Columbia Opens Ivy League Play; Hosts Penn

Saturday, March 26

11:30 A.M.

Columbia University

Penn

Photo by: CJ Halloran

3/25/2022 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats (All Games)Watch (GM1)Watch (GM2)Watch (GM3)

Columbia Baseball welcomes Penn for a Saturday, Mar. 26 doubleheader and a single Sunday, Mar. 27 game in the Ivy League opener.

NEW YORK — Ivy League play returns to Robertson Field at Satow Stadium when Columbia Baseball (6-10, 0-0 IVY) opens league play against league leaders, Penn (12-5, 0-0 IVY) with a Saturday, Mar. 26, doubleheader on the tip of Manhattan set to get going at 11:30 a.m. and a Sunday, Mar. 27, single game scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
vs. Penn (GM 1) – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Social Media (@culionsbaseball)
vs. Penn (GM 2) – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Social Media (@culionsbaseball)
vs. Penn (GM 3) – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Social Media (@culionsbaseball)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
GM 1: Sean Higgins: 2-2 5.68 ERA (RHP/COL) – Kevin Eaise: 0-1 5.48 ERA (RHP/PENN)
GM 2: Joe Sheets: 0-1 6.92 ERA (RHP/COL) – Joe Miller: 2-0 5.16 ERA (LHP/PENN)
GM 3: Billy Black: 0-3 6.74 ERA (RHP/COL) – Cole Saffiro: 0-1 3.54 ERA (RHP/PENN)

LAST TIME OUT: In Columbia's home opener, on Mar, 23, the Lions exploded for 14 runs, scoring nine runs over the first two innings on the way to a 14-5 win over Manhattan. For the Lions it was their first midweek game win of the season and the third straight over the Jaspers.

SERIES MATCHUP: Going back to 1888, Penn and Columbia have played 265 times, with the Quakers holding a 135-127-3 advantage all-time. The last time these two programs met, the Lions won in the final game of the 2019 weekend series.

This will also be a matchup of the two favored teams entering the season, with Penn picked to finish first and Columbia picked second, tying for the most first-place votes at five each in the Ivy League Preseason Poll.

WHAT THE QUAKERS BRING: The Ivy League leaders in record, Penn enters the weekend on a seven-game winning streak going back to Mar. 13 against Winthrop. In their last game, the Quakers beat Lehigh at home with a 16-6 win, following a home weekend sweep (Mar. 18-20) of Wagner.

BACK TO THE IVY: Columbia's matchup with Penn will be the 2022 Ivy League opener, and the first time that the Lions have faced an Ivy League opponent since 2019 when they visited Harvard for two games in the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series.

The Lions last Ivy League win was over Penn, in the 2019 regular season finale, beating the Quakers 4-0 on May 4, 2019. Columbia's last home win over an Ivy League foe was a 9-6 win over Brown on Apr. 21, 2019 and that win was part of the last Ivy League series win which saw Columbia take two out of three from Brown over the weekend of Apr. 20-21, 2019.

HOME SWEET HOME: Columbia finally opened Robertson Field at Satow Stadium with its game against Manhattan on Wed., Mar. 23. It was the first home game for the Lions since Mar. 23, 2019. Making it 1,097 days since the Lions hosted Cornell in a 3-0 Ivy League win. Ironically, the last non-conference squad hosted by the Lions was Manhattan, when Columbia knocked off the Jaspers 7-2 on Mar. 27, 2019.

OPENING HOME WITH A BLAST: Columbia scored a season-high 14 runs over Manhattan, exploding on its way to a 14-5 home opening win. It was the first home game in over three years and Columbia was ready to defend home turf again.

The Lions also knocked in a season-high 10 RBIs, scoring nine runs over the first two innings to open the game and Columbia got scoreless work from Griffin Palfrey (2.0 IP), Phil Healy (2.0 IP, JD Ogden (1.0 IP), Justin Tucker (1.0 IP) and Derek Yoo (1.0 IP).

RUNNING LIONS: Columbia has been aggressive on the bases all season long, and they sit second in the Ivy League with 19 total stolen bases. In the home opener against Manhattan the Lions swiped three bags, including a double steal that scored a run and caused a throwing error by the Jaspers.

MAY TIME: In his last two outings, May has been a force coming out of the bullpen. Recording a win and a save posting a two-game line of 9.1 IP 7 H 2 ER 8 K and he has become a solid one-two punch with Higgins.

THE BIG 300: Head Coach Brett Boretti reached the 400-win plateau last season and during Columbia's home opening win over Manhattan on Mar. 23, he got his 300th win with the Lions. He sits second all-time, with Boretti making the move up from third in Columbia's weekend at Davidson. Boretti became only the second coach in program history to ever reach the 300-win milestone.

Boretti's 168 Ivy League wins and .596 winning percentage in conference play are both program benchmarks.

PRESEASON PICKS: Columbia was picked to finish second in the Ivy League preseason poll. The Lions, who tied with Yale for the most first-place votes at five, finished six points ahead of Penn, who were picked to finish third.

2022 Ivy League Baseball Preseason Poll (First Place Votes)
1. Yale – 107 (5)
2. Columbia – 102 (5)
3. Penn – 96 (4)
4. Harvard – 92 (2)
5. Dartmouth – 72
6. Princeton – 47
7. Brown – 35
8. Cornell –25

DID YOU KNOW: Every student-athlete that has played for head coach Brett Boretti's in his 17-year tenure, and remained on Columbia's roster for at least three years, has either won a conference title or competed in an Ivy League Playoff Series.

LIONS IN THE PROS: Columbia currently has one player in the professional ranks as Josh Simpson '19CC, a left-handed pitcher who was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2019, remains in their system having spent time pitching as high as Single-A ball.

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).