Columbia Hosts Princeton to Begin Gehrig Division Play This Weekend
4/16/2010 9:52:00 AM | Baseball
NEW YORK – Columbia will host Princeton this weekend at Robertson Field in a four-game series, beginning on Saturday, April 17 at noon. Saturday is also baseball's annual homecoming day.
The Lions have won six of their first eight during interdivision play to start the Ivy League slate and stand atop the Gehrig Division through the first two weeks of the schedule. Columbia holds a 15-13 record entering this weekend, its best record at this point in the season since the 2002 campaign, when the Lions were also 15-13.
Columbia opened Ivy League play with three out of four wins at home, starting with a sweep of Yale on the league's opening day. The Lions then split with Brown at home, split with Dartmouth on the road and came back to sweep Harvard.
Columbia's offense has been swinging it well lately as the Lions currently lead the Ivy League in batting average (.319), runs per game (7.5), slugging percentage (.499) and bases on balls (130). The Lions' pitching staff is also second in the league in earned run average (5.93) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.03).
Meanwhile, Princeton enters the weekend with an 8-20 record and 3-5 mark in Ivy League play. The Tigers split series with Harvard and Dartmouth at home on the first weekend of action, split with Yale last Saturday and then dropped a pair at Brown last Sunday. Princeton has five starters batting above .300, including team leader Brian Berkowitz (.337).
The Columbia-Princeton series dates back to 1868 and the two teams played in the first televised sporting event ever. On the field currently known as Robertson Field, Columbia's doubleheader with Princeton on May 17, 1939 was broadcast nationwide on NBC.
Live stats are available for all four games this weekend. Fans can also follow along with a pair of live blogs, which can be accessed below, providing real-time content and fan interaction.
