WEST POINT, N.Y. — Looking to stay hot, Columbia Baseball (22-13) heads into its final midweek game when they make the short trip up the Hudson River to take on the Army Black Knights (20-18) with first pitch at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field set for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 27.
 
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
Phil Healy: 1-1 8.44 ERA (L­­HP/COL) – Mike Ruggieri: 1-3 7.24 ERA (RHP/ARMY)
 
COLUMBIA'S STATUS: With the second longest current winning streak in the country, Columbia enters its final midweek game of the season on a 15-game winning streak.  The Lions spent the weekend sweeping Yale, the fourth straight Ivy League weekend sweep for the Lions, to extend their Ivy League winning streak to 12 games.  A win on Wednesday, at Army, would set a program record for consecutive wins.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES: In a matchup that goes back to 1893, Columbia and Army will meet for the 117th time on Wednesday, Apr. 27th.  The Black Knights own the series advantage, 62-53-1, but the Lions took the last meeting, 15-12 back during the 2019 season.  This will be the fifth straight game held at Army, with Columbia taking two of the last four meetings, going back to 2016.
 
WHAT THE BLACK KNIGHTS BRING: The Black Knights enter the game at 20-18, and they took two out of three over their rivals, Navy, over the past weekend.  They did drop their last game, the final game of the Navy series but have won four out of their last five games.  At 13-5, Army sits on top of the Patriot League.
 
BUYING ALL THE BROOMS: For the fourth straight weekend, Columbia swept its Ivy League opponent, taking all three games from Yale in a dominating performance.  The only close game was the first, a comeback win for the Lions that saw them score four runs in the seventh to take the opening game of the doubleheader.
 
TOP OF THE LEAGUE: Columbia's 13-2 record in the Ivy League has them sitting first in the league with six league games remaining.  They sit a game ahead of Penn in the win column and have three games over Dartmouth in the loss column.  Columbia's 22-13 overall record is also second best in the league.
 
NATIONALLY WINNING: Columbia's 15 game winning streak, a program-record trying stretch, currently places them second in the nation for active winning streaks.  The Lions sit behind only Central Michigan, who have won 18 straight games and next play on Friday, Apr. 29.
 
ROOKIE KREUTZ: Becoming the second Lion this season to earn the honor, EJ Kreutzmann was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week following his stellar week.  Over the week, Kreutzmann hit .538, and against Yale he smashed a .556 average.  He also added a pair of stolen bases and a pinch-hit two-run home run over the weekend's games.
 
ROARING COMEBACKS: Columbia once again completed a comeback with its 5-4 win over Yale in the opening game of the doubleheader.  It was Columbia's sixth comeback of the season, a program record, and fifth comeback in Ivy League play.
 
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: 25-58 .431 BA 2 HR 4 2B 15 RBIs
· Hayden Schott: 25-62 .403 BA 7 HR 8 2B 23 RBIs
· Tyler MacGregor: 24-61 .393 BA 12 2B 1 3B 17 RBIs
· Weston Eberly: 20-52 .377 BA 3 HR 2 3B 6 2B 19 RBIs
· Cole Hage: 23-61 .377 BA 3 HR 5 2B 16 RBIs
· Andy Blake: 21-61 .344 BA 4 HR 4 2B 2 3B 13 RBIs
· Austin Mowrey: 19-59 .322 BA 1 HR 2 2B 1 3B 5 RBIs
 
HITTING NATIONALLY: The Lions' hitting has put them in the top 50 nationally in several offensive categories, sitting 17th in slugging percentage, 25th in batting average, 19th in scoring, 54th in home runs and 33rd in home runs per game. 
 
NATIONALLY FAST: Nationally they rank 38th in stolen bases per game and 47th in total stolen bases.  And sit first in total stolen bases and second in stolen bases per game in the Ivy League.
 
SCORING IVY RUNS ... LOTS OF IVY RUNS: Over the 12 game Ivy League winning streak the Lions have been outscoring their opponents by 86 runs, scoring 143 runs, while allowing only 57 over the last 12 league games.
 
THIS CATCHER CAN SCOOT: Weston Eberly has shown some power and speed during Columbia's 35 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.
 
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 181 Ivy League wins and .609­­ 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).