Lions Face Ivies In Home Opener

The Columbia baseball team will head into this weekend's Ivy showdown with a little momentum on its side.

The Lions will play two doubleheaders against Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend fresh off of yesterday's 5-3 win against Hofstra. freshman reliever Clay Bartlett came in during the second and pitched six effective innings, surrendering only five hits and one earned run.

Columbia (8-11-1, 3-1 Ivy) will play a double bill against Dartmouth on Saturday in its second Ivy series of the season. Dartmouth (3-10-1, 0-0 Ivy) is currently in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, including Wednesday's 11-6 loss to Quinnipiac. The Big Green is a relatively young team, with 16 underclassmen on its 26-man roster. Leading the team is freshman outfielder Nick Santomauro, who is batting .538 with 12 RBI and a .667 slugging percentage.

The Lions will then take on Harvard in an afternoon doubleheader on Sunday. Harvard (3-8, 0-0 Ivy) had lost three in a row before playing Barry University last night and is struggling to produce runs this season. The Crimson's leading hitter is senior second baseman Brendan Byrne, who is hitting .327, while junior outfielder Tom Stack-Babich leads the team with a .447 slugging percentage but only has four RBI. Harvard's strength is its starting pitching, as the team's top three starters each have ERAs well below 3.00.

This will mark the beginning of Ivy play for both Dartmouth and Harvard. Columbia played Penn in two double-headers last Saturday and Sunday, winning three of the four games. It will also be the first time fans at Andy Coakley Field will get the chance to see the Lions play, as the first 20 games of Columbia's season have been played on the road.

"This weekend's a big one for us," said Bartlett. "I know the team is excited to get out there on our home field for the first time this season. We took three of four from Penn and we're looking to have the same type of success against both Dartmouth and Harvard."

While Columbia's overall record is below .500, the team has held its own against tough non-conference opponents like Hofstra and has shown signs that it can contend in the Ivy League. The Lions will depend on strong starting pitching and patience at the plate to emerge victorious from this weekend's series.

First pitch is scheduled for noon on both Saturday and Sunday at Andy Coakley Field.