NEW YORK – Columbia baseball alumnus Robb Paller helped the Israeli National Team win the Europe/Africa Qualifier Tournament to earn a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Paller saw action in all five games of the event, helping Israel post a 4-1 mark. Against the Netherlands, the former All-Ivy Leaguer went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI in an 8-1 victory.
Israel qualified as the second nation to be represented in the 2020 Tokyo games, following an 11-1 victory over South Africa. They will represent Europe and Africa after finishing the tournament ahead of No. 8 Netherlands (8-1 victory on 9/19) and No. 16 Italy (8-2 victory on 9/20).
Israel joins Japan as the only two nations confirmed so far for the Olympic tournament.
Paller joined two other former Lions, Jordan Serena and Will Savage (Great Britain), that participated in the 2019 European Baseball Championships in Bonn and Solingen, Germany where the top four teams advanced to the Qualifiers.
Jordan Serena, who now serves as a hitting consultant for the Cincinnati Reds after being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 35th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, started all seven games of the European Championships tournament. Serena lead Great Britain with a .423 batting average, eleven hits, and two home runs.
Will Savage joined Serena on Great Britain's national team, where he also started all seven games of the tournament. Savage won Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was named the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American at second base in 2014. The Detroit Tigers selected Savage in the 16th round of the MLB Draft in 2016 following his best hitting season, batting .367. Savage followed right behind his teammate, Serena, with a .370 batting average, ten hits, and one home run.
Paller belted two home runs in the seven-game European Championship tournament, guiding Israel to a fourth place standing in the championship tournament, allowing them to move on to the next round of Olympic qualifiers in Italy.
Additionally, two former Columbia baseball standouts just wrapped up their 2019 Minor League Baseball seasons.
Josh Simpson started out the 2019 season on the Miami Marlins Gulf Coast League team before being called up to the Class A Batavia Muckdogs. In his rookie season, Simpson pitched 23 innings in 15 games with a 2.35 ERA, earning a New York Penn League All-Star Game selection and helped the Muckdogs reach the postseason.
Speer completed his sixth professional season in the Cleveland Indians organization with the Class AA Akron RubberDucks. Speer battled through a pair of injuries late in the season, but was extremely effective when healthy, pitching 54.2 innings over 32 games with a 3-3 record and a 1.81 ERA.
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