Columbia University
Miami
Columbia Rounds Out Florida Trip at Miami
3/18/2019 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Lions and Hurricanes will face off on Tuesday and Wednesday to conclude Columbia's spring break trip.
LEADING OFF
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions earned a series split at North Florida after taking the first two games down in Jacksonville. Columbia erased deficits of three and two-runs in game two to pick up a thrilling 11-7 win in 12 innings on Saturday to highlight the weekend.
MIAMI'S STATUS
The Hurricanes dropped 2-of-3 at No. 8 North Carolina over the weekend.
Freddy Zamora is one of seven Miami regulars hitting above .300 with a team-best .368 average, five homers and 21 RBI. Jordan Lala has 11 stolen bases and is hitting at a .344 clip with 24 runs scored. The Hurricanes' top power threat is Alex Toral, who has belted 10 homers and has 26 RBI.
Daniel Federman serves as the team's closer with five saves, has 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings and an ERA of 4.05.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Columbia is 1-4 all-time against Miami. The teams last met up three times during the 2015 Coral Gables Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes earned an 8-3 victory on day two, but the Lions shutout Miami, 3-0, in an elimination game before the Hurricanes claimed a 21-3 decision in the Regional Championship game.
COLUMBIA AGAINST THE ACC
The Lions are 2-16 against teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
NEWS/NOTES
NO JOSHIN'
Senior Josh Simpson has been lights out in his last two starts, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.35 ERA and 15 strikeouts, compared to just three walks over 13.1 innings. He lasted eight innings in the opener at UNF, fanning seven and allowing just one unearned run. Simpson struck out a career-high eight batters over 5.1 innings at Cal Poly on March 18 to earn a spot on the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll. Simpson missed all of 2018 while recovering from injury.
BUSTING OUT
Junior Liam McGill snapped out of an 0-for-18 funk with monster weekends at Cal Poly and North Florida. The two-time All-Ivy Leaguer is hitting 17-for-34 (.500) with a 1.398 OPS, two homers and eight RBI in his last eight games.
HEY JULES
Junior Julian Bury is the toughest batter to strike out in the nation, fanning just once in his first 52 at-bats of the season. The junior gained a spot on the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll on March 10 after hitting .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles and two RBI at Oklahoma. Bury was appearing in his first games since the 2018 ILCS after suffering an injury during practice that forced him to miss the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Bury was the 2017 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American.
COOL HAND LUKE
After missing the 2017 season due to injury, Lucas Hall emerged as a go-to reliever the past two seasons. Over his last 18 outings, he has allowed just one run. Last year, he recorded four saves, one shy of tying the single-season mark, with a 1.59 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 22.2 innings of work.
