HOUSTON — For the second time this season, Columbia Baseball (5-8, 0-0 IVY) opened a weekend series with a win, getting a four-out save from
Saajan May and a pair of home runs to power past Houston (11-7, 0-0 AAC), 9-5, to take the opening game on Friday night at Schroeder Field.
Columbia got a strong five inning start from
Sean Higgins (2-2) who got the win with a line of 5.0 IP 7 H 3 ER 3 K, but it was May's four innings out the pen that slammed the door on Houston and allowed Columbia to come away with the win. May went 4.0 IP 4 H 2 ER 5 K to earn the four-out save, in his second-straight solid outing.
"
Sean Higgins and
Saajan May were on tonight and gave us great pitching and didn't give up anything for free," said head coach
Brett Boretti. "The offense got it going early and often and we continued to manufacture and not give away at bats. Great start to the weekend."
At the plate, Columbia did its damage with the long ball, getting a solo home run from
Weston Eberly and a three-run blast from
Hayden Schott, along with clutch hitting to score the runs needed to snag the win. Houston did get to Columbia in the sixth, where they did all their scoring, but May settled in and tossed three scoreless frames to lockup the Friday night win.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first two innings were uneventful for either side, as Higgins and Houston's starting pitcher, Logan Clayton, settled into the game. The night did not stay quiet for long as things rolled into the top of the third and the score was still at 0-0.
On the first pitch that Clayton tossed, Eberly went deep, taking Clayton to left field to lead off the inning with a bang and giving the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Andy Blake singled, and
Cole Hage drew a two-out walk to get Schott to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second.
After taking a ball, Schott smashed a shin high pitch into the Texas night, taking Clayton to right centerfield for a three-run home run. The three-run blast, Schott's second home run of the season, put the Lions up 4-0 after three frames.
Columbia added two more runs in the fourth and fifth, with timely hitting and clutch at bats. In the top of the fourth,
Anton Lazits led the inning off with a triple to right, and he was quickly knocked home by a
Griffin Palfrey sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. And in the fifth, Blake's leadoff walk eventually led to him scoring thanks to a one-out sacrifice fly to right center from Hage to make it 6-0.
It was in the sixth inning that the insurance runs Columbia eventually needed were scored and it began with a one-out single to left from Lazits. Palfey reached after getting hit by the pitch, and with two Lions on, scorching Eberly stepped up to the plate.
The Lion catcher stayed hot and took a 0-1 pitch to the wall for a two RBI triple to make it 8-0, RBI two and three on the night for Eberly.
Jacob Phelps then flew out to center, scoring Eberly on the sacrifice fly and after five and a half innings Columbia led 9-0.
Stil going strong, Houston finally got to Higgins in the bottom of the sixth, leading the inning off with three straight hits, scoring a run to get on the board in the process. May then entered the game with a pair of Houston runners on and no outs with the Lions leading 9-1.
May would then work through the inning, but not without Houston getting back into the game. May struck out the first batter he faced, and then recorded the second out on a sacrifice fly which put the score at 9-2 with two outs on the sixth.
A pair of back-to-back pinch-hit RBI knocks for Houston got them within four runs of the Lions, and after the eventful sixth inning Columbia sat in front 9-5.
Any momentum that Houston might have gained during the sixth inning was quickly snuffed out by May, who struck out two batters in a one-two-three seventh inning. And over the next two frames, Houston would manage only two base runners, going down one-two-three in the ninth.
May's fifth strikeout of his outing ended the game and locked up May's four inning save and Columbia's series opening 9-5 win at Houston.
GAME NOTES: May has gone 9.1 IP 7 H 2 ER 8 K over his last two outings, a win and a save … Blake extended his hitting streak to eight games … Lazits and
Joshua Solomon now have four game hitting streaks … This is the fifth game this season that Columbia has hit at least two home runs in the same game …Eberly's triple in the sixth was his second of the season … This was Columbia's third win all-time against Houston and first since 2018 … That was head coach
Brett Boretti's 299th win as Columbia manager.
UP NEXT: Columbia returns to the diamond for the second game of the weekend at Houston, with the Saturday, Mar. 19 game set to get going at 7:30 p.m. EST.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Baseball by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsBaseball), Instagram (@culionsbaseball) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
