Baseball Hosts Cornell to End Ivy Season

The Columbia baseball team accomplished something unique yesterday: losing a game without giving up a single earned run.

Despite a host of good pitching performances, Columbia fell to nonconference Lafayette 2-1 on Thursday afternoon. Both Leopard runs scored with two outs in the bottom of the second, when starter Daniel Bajger walked Daniel Bierce, the number nine hitter. After stealing second, Bierce scored on a costly fielding error by center fielder Noah Cooper that allowed the leadoff man to reach base. Bajger hit the next batter and surrendered an RBI single to Mike Raible that resulted in the second unearned run of the frame. Bajger finished with two unearned runs, two hits, two walks, and one strikeout in his two innings pitched.

In the bottom of the third, Mike Malfettone came in to replace Cooper in center field. The inning also saw a new pitcher, as Chris Hunter came in to relieve Bajger. Hunter shut down the Leopards' offense, giving up just four scattered hits and three walks in the remaining six innings.

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Columbia's bats were silenced by Lafayette's five-man pitching platoon, as the Lions managed to score only one run. Leopard starter Brian Cope pitched five effective innings, giving up the lone run on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. The run came on an RBI single by designated hitter Jake Summerhays that scored catcher Thomas Stevens in the top of the third. Co-captain Andrew Ward was hitless in four at bats, while Ron Williams continued his hot streak with two hits in three at bats.

The Lions (12-22-1, 7-9 Ivy) will now look to this Homecoming weekend for a two-day, four-game series against Cornell that will be crucial for their playoff hopes. After splitting two doubleheaders at Princeton, the Lions fell to the bottom of the Lou Gehrig Division of the Ivy League, one game behind Cornell and three games behind first-place Penn.

The Big Red will be coming in to Andy Coakley Field on seven days' rest, as the team has not played since being swept in a doubleheader by Penn last Saturday. Sophomore Nathan Ford leads the team with a .343 batting average and 20 RBI. Also of note are sophomore Domenic DiRicco and junior Jimmy Heinz. Heinz is Cornell's best power hitter and leads all starters with three home runs and a .495 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, DiRicco is a monster at getting on base, having drawn 21 walks along with a .306 batting average and a .447 on base percentage.

Columbia will look for strong starting pitching to neutralize the potent Cornell offense. The team will also need its offense to break through its recent struggles and have patient at-bats against the Big Red pitching staff. If they can play simple, fundamentally sound baseball, the Lions will have reason to celebrate this Homecoming weekend.