Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Tigers

What a difference a day makes.

Happy to see Saturday turn into Sunday, the Columbia baseball team rebounded from a poor start to a four-game series against Princeton behind fantastic efforts from the team’s starting pitchers.

The Tigers opened the weekend with a doubleheader sweep of the Lions in two games that left much to be desired from the mound. In their two starts, Columbia starters Joe Scarlata and Geoff Whitaker combined to give up 15 earned runs in just 7 1/3 innings.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was a fundamental mess for the Lions, who committed four errors leading to two unearned runs. Scarlata went 5 1/3 innings deep, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits. After his offense handed him a five-run third inning, Scarlata relinquished the lead as Princeton scored four runs in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5.

The seesaw affair continued in the sixth, when the Tigers took a 9-5 lead behind another four-run inning. After Columbia head coach Brett Boretti lifted Scarlata with runners on second and third and one out, Dan Bracey came in for relief and was immediately let down by his defense. Both of the runs that Bracey gave up in the inning were unearned, courtesy of three Columbia errors in the sixth.

The Lions would come back again, however, with a four-run sixth inning of their own, catapulted by Mike Malfettone’s second extra-base RBI hit of the game and Nick Cox’s two-run double.

Columbia ultimately fell short, as Clay Bartlett surrendered the decisive run to Princeton in the top of the seventh. Bartlett gave up a double to the leadoff hitter, who came around to score the tiebreaker on a two-out RBI single by Princeton’s Dan DeGeorge.

Saturday’s second game would not be any better for the Lions, who could not recover from Whitaker’s poor start. In just two innings of work, the right-hander surrendered eight earned runs on nine hits. After working a scoreless first, Whitaker imploded as Princeton scored seven runs in the second behind a three-run home run by Jack Murphy. The Tigers took an 11-1 lead through four and did not look back, holding off the Columbia offense, which was led by Mike Roberts’ four RBI.

With the 13-7 victory, Princeton tied Columbia in the Gehrig Division standings with a conference record of 6-4. Sunday’s doubleheader would be crucial to the Lions’ playoff hopes, as the team is in postseason contention for the first time in years.
Columbia got what it needed on Sunday behind brilliant starting pitching and timely hits. In the first game of the doubleheader, John Baumann shut down the Princeton offense, throwing a three-hit complete-game gem. In seven innings, Baumann gave up just one run while striking out four en route to a 3-1 victory.

The Lions broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth, when Henry Perkins’ RBI single to center field plated Alex Ferrera. Columbia added an insurance run in the sixth, as Roberts reached base on a one-out double and came around to score on Noah Cooper’s RBI single.

Game two saw more of the same, as Lions ace Bill Purdy matched his teammate’s long outing with a complete-game effort of his own. Though he had a rough start to the game, with Princeton jumping on him quickly and scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, he managed to settle down, giving up five runs—four earned—on 13 hits and six strikeouts in nine innings on his way to a 7-5 win.

After the Tigers took a 3-0 lead, the Lions’ offense got started in the bottom of the first behind a two-run blast to right field by Cooper. Princeton added another run in the fifth, extending their edge to 4-2, but starting pitcher Steven Miller was chased in the seventh after Jason Banos led off the inning with a walk. After Dan Barnes came in for relief for the Tigers, Perkins doubled down the right field line, giving the Lions runners on second and third with no outs. Though Barnes struck out Ron Williams for the first out of the inning, Roberts tied the game with a two-run single that scored Banos and Perkins.

With the score knotted at 4-4, Columbia looked to do more damage in the seventh, as Jake Summerhays singled with two outs and runners on the corners. A two-run triple by Dean Forthun followed, giving the Lions their first lead of the game. Forthun would score on a wild pitch, extending the team’s lead to 7-4.

With Sunday’s sweep, Columbia broke its tie in the standings with Princeton and is now leading the Gehrig Division with an 8-4 record against Ancient Eight opponents. The Lions will look to continue their hot play in the coming weeks when they take on division rivals Cornell and Penn before the Ivy League playoffs begin in early May.