Last season the Columbia baseball team welcomed Manhattan College to Andy Coakley Field having gone 10-10 in Ivy play, with a few out-of-conference games left to finish its 16-28-1 season. This year, coming off of a 3-1 weekend at Cornell, the Lions sit three games up in the Lou Gehrig Division and hope Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Jaspers provides a good tune-up for their final regular season Ivy weekend. The pair of games will also be two of the last played at Andy Coakley Field since the field will be renamed as Robertson Field over the weekend.

The Jaspers and Lions split the doubleheader last year as the Light Blue scored just one run in the early game while John Baumann and Bill Purdy held Manhattan’s bats silent for a late rally. Columbia scored just six runs in the two games, something the team does not wish to repeat.

The Lions scored at least six runs in each of their four games at Cornell and freshman center fielder Nick Cox was named Ivy Player of the Week for his strong offensive play. He went 9 for 16 from the plate—including a grand slam—scored eight runs, drove in five runs, and stole four bases. Cox is leading the team with a .366 batting average, 36 runs scored, 52 hits and 20 stolen bases in 23 attempts.

The top of the Lions order has propelled its offense all season with Cox, Henry Perkins, and Jason Banos all hitting .358 or better. Right fielder Noah Cooper has also come on of late, raising his average to .349.

The surging Lions offense will face a young Manhattan staff that has been effective for much of the season. The Jaspers sport a team ERA of 5.80—nearly a full point lower than Columbia’s—but none of their starters has an ERA below four like John Baumann does. The three pitchers who have made the most starts are freshman southpaw Dan Forman, sophomore right-hander Tom Costigan, and sophomore righty Brian Pendergast.

Pendergast held the Light Blue to just one run in 5 innings last season in Manhattan’s 5-1 victory.

This past weekend against Iona College, the Jaspers allowed just one run in three games. Costigan and Pendergast pitched complete game shutouts, striking out seven apiece.

The Lions are unlikely to face this trio as they will likely be used this weekend in a showdown with fellow first-place team Canisius.

Last week Manhattan started sophomore Zac Goyer at Albany and freshman Kyle Waddell at Sacred Heart. Goyer gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 9-4 loss while Waddell pitched four scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen in a 14-6 win.

Like the Lions, the Jaspers are also sitting atop their league, tied for first in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with Canisius at 9-3.

Columbia’s last three non-conference games were all determined by its bullpen. The Lions fell to Rutgers 5-4 April 8 after Dan Bracey allowed two runs in the top of the eleventh inning. Last week against Fordham, Clay Bartlett gave up a game-deciding sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh but the bullpen preserved a 2-1 lead for a victory in the second.

The Lions’ final out-of-conference games will start at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.