Saturday, May 13
Philadelphia, Pa.
11:30 A.M.
Columbia University
at
Penn
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Baseball Visits Penn This Weekend
5/12/2023 12:30:00 PM | Baseball
Lions set for final regular season series
PHILADELPHIA — Columbia baseball wraps up the regular season this weekend with a three-game series at Penn.
First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is set for 11:30 a.m. and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. All three games will air on ESPN+ from Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
Game 1 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Game 2 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Game 3 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Projected Columbia starting pitchers:
Game 1: RHP Andy Leon (10 APP, 10 GS, 6-2 W/L, 4.02 ERA, 53.2 IP)
Game 2: RHP Joe Sheets (10 APP, 10 GS, 3-3 W/L, 3.83 ERA, 56.1 IP)
Game 3: TBD
Projected Penn starting pitchers:
Game 1: LHP Owen Coady (10 APP, 10 GS, 5-3 W/L, 2.81 ERA, 57.2 IP)
Game 2: RHP Cole Zaffiro (10 APP, 10 GS, 4-2 W/L, 3.04 ERA, 56.1 IP)
Game 3: RHP Ryan Dromboski (10 APP, 10 GS, 6-2 W/L, 2.70 ERA, 53.1 IP)
Win And In
Columbia clinches the final spot in the four-team Ivy League Tournament with a win or a Yale loss this weekend. The tournament takes place May 19-22 at the home site of the No. 1 seed. Penn, Harvard, and Princeton have clinched the first three spots in the tournament.
Last Time Out
Columbia (23-17, 11-7) is coming off a bye week ahead of the regular season finale. The Lions last played on May 2 against St. John's and dropped the midweek matchup, 7-5. Columbia finished the regular season home schedule with a 10-3 record at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
Offensive Explosion
Columbia has scored 15 or more runs in eight games this season. The team has shattered the single-game record for hits (26) and home runs (seven) this year.
The Lions are all over the national rankings in several stat categories at the plate:
-16th in the country with 8.6 runs scored per game
-24th in the country with a .527 slugging percentage
-19th in the country with a .311 team batting average
-62nd in the country with 67 home runs
-36th in the country with 1.68 home runs per game
-42nd in the country with a .402 on-base percentage
Blake's Brilliance
Shortstop Andy Blake has reached base in all 40 games this season. The senior has recorded a hit in all but five games this year and has multiple hits in 19 of Columbia's games this season.
Nationally, Blake ranks 24th in doubles (19), 75th in hits (68), 12th in hits per game (1.70), 46th in runs per game (1.22), and 82nd in total bases (121).
1-2 Punch
Lions starting pitchers Andy Leon and Joe Sheets have made all their starts on the mound this season at the top of Columbia's rotation. Leon is tied for the Ivy League lead with six wins while Sheets has allowed a league-low one home run and has walked 11 batters, which ranks second in the conference.
Closing Time
Justin Tucker is tied for the Ivy League lead and ranks tied for 93rd in the country with five saves this season. Tucker is one save away from setting the program single season save record.
Turning Two
Columbia ranks ninth in the country in double plays turned per game. The Lions have totaled 39, which ranks best in the Ivy League and 40th nationally.
Ranked Wins
The Lions won a three-game series at No. 18 Alabama on March 11. The victory in the series finale marked the first time in program history that Columbia won a series against an SEC team. Columbia earned its second and third win over an SEC team in program history when it defeated the Crimson Tide 10-7 in the series opener and then 15-3 in the series finale. The first win over an SEC team in program history came in 1989 at Tennessee. The Lions handed Alabama its first two losses of 2023.
On April 4, Columbia erased a 12-0 deficit against No. 19 UConn and defeated the Huskies, 19-14, in New York. These three victories now give head coach Brett Boretti 13 victories over ranked teams during his tenure at Columbia.
Penn's Status
Penn enters this weekend's series at 26-14 and 13-5 in league play. The Quakers are most recently coming off a midweek victory over Delaware in which they walked off the Blue Hens, 10-9. Ben Miller leads the team with a .335 batting average and 55 hits. Wyatt Henseler has a team-leading 14 home runs and 54 RBIs.
On the mound, Penn's top three starting pitchers have made all 10 starts this season. Coady, Zaffiro, and Dromboski all have sub-3.00 ERAs this year and have the three lowest ERAs among Ivy League pitchers.
Series History - Penn
Columbia is 130-138-3 all-time against Penn. The Lions defeated the Quakers in last season's best-of-three Ivy League Playoff Series in Philadelphia. Columbia dropped the series the last time the two teams met in the City of Brotherly Love back in 2019.
Among The Best of the Nation
Catcher Weston Eberly ranks No. 33 on D1 Baseball's Week 12 Top 50 Catchers List. Eberly was ranked No. 37 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 50 Catchers List and No. 45 on the previous list earlier this season.
Shortstop Andy Blake ranks No. 30 on D1 Baseball's Week 12 Top 50 Shortstops List.
Right fielder Hayden Schott ranks No. 81 on D1 Baseball's Top 100 Outfielders List.
Outfielder Cole Hage checked in at No. 122 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 150 Outfielders List. Last season, Hage led the Lions in batting average (.335) and on-base percentage (.454).
Preseason Polls
Columbia was tabbed to finish first in the 2023 Ivy League Preseason Poll, as voted on by eight sports information directors and eight media members from around the league. The Lions have been picked to finish first in the preseason poll for the first time since the poll was instituted in 2018. Before this year's first-place rank, Columbia had either been picked to finish second or third in the previous four Ivy League Baseball Preseason Polls. Columbia received 12 out of 16 first-place votes in this year's poll.
D1 Baseball's Eric Sorenson projected the Lions to finish first in the Ivy League standings and be the lone regional team to come out of the conference.
Up Next
With a win or Yale loss at any point this weekend, Columbia would begin play in the Ivy League Tournament next Friday.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is set for 11:30 a.m. and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. All three games will air on ESPN+ from Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
Game 1 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Game 2 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Game 3 – Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Projected Columbia starting pitchers:
Game 1: RHP Andy Leon (10 APP, 10 GS, 6-2 W/L, 4.02 ERA, 53.2 IP)
Game 2: RHP Joe Sheets (10 APP, 10 GS, 3-3 W/L, 3.83 ERA, 56.1 IP)
Game 3: TBD
Projected Penn starting pitchers:
Game 1: LHP Owen Coady (10 APP, 10 GS, 5-3 W/L, 2.81 ERA, 57.2 IP)
Game 2: RHP Cole Zaffiro (10 APP, 10 GS, 4-2 W/L, 3.04 ERA, 56.1 IP)
Game 3: RHP Ryan Dromboski (10 APP, 10 GS, 6-2 W/L, 2.70 ERA, 53.1 IP)
Win And In
Columbia clinches the final spot in the four-team Ivy League Tournament with a win or a Yale loss this weekend. The tournament takes place May 19-22 at the home site of the No. 1 seed. Penn, Harvard, and Princeton have clinched the first three spots in the tournament.
Last Time Out
Columbia (23-17, 11-7) is coming off a bye week ahead of the regular season finale. The Lions last played on May 2 against St. John's and dropped the midweek matchup, 7-5. Columbia finished the regular season home schedule with a 10-3 record at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
Offensive Explosion
Columbia has scored 15 or more runs in eight games this season. The team has shattered the single-game record for hits (26) and home runs (seven) this year.
The Lions are all over the national rankings in several stat categories at the plate:
-16th in the country with 8.6 runs scored per game
-24th in the country with a .527 slugging percentage
-19th in the country with a .311 team batting average
-62nd in the country with 67 home runs
-36th in the country with 1.68 home runs per game
-42nd in the country with a .402 on-base percentage
Blake's Brilliance
Shortstop Andy Blake has reached base in all 40 games this season. The senior has recorded a hit in all but five games this year and has multiple hits in 19 of Columbia's games this season.
Nationally, Blake ranks 24th in doubles (19), 75th in hits (68), 12th in hits per game (1.70), 46th in runs per game (1.22), and 82nd in total bases (121).
1-2 Punch
Lions starting pitchers Andy Leon and Joe Sheets have made all their starts on the mound this season at the top of Columbia's rotation. Leon is tied for the Ivy League lead with six wins while Sheets has allowed a league-low one home run and has walked 11 batters, which ranks second in the conference.
Closing Time
Justin Tucker is tied for the Ivy League lead and ranks tied for 93rd in the country with five saves this season. Tucker is one save away from setting the program single season save record.
Turning Two
Columbia ranks ninth in the country in double plays turned per game. The Lions have totaled 39, which ranks best in the Ivy League and 40th nationally.
Ranked Wins
The Lions won a three-game series at No. 18 Alabama on March 11. The victory in the series finale marked the first time in program history that Columbia won a series against an SEC team. Columbia earned its second and third win over an SEC team in program history when it defeated the Crimson Tide 10-7 in the series opener and then 15-3 in the series finale. The first win over an SEC team in program history came in 1989 at Tennessee. The Lions handed Alabama its first two losses of 2023.
On April 4, Columbia erased a 12-0 deficit against No. 19 UConn and defeated the Huskies, 19-14, in New York. These three victories now give head coach Brett Boretti 13 victories over ranked teams during his tenure at Columbia.
Penn's Status
Penn enters this weekend's series at 26-14 and 13-5 in league play. The Quakers are most recently coming off a midweek victory over Delaware in which they walked off the Blue Hens, 10-9. Ben Miller leads the team with a .335 batting average and 55 hits. Wyatt Henseler has a team-leading 14 home runs and 54 RBIs.
On the mound, Penn's top three starting pitchers have made all 10 starts this season. Coady, Zaffiro, and Dromboski all have sub-3.00 ERAs this year and have the three lowest ERAs among Ivy League pitchers.
Series History - Penn
Columbia is 130-138-3 all-time against Penn. The Lions defeated the Quakers in last season's best-of-three Ivy League Playoff Series in Philadelphia. Columbia dropped the series the last time the two teams met in the City of Brotherly Love back in 2019.
Among The Best of the Nation
Catcher Weston Eberly ranks No. 33 on D1 Baseball's Week 12 Top 50 Catchers List. Eberly was ranked No. 37 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 50 Catchers List and No. 45 on the previous list earlier this season.
Shortstop Andy Blake ranks No. 30 on D1 Baseball's Week 12 Top 50 Shortstops List.
Right fielder Hayden Schott ranks No. 81 on D1 Baseball's Top 100 Outfielders List.
Outfielder Cole Hage checked in at No. 122 on D1 Baseball's Preseason Top 150 Outfielders List. Last season, Hage led the Lions in batting average (.335) and on-base percentage (.454).
Preseason Polls
Columbia was tabbed to finish first in the 2023 Ivy League Preseason Poll, as voted on by eight sports information directors and eight media members from around the league. The Lions have been picked to finish first in the preseason poll for the first time since the poll was instituted in 2018. Before this year's first-place rank, Columbia had either been picked to finish second or third in the previous four Ivy League Baseball Preseason Polls. Columbia received 12 out of 16 first-place votes in this year's poll.
D1 Baseball's Eric Sorenson projected the Lions to finish first in the Ivy League standings and be the lone regional team to come out of the conference.
Up Next
With a win or Yale loss at any point this weekend, Columbia would begin play in the Ivy League Tournament next Friday.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Players Mentioned
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