NEW YORK — Using five home runs, three of which came back-to-back-to-back, Columbia Baseball (15-13, 7-2 IVY) extended its winning streak to eight games with a powerful offensive showing against Fordham (6-23, 1-5 A10), blasting past the Rams, 16-3, in a midweek matchup at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
Columbia got big blasts from
EJ Kreutzmann,
Alex Krylov,
Andy Blake,
Tyler MacGregor and
Hayden Schott, with four of the five coming in the fourth inning. Blake, MacGregor and Schott went back-to-back-to-back as the Lions blew open the game with four home runs in the fourth.
Not to be outdone, Columbia got a solid 3.2 innings from winning pitcher
Phil Healy (1-1) to go along with solid work out of the pen from Cameron Hubble,
Brandon Madrigal and
AJ Valle. With Hubble, Madrigal and Valle combining for 5.1 innings of two run ball.
"We got a real strong start from
Phil Healy today and the offense got it going early all with two out in the bottom of the first," said head coach
Brett Boretti. "
Tyler MacGregor got it going in the first and Kreutzmann finished it off.
Alex Krylov had a strong day at the plate, and he started the big inning for us in the fourth."
The 16 runs makes it seven straight games the Lions have scored at least 10 runs, a program record for consecutive games with at least 10 runs scored in wins. Columbia's bats got it started and the pitching finished the job in the win, as Columbia's winning streak continued Tuesday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Columbia did not take long to get on the board, scoring four runs on two outs in the opening inning and it got started off the bat of MacGregor who smacked a single to right, before stealing second base. After Schott walked, the regining Ivy League Rookie of the Week,
Anton Lazits, smacked an RBI ground-rule double over the wall in left center to score MacGregor and get the Lions on the board.
Kreutzmann then stepped to the plate, and he worked the count to 3-1. Sitting in a hitter's count, Kreutzmann saw the pitch he wanted, smashing the 3-1 pitch deep over the wall in center field to quickly put the Lions up 4-0.
Fordham would finally get on the board in the fourth, following three innings of solid pitching from Healy, who gave up just three hits over the opening frames. An RBI double to center would end Healy's day, but Columbia's bullpen had his back and Hubble ended Fordham's hopes of extending the fourth inning after coming in to relieve Healy.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lions made Robertson Field at Satow Stadium look small hitting four home runs in the inning, all being in the no doubter category. It started with Krylov who smashed his first career home run on the first pitch he saw, taking sending it sailing over the center field wall.
Cole Hage then reached first on a hit by pitch, and over the next four at-bats Columbia would earn some frequent flyer miles. Blake added to the tally with a two-run blast to left, scoring Hage and putting the score at 8-1, then stepped up MacGregor who absolutely crushed the 1-0 pitch he saw over the right center field wall.
The final blast came off the bat of Schott, who hits his fifth home run of the season to push Columbia past double digits and give them a 10-1 lead after four innings.
Fordham got a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom Columbia erased those runs with three of their own, as
Kyle Corso's leadoff double led to him eventually scoring on a wild pitch, before the inning was wrapped up on an RBI by
Miles Blackwell, that also saw
Joshua Solomon score on a fielding error by the left fielder.
RBI singles from
John San Jule and
Jacob Phelps in the eighth put the finishing touches on Columbia's day at the plate, and after giving up a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth, Valle got the next three Rams out to wrap up Columbia's 16-3 win over Fordham.
GAME NOTES: Columbia has won eight straight games … Columbia has now scored at least 10 runs in a program record seven straight games … During that seven-game stretch, the Lions have outscored their opponents, 93-27 … The five home runs are one shy of the program record six home runs in a single game … It is the third-straight game with at least two home runs hit … It's the second game of the season the Lions have hit five home runs, having hit five in the 11-10 win over Penn … The back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fourth was the second time this season the Lions have hit back-to-back home runs … MacGregor now has an 12-game hitting streak, which is the longest hitting streak by a Lion since Julian Bury's 19 game hitting streak from 2019-20 … Hage has reached base in all 26 games he has played in.
HONORING 2020/2021: On Saturday, Apr. 16, when Columbia welcomes Harvard for a three-game weekend series, the Lions will honor the Classes of 2020 and 2021. The ceremony will take place at 11:20 a.m., and a tent will be set up during the game for fans to meet with and celebrate the two classes while Columbia and Harvard play a doubleheader.
MS4MS DAY AT THE PARK: Saturday, Apr. 16, will also be MS4MS Day at The Park, hosted by former Columbia Lion Dario Pizzano. Make sure to come by and meet with Dario and donate to the MS4MS organization.
UP NEXT: The Lions remain at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium when they return to Ivy League play with a visit from the Harvard Crimson. The two Ivy League programs will play a Saturday, Apr. 16 doubleheader set to get going at 11:30 a.m., before wrapping up the weekend with a 12 p.m. single game on Sunday, Apr. 17.
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).
