Columbia
Miami
Baseball's Regional Run Halted by No. 6 Miami
6/1/2015 10:50:00 PM | Baseball
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Columbia baseball team's magical season came to an end in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional Final Monday night. The Lions fell to the No. 5 national seed 21-3 as the Hurricanes (47-15) advance to the Super Regionals.
Columbia finished the season with a 34-17 overall record, the most in the 127-year history of the baseball program. The Lions win total is the second most ever by an Ivy League institution, falling two shy of the record of 36 set by Dartmouth in 1998.
Senior tri-captain Jordan Serena finished his career with a 3-for-4 performance to go with an RBI and run scored. Serena completed the season 207 at-bats to set a new single-season record. The Parker, Colorado, will undoubtedly go down as one of the all-time best players, ranking fifth in games played (180), fifth in hits (190) and fifth in runs scored (138) in career categories.
After recording just two hits the entire game on Sunday, Miami came out aggressive, batted through the order and put up a four-spot in the top of the first inning. Starting pitcher Mike Weisman hit leadoff man Ricky Eusebio and scored from second on a double from George Iskenderian. After a strikeout, David Thompson was plunked to put two on for Garrett Kennedy, who doubled to extend the advantage to 3-0. Brandon Lopez capped the scoring with another RBI single before Jacob Heyward waved at strike three to end the frame.
The Hurricanes came up with another two-out rally in the second, using a pair of walks to set up a Thompson base hit up the middle to bring in Iskenderian.
Joey Falcone just missed getting Columbia back into the game in its next turn, skying a long fly ball that Eusebio caught at the wall in centerfield. The Lions then put two runners on base, but could not scratch in a run.
Miami sent 12 men to the plate in the fourth as they scored eight runs to blow the game open as they advance to play VCU in the Super Regionals, who emerged from the Dallas Regional as the No. 4 seed.
After the Hurricanes tacked on two more in the fifth before the Lions got on the board. Columbia put runners on the corners with one out. Serena singled to bring in Logan Boyher, John Kinne grounded out to bring in the second run and Robb Paller knocked in Will Savage with a double.
However, a three-run blast by Willie Abreu highlighted a four-run the sixth for Miami, which quickly dashed the hopes of any miraculous comeback.
Weisman took the loss to drop his record to 4-2.
Paller will take his 36 game streak of reaching base into the 2016 season.
Boyher, Nick Maguire, Savage and Bryce Barr were each named to the Coral Gables All-Regional Team.
