NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Columbia baseball team outlasted Yale in a pair of extra-inning contests Saturday to keep the Lions atop the Ivy League standings. Sophomore Josh Nicoloff provided the go-ahead triple in the 13th inning of the opener and Ben Porter delivered the game-winning knock in the 10th inning of the nightcap.
Columbia, who has now played three consecutive games that have gone beyond nine innings, improved to 12-15 overall and 8-3 in the Ancient Eight, tied with Harvard for first place and a half-game in front of Penn (8-4), who took 2-of-3 against Princeton on Friday and Saturday.
The final game of the series was moved up to 11 a.m. due to anticipated rain in the forecast Sunday afternoon.
GAME ONE
After Yale left the bases loaded in the 10th and stranded two more in the 12th, Columbia took advantage in the top of the 13th to break up a 2-2 tie. Liam McGill and Chandler Bengtson both beat defensive shifts, with McGill singling through the right side and Bengtson dropping a bunt down the third base line to set the table for Nicoloff.
Nicoloff broke the deadlock with his two-run triple to the gap in left-center to give the Lions a two-run cushion. After a walk, Porter drove in another run with a double down the leftfield line and Jack Chernow followed with a sac fly to score pinch-runner Griffin Williams. Julian Bury and Joe Engel each posted RBI singles, putting Columbia on top by six.
First-year Dane Miller worked a scoreless frame in the bottom of the inning to seal the win.
Dan Harrington evened his record at 1-1, striking out a pair and allowing one hit in two innings of relief. Josh Simpson lasted seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts.
The Bulldogs took an early lead in the bottom of the first when Simon Whiteman led the game off with a triple and scored on a base-hit from Tim DeGraw. Columbia knotted things up in the fifth on a pair of infield singles. Chernow reached with one out and moved to third after a wild pitch and groundout to the right side. Engel posted another single to the pitcher to make it 1-1.
Columbia grabbed a 2-1 lead in the sixth, using a pair of two-out hits. Matt Cerfolio started the rally with a single and came around on a Porter triple.
The Lions held that margin until the bottom of the ninth. A leadoff single and sacrifice bunt pushed the tying run into scoring position. Dai Dai Otaka put runners on the corners after a knock and the Bulldogs dropped down a successful safety squeeze and force extras.
DeGraw and Griffin Dey each had two hits for Yale. Rohan Handa (2-3) was responsible for the leadoff batters reaching in the 13th and was charged with the loss. He wored 4.1 innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts. Starter Scott Politz fanned five and scattered nine hits and two runs over eight solid frames.
GAME TWO
Columbia led 2-0 after plating a pair in the second inning. Porter registered a single to bring in Nicoloff from second after he doubled to start things off. With Porter on second after an error on the throw to the plate during his hit, two fly balls pushed the senior home for the second run of the ballgame.
Yale's lone baserunner the first time through the order was erased by a double play, but the Bulldogs broke through in the fourth. Simon Whiteman dropped down a bunt for a leadoff single and stole second. Just like the Lions in the second, two fly balls brought in a run to cut the deficit in half. Jake Gehri kept the inning alive with a double to left-center and came around on Brian Ronai's base-hit.
The Lions were held without a hit from the fifth to the eighth inning and Yale knocked on the door multiple times. However, Columbia's relievers relied on strong defense from the infield to wiggle out of trouble.
In the sixth, the Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out before Jordan Chriss induced a 5-4-3 double play to keep things deadlocked. Yale threatened again in the seventh, using a walk and double to put runners on second and third with one out. This time, Tim Post came through getting the next batter to hit a grounder to Nicoloff, who threw home and Josh Solomon applied the tag, for the second out. Post retired the side on a fly out to leave two more stranded.
Columbia's third double play of the ballgame came in the eighth and Post froze Ronai for out three. Both teams each had opportunities in the ninth, stranding two runners apiece before Porter's heroics in the 10th.
Bengtson pulled a single to right with two outs to keep the inning alive and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Nicoloff drew a walk, Porter took an 0-2 pitch to the opposite field in right to score Bengtson. The bottom of the inning was drama-free with Jimmy Smiley turning the Bulldogs away in order.
Smiley allowed a walk and hit batter in his two innings of relief, picking up the win to go to 2-0 on the year. Post made his first appearance since March 9 at Cal Poly, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings.
Porter's hitting streak is up to 17 games after a pair of two-hit games on the day.
Ben Gibbs (2-1) took the decision, allowing the one run on three hits and three strikeouts in three innings of relief. Kumar Nambiar fanned seven in seven strong innings. Gehri was the only Yale hitter with multiple hits.
