For the first time in 15 years, the Columbia Lions will make an appearance in the Ivy League baseball championship. After its four-game sweep of Penn over the weekend, Columbia will take on Dartmouth next weekend in an attempt to win its first championship since the 1975-76 season.
Saturday saw the Lions display their ability to play under pressure when the team won two close games at Columbia’s newly dedicated Robertson Field.
In game one, Penn plated two quick runs with one out against Columbia starter Joe Scarlata. Scarlata settled down and got the final two outs with runners on to send his teammates to the plate.
But Columbia’s offense couldn’t put a rally together until the third inning when Dan Neczypor, Alex Ferrera, and Nick Cox all got on base with singles. With the sacks packed, Noah Cooper and Henry Perkins hit back-to-back RBI singles tying the game at two apiece.
Catcher Dean Forthun knocked in right fielder Mike Malfettone in the fourth inning to give Columbia its first lead of the game. But a Lions error in the fifth contributed to a two-run inning for the Quakers and they regained the lead in the seesaw ball game.
But the Lions’ offense came back in the home half of the fifth as Cooper, Perkins, Ron Williams and Mike Roberts combined for four consecutive singles to score two runs and give Columbia the lead for good.
Scarlata threw two scoreless innings to earn a complete game and even his record to 4-4 on the season.
Having just clinched the Gehrig Division, the Lions came out swinging in game two of the Saturday twin bill. Williams and Roberts each hit home runs in the first inning and Columbia jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Penn did not retaliate until a three-run fifth inning tied up the game. But the Lions offense was not quite done.
Ferrera and Cox hit sequential RBI singles, and William added an RBI sacrifice fly to again put Columbia up by three. But Penn got a home run of its own in the sixth inning that brought the Quakers within two.
Columbia added another run in its half of the eighth, but Penn would close the lead to two in the ninth inning with another home run before the Lions closed out the game and Saturday’s sweep.
On Sunday, the Lions again put themselves in a good position by jumping out to an early lead over Penn in game one. Cox began the game with a triple, and Cooper promptly drove him in with a sac fly to give Columbia a 1-0 lead.
The Lions would score three more times in the third inning providing senior ace John Baumann with all the run support he needed. Perkins hit an RBI sac fly to plate Cox, who reached on an error. William then hit an RBI triple and was knocked in by Roberts for the third Columbia run of the inning.
Penn would get just one run off of Baumann, who struck out nine of the 27 batters he faced in throwing a complete game.
Although the first three games of the Penn series were all decided by three runs or less, the final game was truly a slugfest.
Columbia and Penn each drew blood in the first inning with the Quakers taking a 3-2 lead heading into the second frame. The Lions tied the game at three in the third inning on an RBI triple by Williams to score Perkins.
The Light Blue took the lead in the fourth on a fielder’s choice by Forthun. Penn quickly came back in the bottom of the fourth as they scored a pair.
But Columbia took batting practice off of Penn in the fifth inning and put a crooked number up on the board, scoring seven times. The Lions’ rally, who sent 11 men to the plate, featured a bases-clearing three-run double by Malfettone and a two-run jack by Jake Summerhays to break the game open.
Columbia added another run in the sixth and a final run in the ninth inning to complete their 13-5 victory and their four-game sweep of the Quakers.
In the most exciting season to hit Morningside Heights in 15 years, the Lions will most likely be traveling to Dartmouth to take on the Big Green for the championship next weekend. The Light Blue (20-24, 15-5 Ivy) is 1-1 against Dartmouth (24-14, 15-5 Ivy) this season.
While it’s only spring in New York, when Columbia takes on Dartmouth next weekend, it will surely feel like October. Playoffs are in the air.