Lions Sweep Brown, Split With Yale to Open Ivy Play

The Columbia baseball team enjoyed a successful weekend as it won three of its first four Ivy League contests.

In their 2008 debut at Andy Coakley Field, the Lions swept defending Ivy League champion Brown on Saturday and split the doubleheader against Yale on Sunday.

In game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, both teams watched as Columbia starter Joe Scarlata threw a no-hitter through the first five innings. The junior pitcher threw the full seven innings of the game and allowed just two earned runs to notch his first win of the season.

The Lions first scored in the second inning on an RBI triple by sophomore catcher Dean Forthun. With Forthun on third, shortstop Alex Ferrera put Columbia up 3-0 with a home run to left-center field.

The Light Blue doubled its lead in the fifth inning with an RBI double by left fielder Jason Banos, which was followed by an RBI single by second baseman Henry Perkins. First baseman Ron Williams plated the third run of the inning for Columbia with a sacrifice fly.

In the second game against Brown, the Lions brought out the big bats and proved that they could play longball.

Brown drew first blood with one run in the second inning and added another in the fourth inning off of freshman starting pitcher Geoff Whitaker. But after being down 0-2, Whitaker became the beneficiary of major run support.

In the home half of the fourth, Perkins immediately cut the Bears’ lead in half with a homer to straight-away center field. Right fielder Noah Cooper tied the game with an RBI single to right field that scored Williams from second.

But on a chilly afternoon in Manhattan, the Lions’ bats were just warming up. With two outs and the bases loaded, third baseman Mike Roberts ignited Columbia’s offense with a grand slam to center field.

Columbia added five more runs in the eighth inning on a three-RBI double by Banos, and the Light Blue completed the sweep with an 11-2 thrashing of Brown.

Whitaker scattered 11 hits over seven and a third innings to improve his record to 3-2 and reliever Clay Bartlett threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to end the game.

The Columbia sweep of Brown at home was the first since 1997 and for the first time since 2002, the Lions opened the conference season with a sweep.

Columbia’s second Rolfe Division opponent came rolling in on Sunday in the form of Yale.

Freshman starter Dan Bracey had a tough outing, allowing five earned runs—seven total—on 11 hits over just five innings of work. The Bulldogs scored four times in the first inning, and Bracey was plagued by a costly error by right fielder Cooper that allowed two unearned runs to reach home plate.

Bracey gave up a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Yale took a 6-0 lead while Columbia’s bats remained silent. Yale added a seventh run in the sixth inning on a lead-off triple, and the Lions reciprocated with a run of their own. But the Light Blue’s offense never fully emerged and Columbia fell by a score of 7-2.

In the fourth and final game of the weekend, the Columbia bats reemerged as the Lions edged out Yale, 6-5.

Columbia scored first in the third inning following a lead-off triple by left fielder Mike Malfettone. The Lions then added three more runs in the fourth inning on RBI hits by Cooper and Malfettone.

Columbia extended its lead to 6-0 as freshman standout Nick Cox tripled to center field and then came home on a Jason Banos ground-out. Perkins hit his second solo homer of the weekend to finish Columbia’s scoring for the day.

But the Bulldogs were determined to make it a close ballgame. Yale scored three times in the top of the sixth inning off Columbia starter Bill Purdy. Purdy, who struck out seven on the day, took a three-run lead into the eighth inning, but Yale was there to challenge him.

With two outs, Purdy allowed back-to-back singles and head coach Brett Boretti went to the bullpen and brought Bartlett out to shut the door. Bartlett allowed two more back-to-back singles before getting the third out, and the game stood at 6-5 going into the home half of the eighth.

After three quick outs, Yale came to the plate in the ninth, but Bartlett, who has been lights out lately, got the Bulldogs out in order to end the game and the opening weekend of Ivy play.

The weekend was much needed and anticipated by a Columbia team that struggled against tough opponents in nonconference play. The Lions proved that their preparations were worthwhile by defeating two teams of the stronger Rolfe Division in the Ivy League.

The pitching and offense were both fairly solid with the exception of the third game. After Tuesday’s game against Army, the real challenge will come next weekend when the Lions take to the road for doubleheaders against Harvard and Dartmouth.

Next weekend’s series will complete Columbia’s play against the Rolfe Division with the remainder of the Ivy League schedule belonging to Gehrig Division matchups.