Baseball Wins Three in Ithaca, Pads Division Lead

After a strong showing against Cornell, the Columbia baseball team is one big weekend away from clinching the Gehrig Division for the first time in 15 years. The Lions took three of four from the Big Red this past weekend to extend their division lead to three games.

Columbia swept Saturday’s doubleheader behind an outstanding effort by center fielder Nick Cox. On the day, the freshman went 5-for-8 at the plate, scoring five runs and driving in four—all coming on a grand slam that broke open a one-run game.
The Lions trailed 2-0 after the fifth inning of game one, but came back to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth. Cox got the rally started with a leadoff single followed by a stolen base, putting him in scoring position. After Henry Perkins drove him in for the first Columbia run of the day, third baseman Mike Roberts came through with a two-run double that gave the Lions the edge.

Columbia would go on to add some insurance in the seventh, breaking the game open with four runs on Cox’s first career grand slam. Cornell pitcher Walker Toma relieved starter Matt Hill and had a messy inning, loading the bases on a single, two wild pitches, and two walks before recording an out. Lions starter Joe Scarlata closed out the game with a scoreless seventh, preserving his complete-game win. Scarlata went seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out five en route to a 7-2 victory.

The Lions continued their production at the plate in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring three runs in both the first and second innings to take an early 6-3 lead. After Cox scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch in the first, Columbia loaded the bases for Noah Cooper, who singled through the right side to drive in a run. Dean Forthun then walked with the bases again loaded to force in Ron Williams for the third run.

Cornell rallied to score three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, but Columbia answered back in the second, aided by another messy inning from a Big Red pitcher. Starter Corey Pappel gave up three more runs on three walks, two stolen bases, and four wild pitches. Ron Williams had the only hit in the inning, an RBI single through the left side. Pappel was chased in the second, finishing the day with 1 1/3 innings pitched and giving up six earned runs on five hits, two walks, four wild pitches, and two hit-by-pitches.

Columbia starter Geoff Whitaker got the win, despite giving up five earned runs in six innings pitched. Max Lautmann, Joey Mizzoni, and Clay Bartlett finished out the game, each pitching an inning and surrendering just one run combined.

However, the Lions could not carry their momentum into Sunday, as they lost the first game of the doubleheader, 11-7. The Columbia pitching staff squandered big performances by Cox, Perkins, and Cooper to give up 11 runs on 13 hits and five walks. Starter John Baumann gave up six earned runs on eight hits and three walks in a rare no-decision.

Offensively, the Lions managed to score seven runs behind a four-RBI game by Perkins. The second baseman added a run and three hits, including a triple in the first. Cox went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three runs, while Cooper was perfect from the plate, going 4-for-4 with two RBI.

Things were going fine for Columbia, as the team held a 7-4 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. The Big Red came up with a big seven-run inning to overtake the surging Lion offense. After Baumann was lifted with runners on second and third and no outs, Lautmann came in, loading the bases on a hit-by-pitch and forcing in a run on a walk. Lautmann was chased from the game when he served up a grand slam to Brian Kaufman.

Game two went far better for the Lions, as they received a great performance from ace Bill Purdy. Purdy picked up his third win of the season, pitching seven strong innings and giving up just two earned runs on eight hits, two strikeouts, and no walks. Dan Bracey closed out the game, throwing two innings of no-hit ball.

The Lions broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with an unearned run scored by Roberts. The third baseman had three hits on the day while scoring two runs. Columbia added three runs in the sixth on an RBI lineout by Mike Malfettone, a run-scoring triple by Alex Ferrera, and an RBI single by Cox.

With three victories this weekend, Columbia is now 11-5 against Ancient Eight opponents and sits atop the Gehrig Division, three games ahead of Princeton. The team will end the regular season with a four-game home series against Penn on April 26 and 27. The two teams will play a doubleheader in New York on Saturday and round out the season with a doubleheader in Philadelphia on Sunday. The Lions need just one win to clinch their first division title since 1993.