After sweeping Harvard for the first time in 15 years on Sunday, the Columbia baseball team travels to Hanover to play undefeated Dartmouth for Ivy League supremacy Monday. With the two wins at Harvard, the Lions improved their league record to 5-1, best in the Gehrig Division.

Sunday’s games showcased several players that Columbia expects to lead its team for years to come. In game one, bolstered by right-hander Joe Scarlata’s best game of the season, freshmen Alex Ferrera and Nick Cox knocked in the two Lion runs in the top of the fifth. Scarlata pitched a complete game shutout, his second complete game of the season. He struck out eight and walked none in the 2-0 victory.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Cox and sophomore Jason Banos led the charge as the Lions cruised to a 10-2 victory. After scoring one run in both the top of the second inning and the top of the third, the Light Blue exploded for five in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Ferrera hit a sacrifice fly that scored Mike Roberts, and Banos followed up with a two-run double. The top five hitters in the Columbia order went 11-for-24 with four doubles, a triple, and seven runs batted in. Banos and Cox both recorded three hits and two RBIs as Banos upped his average on the season to .337.

On the mound, freshman Geoff Whitaker continued his improved play as he gave up just two runs in six innings, striking out seven.

After Sunday’s win, two of the team’s three leading hitters—Cox and Banos—and the team’s win leader—Whitaker—are freshmen or sophomores.

However, the doubleheader against Harvard was expected to be the easier of the two series. The Crimson are now 1-19 on the season and winless in league play. As a team, Harvard is hitting .222.

Monday’s games against Dartmouth are another matter. The Big Green enters the game 12-7 and 6-0 in league play. The team has beaten all of Columbia’s Gehrig Division foes, and this match represents the last doubleheader for both teams against the opposite division.

Dartmouth beat Penn 5-1 and 4-3 yesterday, bolstered by solid pitching from sophomore southpaw Russell Young and freshman right-hander Jake Pruner.
As a team, the Big Green has an earned run average nearly two runs lower than the Crimson’s. Since Young and Pruner pitched yesterday, today’s likely starters are sophomore Robert Young and senior Chase Carpenter. Young is 2-1 with a 4.33 ERA while Carpenter has an ERA above eight.

The Lions saved aces Jon Baumann and Bill Purdy, though Baumann did pitch mid-week. Columbia’s staff has surrendered just 19 runs in six Ivy games so far, but will face its toughest test against a Dartmouth offense that is leading the Ivy League in hitting.

Columbia and Dartmouth split their games last season. For Columbia to claim the best record in the Ivy League, it will need to sweep both games.

Monday’s first game starts at noon, with the second game following thirty minutes after the conclusion of the first.