Baseball Swept In Doubleheader At Harvard

Friday, April 28

Cambridge, Mass.

12:00 P.M.

Columbia University

23-14, 11-5

Harvard

15-21, 11-5

Columbia

Harvard

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

4/28/2023 6:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Highlights

Series finale set for Saturday at 11 a.m.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Columbia baseball fell to Harvard, 5-2, in game one before dropping game two of Friday's doubleheader, 4-3, at O'Donnell Field.

Andy Blake went 4-for-8 with two RBIs on the day and extended his on-base streak to 37 games. Blake also smacked his 10th home run of the season, which is tied for the team lead with Hayden Schott.

Seth Dardar and Anton Lazits each recorded multi-hit games in game one of the doubleheader for Columbia (23-15, 11-6). With two wins on Friday, Harvard (16-21, 12-5) moves into a first-place tie with Penn in the Ivy League standings.

Game 1 Recap:

The Lions didn't get much going offensively in the series opener. Columbia had just six hits with four of them being doubles and struck out 13 times. Harvard starter Chris Clark had 10 strikeouts over six innings and allowed just one earned run. Griffin Palfrey, Blake, and Schott at the top of the order were held to a combined 1-for-12.

Harvard scored two runs in the home second on a sacrifice fly and base hit to open the scoring and jump out to a 2-0 lead.

Columbia's two runs came in the fifth inning after back-to-back doubles from Dardar and Lazits. Cole Fellows was then hit by a pitch and Sam Miller flew out leaving two on for John San Jule. The senior reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, allowing Lazits to score and cut Harvard's lead in half at 4-2.

Columbia had scoring chances in the sixth and eighth innings, but was unable to scratch runs across. The Lions stranded two runners in each inning.

Lions starter Andy Leon battled for six innings and allowed four runs on six hits with six strikeouts. The sophomore stranded two runners in each the first, second, and fifth innings. Will Parkinson tossed the final three innings and allowed a run in the eighth.

Clark picked up his fourth win of the year while Leon was tagged with just his second loss of the season. Callan Fang recorded a six out save for the Crimson.

Game 2 Recap:

Harvard took an early lead for the second-straight game by putting up a run in the first inning. Columbia took its first lead of the series in the third inning when Blake cracked a two-run home run to put the Lions in front, 2-1.

Harvard responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to re-take the lead after a single and sacrifice fly.

In the top of the sixth, Miller delivered a big blow as he belted a two-run home run to left field to give Columbia its second lead of the game. Miller's third long ball of the season gave the Lions a 4-3 advantage.

Game two starter Joe Sheets pitched into the seventh inning for the fourth time this season. After a hit batter and double to tie the game with one out in the inning, Derek Yoo entered from the bullpen. Yoo's first batter hit a sacrifice fly to give Harvard a 5-4 lead.

Harrison Stovern pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the win for Harvard and earned the save. Cole Cleary got the win for Harvard and Sheets was handed his third loss of the season.

The series finale between Columbia and Harvard is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.