Baseball to Face Fordham in Matchup of New York City Rivals

Before the Columbia baseball team heads out on a road trip to Cornell this weekend it will host local rival Fordham for an afternoon doubleheader today at Andy Coakley Field.

The Fordham game should provide the Lions with a good midweek challenge and will also help Columbia to keep a competitive mindset in between conference matchups.
The Rams are having a less-than-impressive season in the Atlantic 10, currently sitting in ninth place, despite an 18-15 record overall.

But Fordham recently rallied to take down conference foe George Washington in the rubber match of a three game set. The Rams will be looking to add to their overall record and instill more confidence in their team for Atlantic 10 play for the remainder of the season.

Columbia comes into today’s matchup looking to maintain its stellar offense against a Rams pitching staff that has an ERA of 5.62. The Lions will need to see more of the same consistency from their top hitters in order to take full advantage of vulnerable pitching.

The Fordham games will also be a test for a Columbia pitching staff that opponents are hitting .329 off of as a whole. Head coach Brett Boretti will most likely save his top starters for the Cornell games this weekend and thus the rest of the Lions staff will have an opportunity to prove themselves. Strong pitching performances today could help Boretti decide who to play should the Lions continue winning and contend for the Ivy League Championship.

While Fordham has three batters hitting over .300, the team is hitting .267 as a whole. Additionally, the Rams only have one hitter who has a slugging percentage of .500 while the Lions boast three batters well over that mark. Although Fordham can certainly hit for power—the team has 16 total home runs—solid pitching performances could hold the Rams enough to let the Columbia offense do their job.

The Fordham games will not affect Columbia’s chances in the Ivy League, but they are nevertheless extremely important for Columbia. The opportunity to play in a competitive atmosphere is important for a Columbia team that needs to keep its intensity up for the weekend’s games.

Although the Fordham series should prove beneficial, it could also serve as a detriment should Columbia be thrown out of its rhythm. Columbia will need to play hard today even though the atmosphere will not be the equivalent to an Ivy League matchup with a possible Championship on the line.

Columbia’s doubleheader today will begin as the Lions take the field at 2 p.m. for game one.