Light Blue Wins Three Of Four Games at Penn

Over the weekend, the Columbia baseball team started its Ivy League season with a bang. After splitting their doubleheader with Penn (6-10, 1-3 Ivy) on Saturday, the Lions swept their next two games against the Quakers on Sunday.

Luckily for Columbia (7-10-1, 3-1 Ivy), the first game of the weekend was not a sign of things to come. The Lions lost the game 12-0 with an inert offense due to Penn starting pitcher Todd Roth. Roth had a no-hitter until the bottom of the seventh when Columbia outfielder Noah Cooper hit a line drive to left field. Roth pitched a seven-inning one-hitter with three strikeouts. Penn had a 5-0 lead after the second inning, extended it to an 8-0 lead after the fourth, and never looked back.

The second game of Saturday's doubleheader was a different story. Senior outfielder Andrew Ward tripled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third to give Columbia a 3-0 lead. The Lions never looked back, and they finished the game with a 9-0 victory. In addition to Ward's game-high four RBIs, Columbia's sophomore third baseman Mike Roberts also drove in three runs, and junior outfielder Dan Neczypor had two RBIs of his own. Junior starting pitcher Bill Purdy's record improved to 2-2 after he allowed only six hits and no runs in eight innings of work.

Sunday began with a grueling 8-6 Columbia victory that stretched to 11 innings-four innings more than the first game of a typical collegiate doubleheader. Sophomore first baseman Ron Williams was the driving force behind the victory with four hits and four RBIs. Penn was leading 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, and Williams came to the plate with the bases loaded. His triple to clear the bases gave the Light Blue a 6-4 advantage and was the biggest play of what turned out to be a back-and-forth battle. Freshman pitcher Clay Bartlett gave Columbia four and two-thirds scoreless innings en route to earning his second career victory.

In Sunday's second game, Columbia continued its winning ways and extended the streak to three. Lions junior pitcher Henry Perkins pitched a complete game and was dominant on his way to allowing one run on five hits. Senior shortstop Craig Rodwogin scored twice and was walked twice. With the bases loaded in the seventh inning and Columbia up 1-0, Williams hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Kyle Roberts. In the next inning the Lions scored two more times and added two additional runs in the ninth when senior catcher Thomas Stevens doubled and drove in Neczypor and Rodwogin to secure a 6-2 win for Columbia.

The wins over Penn this weekend set a promising precedent for the rest of the Ivy League season. After struggling through most of their nonconference schedule, the Lions established that they can play competitively against Ivy League rivals.