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Baseball Wins Ivy League Championship
PUBLISHED MAY 7, 2008
The Columbia baseball team is the Ivy League champion. In the decisive third game of the Ivy League championship series, the Lions defeated the Big Green 7-5, earning the Light Blue its first Ancient Eight title since a split title in 1977 with Cornell. The victory gives Columbia the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
After two marathon games on Tuesday that took nearly seven hours to complete, with a total of 49 runs scored between the two clubs, pitchers took control early on Wednesday. Columbia jumped out to a 3-0 lead after five innings thanks to home runs from junior Mike Roberts in the second and freshman Alex Ferrera in the fourth. Freshman pitcher Geoff Whitaker threw four innings of shutout baseball before surrendering five runs to the Big Green in the bottom of the fifth. It would be all the offense Dartmouth got the entire game.
In the top of the sixth, the Lions took the lead for good as Ferrera, who had two home runs prior to today’s contest, slammed a three-run homer to right-center field off freshman Jake Pruner for his second round-tripper in as many innings. Despite Ferrera’s heroics at the plate, the star for Columbia was senior second baseman and pitcher Henry Perkins.
With no outs and men on second and third in the bottom of the sixth, Perkins relieved freshman Dan Bracey and proceeded to shut down the Big Green. Perkins got Columbia out of the threat by striking out Jason Blydell, and Johnathon Santopadre and then forcing a ground out from Erik Bell.
The top of the seventh saw an insurance run in the form of a home run to deep left-center field, by none other than Perkins. In the next three innings, Perkins allowed only one hit and faced only two batters over the minimum possible to secure the victory, while recording the first save of his collegiate career.
The Lions will discover their fate in the NCAA tournament when seedings and regionals are released on May 26 at 12:30 pm on ESPN. The first round of the NCAA tournament begins on May 30 and runs until June 2.
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GREAT JOB GUYS!
Would have made Lou Gehrig proud.
one word: INCREDIBLE !!!
Kudos!
I have seen many ivy league championships, but this one was without a doubt has all the components to being one of the greatest contests in ivy baseball history.
The most exciting, unforgettable two days of baseball ever. And the best part was, everyone played a role, it could not have been done without every single player on the roster. Awesome! Columbia's opponents in the NCAAs better watch out, you can't measure heart! Roar, Lions, Roar!!
Babe Ruth said it best..."The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." This group of ball players definitely proved him right and brought home an Ivy League Championship by playing as a TEAM!!! It was an amazing Ivy League season with the Dartmouth series being the icing on the cake. Congratulations and have a blast at the NCAA tournament!
ROAR LIONS ROAR!!!!
I hope Dartmouth's official Heckler Brigrade "The Dartmouth Loudmouths" will read this. Their article in the school paper promoting the heckling of Columbia players was just enough inspiration to give the Dartmouth Baseball Team and their supporters just what they deserved. Did your boys enjoy their orange slices? Ours did! It just goes to shows that Bad Sportsmanship never goes unrewarded. Guess that's not something they teach at Dartmouth. I will say, your green with envy faces goes nicely with your shirts. I positively love you. Ha Ha thats the last laugh.
Oh, common. The Dartmouth fans were not that bad. There was a lot of good-spirited back and forth that included the Columbia parents. Even if you were offended by a small minority of Dartmouth fans, you're going to hold that against the Dartmouth players? Seems like everyone had a good time and enjoyed tremendous competition betwen two good teams except you. If there's anyone who has a mean spirit going here, it's you. Also, don't you have anything better to do with your time than read the Dartmouth student newspaper days before the games. Grow up!!!! Congratulations to Columbia
Yea, one of the the "Loudmouths" did read this. How can I tell? By their Dr. Zeus spelling. I hold nothing against the Dartmouth players, but they hold something against the poor representation of Dartmouth student fans. They positively hate you. What a laugh. Yea your right, it was a good time.
sorry for the typo. Obviously I meant to write "Oh come on"
If it was so obvious, then why did you clarify?
Columbia University should be proud of this team. The last two days up in Hanover were two of the most exciting days of baseball ever. Over the three games, this team showed guts and determination and a "never say die" attitude. They are the true definition of team - not depending on a few stars. Everyone contributes and they pick each other up. In each game, they stepped up in pressure moments and produced; only barely falling short in game 2 after coming back from a 14-3 deficit. Games 1 and 3 both were combinations of gutty pitching and timely hitting which culminated in Columbia wins. I have seen a lot of baseball in my life but these three games were the best games that I have ever seen. The best team won in a place that is tough to play. The excitement of these 27 innings of baseball has yet to wear off. Columbia should be very proud of this great group of competitors. The 2008 Columbia Lion Baseball Team - IVY League champions. On to the NCAA tournament.
wait, we don't suck?
excellent news! congrats boys--keep it going. your out of state alumni fans are paying attention...
An absolutely amazing effort by the team this weekend. I was literally screaming at my desk as I watched the live broadcast online. I can't tell you how proud this makes me to bleed light blue. I'll see you all at the NCAA regionals. Go Lions!!!
LOL! I would scream so loud that the dogs would start barking. Anyone who is not a sports fan has no idea what they're missing. I am so glad that the game was available online. I know it's a long time before the guys get to play again, but it will probably take that long for my heart to recover after watching the last two days of games. The guys, and the coaches did fantastic! I would love to have been a fly on the wall on the bus ride home. The excitement must have been awesome. Congrats to the team, and good luck on finals!
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