Baseball

All season long, head coach Brett Boretti called his baseball team a family, with its mix of youth and experience. In the deciding game of the Ivy League championship playoff, Boretti stuck by his convictions.

John Baumann’s first Ivy League start of the season was a one-run complete game victory over Dartmouth. In his final league start, with a chance to clinch the Ivy Championship, Baumann was pounded for 12 hits and 10 runs in the Columbia baseball team’s 16-15 loss Tuesday.

As freshmen and seniors alike lumbered off the team bus to their respective dorms and houses, every member of the Columbia baseball team shared a collective sigh. If the Lions want to win their first Ivy Championship since 1977, they will have to wait a little bit longer.

With the men’s golf team securing an Ivy League championship two weekends ago, the Columbia baseball team hopes to add more trophies to the Athletic Department’s collection when it travels to Dartmouth this weekend for the Ivy Playoff.

By virtue of hitting .507 against Ivy League opponents, senior outfielder Noah Cooper was awarded the Blair Bat, which is given to the batter who ends league play with the highest batting average and a minimum of 2.2 at-bats per game.

This weekend the Columbia baseball team will square off against Dartmouth in a best-of-three series to determine this year’s Ivy League champion.

Although Columbia (20-24, 15-5 Ivy) and Dartmouth (24-14, 15-5) clinched the Lou Gehrig and Red Rolfe Division—respectively—on Saturday, there was still plenty of excitement in the final weekend of Ivy League play.

As members of the Columbia baseball team piled on one another in celebration of a 5-4 victory over Penn this past Saturday, they were quick to note that it was a reflection of how far the Columbia baseball program has come in its three years under head coach Brett Boretti.

While the biggest accomplishment of the weekend for the Columbia baseball team was its second Lou Gehrig Division title, contributions from two players—its struggling first baseman and underappreciated catcher—showed why the Lions, who have already set a school record for league wins, expect to win in a playoff this weekend against Dartmouth.

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.