lions Continue Losing Streak, Give Up Four Wins

Offense was in short supply as the Columbia baseball team scored just six runs and lost all four games at 24th-ranked Pepperdine this weekend. The Lions also lost all four games at Duke last weekend by a combined score of 36-10.

This series in Malibu, the margin was 28-6. In the first game, top starter Bill Purdy, who shut down the Blue Devils, was tagged for seven runs in five innings. The Waves scored a run in the bottom of the first and two in the bottom of the third. They wouldn’t need anymore as junior Nate Newman pitched a complete game, struck out eight batters and gave up just one run. The top four hitters of the Columbia lineup combined for six hits, but they were all singles.

The Waves continued to hit the Lions’ pitching hard in the second game of the day and starter Joe Scarlata’s defense did not help him out as it committed two errors. Like Purdy, Scarlata gave up seven runs, but he lasted two-thirds of an inning longer, and four of the runs were unearned.

Pepperdine got its first run on a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Travis Tartamella in the second inning. After junior second baseman Denny Duron tripled to start off the third inning, senior designated hitter Matt Aidem singled him in to give his team a 2-0 lead. The Lions countered with three runs in the fourth thanks to errors by sophomore pitcher Jonathan Harmston and junior first baseman Ryan Heroy.

Down 3-2, junior left fielder Eric Thames hit a two-run homeruns to give the Waves the lead for good as relievers Tyler Hess and Nick Gaudi shut down the Lions over the final five innings.

The Lions’ offense continued to struggle as freshman southpaw Scott Alexander held it to two runs over seven innings, surrendering just three hits. Freshman Dan Bracey shut down Pepperdine for the first five innings as the Light Blue led 2-0. In the bottom of the sixth inning, however, junior shortstop Chase D’Arnaud tied the score with a two-run homer off Bracey. The Waves scored the deciding run in the bottom of the seventh when senior right fielder Donald Brown sent another Bracey pitch into the seats. They tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth en route to a 5-2 victory.

Columbia entered the weekend’s final game looking to avoid its second straight sweep, but four Pepperdine pitchers combined to shut out the Lions for the first time this season in a 9-0 victory.

Columbia freshman right-hander Geoff Whitaker, who surrendered 10 runs in his last outing, gave up five runs in four-and-two-thirds innings. He cruised through the first three innings, giving up two hits and no runs but surrendered a two-run home run to Thames in the bottom of the fourth. Pepperdine added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, three in the bottom of the seventh and one in the bottom of the eighth.

As had been the case all weekend, the Lions struggled to match Pepperdine’s success on offense. Junior lefthander Robert Dickmann scattered three hits over six innings and struck out eight.

Having lost its first eight games of the season, Columbia will go for its first win this Friday at Georgia Southern.