NEW YORK — For the first time in program history, Columbia Baseball (18-13, 10-2 IVY) will face Marist (18-13, 7-5 MAAC) on Wednesday, April 19, in the final home midweek game of the season with first pitch at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium set for 3:30 p.m.
 
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
vs. Marist – Phil Healy: 1-1 6.43 ERA (LHP/COL) – TBA (MAR)
 
COLUMBIA'S STATUS: Winning its last 11 games, Columbia enters its final home midweek game of the season on a roll and they currently hold the fifth-best winning streak in the nation.  Over the weekend, Columbia completed its third straight weekend sweep of an Ivy League foe, taking down Harvard in all three games they played at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.  The three wins also extended Columbia's Ivy League winnings streak to nine games.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES: For the first time in history, Marist and Columbia will meet on the diamond.  It's not the first MAAC opponent the Lions have faced, taking on Manhattan in the home opener on Mar. 23, winning that game 14-5 and they enter Wednesday's game at 1-0 against the MAAC this season.
 
WHAT THE RED FOXES BRING: The Red Foxes entered the week sitting at 17-13, 7-5 MAAC.  Marist faced Hartford, on Tuesday, Apr. 19, winning 13-4, before they head to Manhattan to face the Lions.  In their last four games, Marist is 2-2, having lost two out of three over the weekend to Canisius in a MAAC match up.  Wednesday's game will be the fifth out of the last six on the road for Marist.
 
ANOTHER IVY SWEEP: For the third straight weekend, Columbia took care of its Ivy League opponent, sweeping Harvard by outscoring the Crimson 37-19 over all three games.  The wins extended Columbia's Ivy League winning streak to nine straight games.
 
The sweep also meant that for the first time in Ivy League history, since going to the current format in 2018, a team has swept three straight weekends.
 
STARTERS ROAR: Over the weekend, Columbia got outstanding pitching from its starters, as Sean Higgins, Joe Sheets and JD Ogden only gave up five runs, while pitching 14.2 innings over the three games.
 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Joe Sheets' seven inning starting performance in the second game of the doubleheader against Harvard earned him Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors.  Sheets allowed no runs, struck out seven and gave up six hits in his outstanding start.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK (AGAIN): For the second time this season, Columbia earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors, this time the nod went to Hayden Schott.  Schott hit .615 with three home runs and nine RBIs, to go along with a 1.462 slugging percentage and a pair of doubles.
 
SCORING IVY RUNS ... LOTS OF IVY RUNS: Over the nine game Ivy League winning streak the Lions have been outscoring their opponents by 64 runs, scoring 111 runs, while allowing only 47 over the last nine league games.
 
NUMBERS ARE IVY: Columbia's individual numbers in the Ivy League have been solid putting the Lions in first place in the league.
 
· Anton Lazits: 20-48 .438 BA 2 HR 4 2B 9 RBIs
· Tyler MacGregor: 20-49 .408 BA 10 2B 13 RBIs
· Hayden Schott: 20-50 .400 BA 5 HR 6 2B 16 RBIs
· Cole Hage: 19-49 .388 BA 3 HR 4 2B 14 RBIs
· Weston Eberly: 16-43 .372 BA 2 HR 2 3B 5 2B 13 RBIs
· Austin Mowrey: 16-46 .348 BA 1 HR 1 2B 1 3B 5 RBIs
· Andy Blake: 16-51 .314 BA 4 HR 3 2B 2 3B 11 RBIs
 
HITTING NATIONALLY: The Lions' hitting has put them in the top 50 nationally in several offensive catagories, sitting 21st in slugging percentage, 37th in home runs per game and 48th in batting average.  Columbia also sits 29th in scoring, 47th in total doubles, 37th in triples per game and 40th in total triples.
 
THIS CATCHER CAN SCOOT: Weston Eberly has shown some power and speed during Columbia's 31 games, smacking four triples over that stretch.  He ranks third nationally in total triples and his triples per game average puts him 4th in the nation.  Eberly is also tied for the lead for most triples by a catcher in the country.
 
NATIONALLY FAST: Columbia has been extremely aggressive on the base paths all season and the numbers reflect that.  The Lions have racked up 51 total stolen bases and are averaging 1.6 stolen bases per game.  Nationally they rank 43rd in stolen bases per game and 59th in total stolen bases.  And sit first in total stolen bases and second in stolen bases per game in the Ivy League.
 
EJ LOVES NEW YORK: Only having 20 at bats at home, EJ Kreutzmann has really enjoyed his time at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium, hitting .450 with 15 RBIs 2 HR and 2 2B.
 
WERESKI IS ROYAL: Former Lion pitcher, Ben Wereski '20CC was signed by the Kansas City Royals organization on Apr. 14.  Wereski will pitch for the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
 
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 178 Ivy League wins and .605­­ 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 two players 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 and Ben Wereski '20CC, who joined the Kansas City Royals organization during the week of April 12, 2022.
 
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).