BLACKSBURG, Va. – Columbia Baseball (32-18) lost to Virginia Tech (44-12), 7-2, at English Field Atlantic Union Bank Park, to end the Lions' run at the NCAA Blacksburg Regional ending an outstanding season where the Lions were crowned both Ivy League Champions and Ivy League Playoff Series Champions, breaking seven school records along the way to winning at least 30 games for only the second time in program history.

"Our guys played hard all weekend," said Columbia head coach Brett Boretti.  "In particular coming back today with a great effort this afternoon to get us to the sixth game.  I thought we did a really great job tonight.

"We started a young guy [Joe Sheets] who hadn't pitched in a while and he battled.  Then our two seniors [Saajan May/Sean Higgins] came in behind him to keep us in the game and give us a chance.  I could not be prouder of this team.

"Our senior class, with everything that they have gone through, with us not playing for a while and to get back to this point shows how tremendous this group of men is.  They led us all the way back here and they showed tremendous effort.

"This was the most fun I've had coaching a team in my career.  It was an awesome season and I'm real proud with everything they displayed throughout the season to get to this point.

"I think this team's ability and drive to put the work in to get back to this point after being away from campus for almost two years is really a special story.  To be Ivy League Champions and then to get to game six of a regional shows that this is a special group of guys."
 
Columbia, which beat Gonzaga for the second time this weekend earlier in the day to advance to the regional final, became the first Ivy League team to advance to a regional final since 2017 and it was the second time in program history that Columbia advanced to a regional final.  Tyler MacGregor had two hits and an RBI, while Saajan May tied a season-high with five strikeouts.
 
The Lions got their lone run from a triple smashed to dead center by MacGregor, in the third inning, which scored Andy Blake and put Columbia on the board and at the time put the score at 3-1.
 
Virginia Tech, scoring three runs over the first two innings used a four run fifth to pull away from Columbia.  With the score at 3-1 and two outs on the board, the Hokies had a runner on first when Saajan May, who had relived Joe Sheets (2-2), got the Virginia Tech batter to roll over to second but with the Hokie runner in motion Columbia's defense had rotated out of position, allowing the possible inning ending ground out to roll into right field.
 
The next Hokie batter then hit a three-run home run, which was followed up with another home run and the back-to-back homers put Virginia Tech up 7-1, a lead that the Hokies would hold for the remainder of the game.  And after the final out, the Hokies had won the regional, ending Columbia's 2022 Ivy League Championship campaign.
 
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