Columbia
Penn (Game 1)
GEHRIG DIVISION CHAMPS: Lions Clinch Title with Eight-Run, Game Two Rally
4/30/2010 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Columbia won its second Gehrig Division title in three years as the Lions swept a doubleheader from Penn in exhilarating fashion, winning the opener, 5-2, before scoring eight unanswered runs in a 10-9 game two victory.
The Lions improved their record to 24-18 and 13-5 in the Ivy League. Columbia advances to the Ivy League championship series, beginning next Saturday against the Rolfe Division winner at a site to be determined, depending on this weekend's league results.
Game One
Pat Lowery threw seven terrific innings as the Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead and tacked on two seventh-inning runs to capture a 5-2 win in the opener.
Columbia scored first after Jon Eisen was hit by a pitch with one out. Jason Banos, who had a huge day at the plate, then belted a run-scoring double the other way, over the head of left fielder Adrian Lorenzo. Eisen scored to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Lions put up two more runs in the second, both coming with two outs. Billy Rumpke drew a two-out walk and Nick Crucet followed by stroking a double down the right field line to score Rumpke, who slid in just ahead of right fielder Tom Grandieri's throw.
Eisen then looped a single into right center to score Crucet, giving the Lions a 3-0 advantage.
Starting the bottom of the second, Penn's William Gordon belted the first of his two solo home runs in the game, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Gordon's second solo blast came in the fourth, and were the only hits that Columbia starter had allowed up to that point.
Lowery allowed a two-out single by Derek Vigoa in the fifth but nothing more as he retired the last seven batters of the game to nail down his fourth win of the season.
Ahead 3-2 going into the seventh, Columbia picked up a pair of insurance runs. Banos started it with another well-struck double that glanced off Grandieri's glove and into the right field corner.
Alexander Aurrichio advanced Banos to third on a long fly ball and Banos came home to score on another long fly ball by Nick Ferraresi, whose sacrifice fly made it a 4-2 game.
Dario Pizzano followed with his 10th home run of the season, pushing the Columbia lead to 5-2.
That was all the insurance Lowery needed, as he allowed just the three hits in his third complete-game win of the season.
Game Two
Having clinched at least a tie for the Gehrig Division title, Columbia looked to gain a berth in the Ivy League championship series with a game two win.
Penn had other ideas as the Quakers tried to stay alive for another day. The Quakers jumped out to a 9-2 lead through the first three innings, capped by a three-run home run by Steve Gable.
In the fourth, Eric Williams came into the game in relief and worked around a runner on third with one out in the fourth and left runners at first and second in the fifth to stem the tide.
Meanwhile, Columbia pushed across a pair of unearned runs in the fifth to get closer, making it a 9-4 game.
Columbia got even closer in the sixth. Dean Forthun got it started with the first of his two doubles in the game. Two batters later, Nick Crucet's RBI single plated Forthun, making it 9-5.
Crucet then caused some havoc on the basepathts when he stole second and took third when Penn starter Todd Roth's attempted pickoff bounced off Crucet's back and into center field.
Jason Banos then worked a two-out walk, chasing Roth from the game. Penn skipper John Cole summoned Trey Jennings from the bullpen and Alexander Aurrichio greeted Jennings by clubbing his first pitch over the wall in left center field, cutting the Lion deficit to 9-8.
Williams continued to befuddle the Penn hitters, keeping the Quakers off the board in the sixth and seventh innings.
As the game moved to the eighth and the crowd began to get even more lively, Reid Terry came into the game for Penn. Terry, who broke the Ivy League record for career appearances in the game, entered with a 1.20 earned run average.
Terry got a double play to end the Columbia seventh but the Lions came back in the eighth to take a 10-9 lead. It was Eisen who sparked the rally with an infield single with one out.
Eisen then took second when Terry's pickoff throw sailed past the first baseman, sending the tying run into scoring position for Banos.
Banos came through again, flaring one the other way inside the left field line to bring home Eisen with the tying run as the Columbia dugout exploded.
Aurrichio then got hit by a pitch and Nick Ferraresi ripped a hard single into left field that loaded the bases with one out. Next up was Dario Pizzano, who chopped one to shortstop that looked like a potential double-play ball.
Ferraresi went in hard at second and the relay throw by Steve Gable one-hopped William Gordon at first, allowing the go-ahead run to score. It was Columbia's first lead of the game at 10-9.
Zach Epstein then came on in relief to start the eighth with the Lions ahead by a run. With one out and a runner at first, Penn's Adrian Lorenzo took off for second base on a hit-and-run play with Dan Williams at the plate.
Crucet ran to cover the bag at second and Williams hit a liner to the spot Crucet had vacated. But Crucet had the presence of mind to quickly reverse direction and made a lunge to his left to grab the liner for the second out. He then fired to Banos at first to double up Lorenzo, finishing a beautiful double play in a big spot as Columbia maintained a one-run advantage.
The Lions loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth but could not score, setting the stage for the bottom of the frame.
Epstein hit Grandieri with a 3-2 pitch to start the frame, but Forthun gunned down the third Penn runner of the game to get the first out for the Lions.
After issuing a one-out walk, Epstein got Will Davis on a fly ball for the second out. The next two Quakers reached on an error and a walk to load the bases as the tension mounted at Miekeljohn Stadium.
Epstein fired a first-pitch strike to Steve Gable and then jammed him as Gable floated one to shortstop Alex Ferrera, who squeezed the final out of the game as the Lions' dugout stormed onto the field to join the celebration.
Williams improved his record to 4-0 on the season after tossing four shutout innings, allowing just two hits with three strikeouts. Epstein notched his first career save with two scoreless innings.
Columbia and Penn will play two more tomorrow, Saturday, May 1 in a doubleheader starting at noon at Robertson Field. Seniors Clay Bartlett, Dean Forthun and Derek Squires will be honored in a pre-game ceremony prior to their final regular season games atRobertson Field.
NOTES:
- Dean Forthun moved into a tie for third place all-time on the career doubles list. He is now tied with former teammate Ron Williams '09CC with 40 career two-base hits.
- Jason Banos was 5-for-7 with two RBI and three runs scored during the doubleheader.
- Every Columbia starter recorded a base hit in game two.
- Columbia clinched the Gehrig Division and a berth in the Ivy League championship series. Home-field advantage in the series is still at stake, however. Home field goes to the division winner with the best Ivy League record. Right now, Columbia is 13-5 in Ivy League play, while Dartmouth is atop the Rolfe Division with an 11-5 mark.
- The 24 wins are the most for a Columbia team since the 1987 season, when that team set a program record with 28 wins during a 28-14 campaign.
- Columbia head coach Brett Boretti made the trip to Philadelphia on Thursday night, but returned to New York early on Friday. He and his wife, Melissa, welcomed their second child, Nicholas, into the world on Friday morning. Assistant coaches Pete Maki, Jay Quinn and Jim Walsh split managerial duties for Friday's doubleheader.
