NEW YORK – The Columbia baseball team faces off against Fordham Tuesday, April 9, in the Bronx at Houlihan Park. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
• The Lions won their third straight Ivy League series, taking 2-of-3 at Princeton over the weekend and remain tied for first place in the Ivy League standings with Harvard and Penn at 6-3.
• Brett Boretti notched his 400th career victory Sunday after Columbia's 2-1 victory over Princeton.
• Chandler Bengtson posted his 26th career home run in game one against the Tigers, setting Columbia's all-time record.
• Josh Nicoloff went 9-for-18 (.500) last week with a pair of doubles and three RBI in four games.
• Four players, Bengtson, Saajan May (6.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 7 K in two outings), Nicoloff and Jimmy Smiley (4.1 IP 4 H, 4 K, Save in two relief appearances), earned spots on the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll.
• Ethan Abrams gets the nod for the Lions. Abrams is 1-1 and will make his second start and eighth appearance of the year.
FORDHAM'S STATUS
• The Rams are riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Saint Joseph's.
• Fordham notched a pair of shutouts and boast a team ERA of 2.66, which is No. 4 in the NCAA.
• Jake MacKenzie leads the team with a .364 batting average, 31 runs scored, six triples, 29 stolen bases and 17 RBI.
• Nick Labella has added a team-high four homer and Justin Bardwell has been Fordham's top run-producer at 21 RBI.
• Right-hander Alvin Melendez is slated to start for the Rams. He checks in at 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 22.2 innings of work.
• Kyle Martin serves as Fordham's primary closer with six saves, a 1.35 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY
Fordham leads the all-time series 71-55-2, but the Lions have taken four of the last five meetings. Last season, Columbia used a four-RBI performance from Joe Engel and strong pitching on a staff day to claim a 10-1 victory over the Rams at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
UP NEXT
The Lions wrap up their eight-game road swing with three contests at Yale. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday, April 13, beginning at 11:30 a.m., followed by the finale Sunday, April 14 at 12 p.m. All three games can be seen live on ESPN+.
