GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
HANOVER, N.H. - After dropping a heartbreaker in game one Saturday in 10 innings, 3-2, to Dartmouth, the Columbia baseball team bounced back with a 5-4 downing of the Big Green in game two.
GAME ONE RECAP
Jordan Serena went 3-for-4 and drove in the game-tying run in the top of the seventh, but the Big Green escaped the Lions' comeback bid with the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th frame to take game one, 3-2.
Starting pitchers David Speer and Beau Sulser each performed well on the day, as each gave up just two runs, with Speer giving up just six hits in six innings of work. Duncan Robinson earned the win in relief for Dartmouth, throwing 3.1 innings, holding the Lions off the scoreboard.
Dustin Selzer plated the first run of the day in the bottom of the fourth frame for Dartmouth, driving home Matt Parisi on a single. Nick Ruppert doubled the Big Green's lead in the sixth with a solo shot to start the bottom half of the frame.
Facing its last turn at bat, the Lions came through with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. With one out, Mike Fischer singled to left and David Vandercook then reached on a dropped fly ball, which allowed Fisher to advance to third. Will Savage provided the Lions their first run with a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Fischer, but forcing Columbia to its last out. Up against a 1-1 count, Serena slammed a double to the right center gap and pinch runner John Kinne made his way home to tie the game.
Reliever Adam Cline came on for Columbia to pitch the bottom half of the frame, getting a 1-2-3 inning to send the opener to extras.
The eighth and ninth innings passed without either side scoring, and the tenth seemed to be heading in the same direction until a two-out RBI double from Parisi scored Jeff Keller to give Dartmouth the walk-off 3-2 win.
GAME TWO RECAP
Third baseman David Vandercook went 3-for-5 with three RBI and pitcher George Thanopoulos improved to 3-0 on the year, as Columbia held off a late Dartmouth charge to take the nightcap, 5-4.
Dartmouth jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the bottom half of the first frame, getting solo homers from Ruppert and Dustin Selzer, as well as a Joe Purritano RBI single.
Thanopoulos settled in after the inning, shutting down the Dartmouth scoring over the next six innings, while racking up six strikeouts.
The Lions' offense got the three runs back in the third inning. With runners on first and second, Vandercook drove a ball to the gap in left center, scoring Will Savage and Serena with just one out. Joey Falcone provided the tying run with a single to center, scoring Vandercook.
Columbia took its first lead of the day in the seventh, and once again it was Vandercook who came through. Savage led off the inning with a single and moved up to second on a throwing error. Vandercook laced another double, this one down the right field line to put Columbia ahead 4-3.
Fischer extended the lead to 5-3 in the eight, when his RBI singled scored Aaron Silbar, who had walked to begin the frame.
A Parisi homer cut the deficit to just one run in the bottom of the ninth, but Thomas Crispi held on for his first save of the season, getting a pop up in foul territory and Fischer threw out Keller attempting to steal second to put an exclamation point on the win.
Columbia is back in action in Cambridge, Mass. against Harvard Sunday at 12 p.m.
