Columbia Visits St. John's In Midweek Matchup

Wednesday, March 30

Queens, N.Y.

3:30 P.M.

Columbia

St. John's

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

3/29/2022 4:59:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats Watch (ESPN3)

Columbia Baseball heads to Queens, New York for a Wednesday, Mar. 30, matchup with the Red Storm.

QUEENS, N.Y. — Columbia Baseball (7-12, 1-2 IVY), after spending the weekend opening Ivy League play at home, returns to the road for a midweek matchup at St. John's (9-15, 0-0 BIG EAST) set to get going at Jack Kaiser Stadium on Wednesday, Mar. 30 at 3:30 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
vs. St. John's – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3) | Social Media (@culionsbaseball)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
Will Parkinson: 0-0 10.29 ERA (LHP/COL) – Joe Mascio: 1-0 7.11 ERA (LHP/SJU)

LAST TIME OUT: Columbia hits the road for a midweek showdown in Queens, after an exciting Ivy League opening weekend where they took a game of Penn in a three-game series. The win came in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader (Mar. 26), where the Lions stormed back from six runs down to win on a pair of back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off against Penn.

INSIDE THE SERIES: The first time Columbia and St. John's met was in 1908, a 14-7 win for the Lions and Columbia went on to win the first seven meetings between the two. Wednesday's midweek match up will be the 54th meeting all-time and St. John's owns a 29-24 advantage. Columbia last won at St. John's in 2017.

WHAT ST. JOHN'S BRINGS: The Red Storm enter Wednesday's match up sitting at 9-15, having won their previous two games and have won seven out of their last 10 games. This will be the 13th straight home game for St. John's and the Red Storm have yet to open Big East play, with that opener set for Apr. 8 at UConn. Over the first 12 games the Red Storm played, they lost 11 for a tough start to their season, in games played all on the road.

COMING BACK: In Columbia's second game of Saturday's doubleheader (Mar. 26) against Penn the Lions completed one of the best comebacks in recent memory, storming back from six runs down to win the game. Columbia got a three-run home run from Skye Selinsky in the eighth inning to pull the Lions within one run, 10-9, and it set up the bottom of the ninth.

Jack Cooper led off the inning with a pinch-hit home run and next stepped-up Austin Mowrey, who smashed one over the center field wall to walk-it off for the Lions. The walk-off win was the first via a home run for the Lions since 2013 and it was the first time since 2018 that the Lions hit back-to-back home runs.

POWERFUL LIONS: In Columbia's comeback win over Penn, the offense came in the form of the home run. Hitting five home runs in the game, the most since 2018 and the second most in program history.

HAVE A WEEKEND: Over the Ivy League opening weekend, the Lions got great performances from several Lions.

· Anton Lazits: 5-12 1 2B 3 RBI
· EJ Kreutzmann: 2-3 1 HR 1 2B 5 RBI
· Hayden Schott: 4-9 1 HR 2 RBI
· Cole Hage: 4-9 1 2B 1 RBI

BACK TO THE IVY: Columbia's opened the Ivy League over the weekend of Mar. 26-27 with a three-game series against Penn. It was the first Ivy League games played by the Lions since the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series.

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 in the first home game in three years.

RUNNING LIONS: Columbia has been aggressive on the bases all season long, and they sit second in the Ivy League with 22 total stolen bases. In the home opener against Manhattan the Lions swiped four bags, including a double steal that scored a run and caused a throwing error by the Jaspers. And in the Ivy League opening weekend, the Lions stole three bags over the three games hosted against Penn.

HOME SWEET HOME: Columbia finally opened Robertson Field at Satow Stadium with its game against Manhattan on 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.

THE BIG 300: 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 169 Ivy League wins and .593 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).