Friday, February 23
Gainesville, Fla.
6:30 P.M.
Columbia
at
Florida
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.
Baseball Opens 2024 Season at No. 4 Florida This Weekend
2/22/2024 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Lions begin quest for sixth Ivy Championship in last 10 seasons
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Columbia baseball opens the 2024 season with a three-game series at No. 4 Florida this weekend.
First pitch on Opening Day Friday from Condron Family Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
"We had a solid preseason and grew as a group," head coach Brett Boretti said. "There are a lot of new faces competing in important positions as well as on the hill. The players and staff are looking forward to playing one of the top teams in the country this weekend and finding out more about ourselves."
The Lions open the season with a ranked opponent for the second-straight year. Columbia started last season's campaign at No. 19 Virginia. In recent years, Columbia has opened the 2017 season against No. 2 Florida and the 2015 campaign at No. 3 Houston.
All three games are being broadcasted on SEC Network+, not ESPN+, therefore it requires that you have the SEC Network included in your cable package. SEC Network+ requires a cable/streaming login to any of the major options, such as Hulu, YouTubeTV, FuboTV, Xfinity, Dish, etc. You will be able to login to your provider and watch each game that way.
Game 1 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
Game 2 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
Game 3 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
For fans looking to go watch Columbia's season-opening series, tickets can be purchased here.
Columbia's projected starting pitchers (2023 stats):
Game 1 – RHP Joe Sheets (12 GS, 3-4 W/L, 4.26 ERA, 67.2 IP)
Game 2 – RHP Andy Leon (12 GS, 6-3 W/L, 4.79 ERA, 62.0 IP)
Game 3 – LHP JD Ogden (9 APP, 4 GS, 0-2 W/L, 10.98 ERA, 19.2 IP)
Opening Day
The Lions have notched two opening day victories in the Brett Boretti era, with both coming in Florida. In 2022, Columbia opened with an 8-3 win over Stetson in Florida. Joe Sheets pitched two scoreless innings to close out the win. Columbia's other opening day win under Boretti was a 1-0 win over South Florida in 2014.
A Tradition of Excellence
Since 2012, Columbia leads the Ivy League with 135 conference wins, 11 wins over ranked opponents, six NCAA Tournament wins, and five Ivy League Championships. In that span, the Lions have also produced 12 Major League Baseball Draft selections and have had 18 players in MLB organizations.
Preseason Polls
Columbia was tabbed to finish second in the 2024 Ivy League Preseason Poll, as voted on by eight sports information directors and eight media members from around the league. The Lions have never been picked to finish worse than third in the Ivy League Baseball Preseason Poll. Penn received all 16 first place votes this year, while Harvard and Princeton were picked to finish behind the Lions in third and fourth place, respectively.
D1 Baseball's Eric Sorenson also projected the Lions to finish second in the Ivy League standings.
The Schedule
Columbia baseball head coach Brett Boretti announced the program's 2024 schedule, which features 42 games with 19 of them being played at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
"We put together another very challenging schedule for the team," Boretti said. "This year is a little unique because of all the conference changes. There have been several schedule changes later than usual which ended up allowing us to play an early home weekend against Marist. Ivy League Baseball continues to get better every year and each weekend will be very competitive."
The Lions square off with three opponents who reached the NCAA Regionals last season (Santa Clara, East Carolina, and UConn) along with the College World Series runner-up, Florida. Other strong non-conference opponents include UC Irvine, who finished with an RPI of 45, the highest RPI team not to earn an at-large spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Ivy League play commences on March 23 when the Lions welcome Harvard. Columbia closes out an eight-game homestand when the reigning Ivy League Champion, Penn, comes to town March 30-31.The Lions wrapup Ivy League play on May 4-5 against Princeton at home.
The Ivy League Tournament is set for May 17-19 at the top seed's home field. The winner will advance to the NCAA Regionals on June 2-5. The NCAA Super Regionals are scheduled for June 9-12 with the College World Series slated for June 17-28 in Omaha, Neb.
The Roster
Columbia returns 27 players from 2023's team that went 23-22 and 11-10 in conference play. Just 11 players are not returning in 2024. The Lions welcomed 11 newcomers ahead of this season. Columbia's' class of 2027 features student-athletes from seven different states (Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, New York, and Texas).
The 2024 roster features back-to-back All-Ivy League First Team selection Cole Hage, Second Team members Anton Lazits, Andy Leon. Joe Sheets was named to the All-Ivy Honorable Mention Team.
Also expected to make an impact is infielder/pitcher Griffin Palfrey, who ranked second on the team in batting average (.356) and RBIs (44) in 2023. He was tied for second on the team in hits (62) and ranked in the top ten among Ivy League hitters in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, hits, RBIs, and doubles. Palfrey had the longest hitting streak on the team last year (17 games) and made eight appearances on the mound.
Infielder Jack Kail looks to take the next step in his game, coming off a solid rookie season in 2023. The McMurray, Pennsylvania native appeared and started in 39 games in 2023. He struck out just 14 times in 133 at-bats and ranked tied for 74th in the country in toughest to strikeout.
The middle of the lineup is packed with Hage, Palfrey, Lazits, Kail, Skye Selinsky, Seth Dardar, and Jack Cooper. Miles Blackwell will do a majority of the catching for the Lions. Eric Jeon and Owen Estabrook will also see time in the lineup, while Sam Miller and Hunter Snyder add a lot of versatility.
Andy Leon, Joe Sheets, and JD Ogden are the projected starting rotation for the Lions. Pitchers Thomas Santana, Brandon Madrigal, Baylor Hicks, Will Harrigan, Payton Soske, Derek Yoo, and James Vaughn will be viable options out of the Columbia bullpen from the right side. Left-handed pitchers Justin Bowman and Jagger Edwards will be southpaw options.
The Captains
Joe Sheets, EJ Kreutzmann, Cole Hage, JD Ogden, and Griffin Palfrey are the program's captains for the 2024 season.
The Coaching Staff
Three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year Brett Boretti enters his 19th season at the helm of the Columbia baseball program and is 11 wins shy of becoming the program's all-time wins leader.
Pitching coach Tom Carty and assistant coach Canyon Kyle '22SPS enter their second season with the program. Carty was named to the USA Baseball 2023 16U/17U National Team Development Program staff last summer. Kyle was recently promoted to a full-time position on Boretti's staff.
Former two-time All-Ivy League First Team infielder David Vandercook '15CC was named Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator this offseason. Vandercook was a three-year starter and helped the Lions win the Ivy League title all three of those seasons from 2013-15. The Boca Raton, Florida native received a bachelor's degree in history at Columbia.
A Look Back at 2023
In 2023, Columbia set the following program records: Team single-season home runs (72), team single-game hits (26) vs. Monmouth, and home runs (7) at Marist. The Lions ranked in the top 25 nationally in batting average (.306), doubles per game (2.38), scoring (8.4 runs per game), and slugging percentage (.517).
Nine opponents from Columbia's 2023 schedule reached the NCAA Tournament regionals (Virginia, UNC Wilmington, Alabama, Troy, Samford, Tulane, UConn, Army West Point, and Penn).
Shortstop Andy Blake '23CC was named 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year (fifth under head coach Brett Boretti and first since 2017). Blake led Ivy League hitters in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.366), hits (75), and runs (53). The Hopewell Township, New Jersey native also set the program's single-season record for hits and tied the Ivy League record with 75. Blake went on to sign a Minor League contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Catcher Weston Eberly '23CC was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round (479th overall) after appearing in 44 games and making 42 starts behind the plate his senior season in 2023. He was a Second Team All-Ivy League selection and was named one of 13 semifinalists on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List which honors the best division one catcher in the country.
The Lions ranked in the top 25 nationally in batting average, doubles per game (2.38), scoring (8.4 runs per game), and slugging percentage.
Columbia led the Ivy League overall in home runs (72), batting average (.306), runs (376), runs batted in (340), slugging percentage (.517), and total bases (850) for the second-straight season. Also led the Ivy League in on-base percentage (.401).
Scouting Florida
The Gators enter the weekend at 2-1 and are coming off back-to-back wins over North Florida in a home-and-home this week. Florida is hitting .337 as a team through its first three games and pitching to a 4.32 ERA. The Gators were picked to finish first in the Eastern Division of the Southeast Conference.
Series History - Florida
Columbia has dropped all five matchups to the Gators, including most recently a 2018 NCAA Tournament Regionals contest.
Lions Active in the Community
Columbia participated in the 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer's. The event took place on October 21, at South Street Seaport in downtown Manhattan. The Lions walked in this event to help raise awareness and money for the disease.
The Lions also hosted a clinic for Inwood Little Leaguers in the fall. About 60 Inwood Little Leaguers enjoyed a free clinic with the Lions. The kids were broken up into groups by age and did offense and defense instruction for almost two hours at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
Joe Sheets was named Honorable Mention on the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team. This recognition highlights collegiate baseball players that display a substantial commitment to their community through service, embody the generous spirit and character of Gehrig, and make remarkable contributions to the success of their respective teams. To further Lou Gehrig's legacy & his baseball career that began at Columbia University, Phi Delta Theta & the Live Like Lou Foundation announced the inaugural team this month.
On Deck
Following the season-opening series with Florida, the Lions return to New York City for their home opener next weekend from Robertson Field at Satow Stadium. Columbia will host a four-game series against Marist starting on Friday at 3 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday with game one starting at 12 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
First pitch on Opening Day Friday from Condron Family Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
The 2024 Columbia Lions! ⚾️#RoarLionRoar🦁 #OnlyHere🗽 pic.twitter.com/zBN0Zf4VtP
— Columbia Baseball (@CULionsBaseball) February 21, 2024
"We had a solid preseason and grew as a group," head coach Brett Boretti said. "There are a lot of new faces competing in important positions as well as on the hill. The players and staff are looking forward to playing one of the top teams in the country this weekend and finding out more about ourselves."
The Lions open the season with a ranked opponent for the second-straight year. Columbia started last season's campaign at No. 19 Virginia. In recent years, Columbia has opened the 2017 season against No. 2 Florida and the 2015 campaign at No. 3 Houston.
All three games are being broadcasted on SEC Network+, not ESPN+, therefore it requires that you have the SEC Network included in your cable package. SEC Network+ requires a cable/streaming login to any of the major options, such as Hulu, YouTubeTV, FuboTV, Xfinity, Dish, etc. You will be able to login to your provider and watch each game that way.
Game 1 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
Game 2 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
Game 3 – Live Stats | Watch (SEC Network+)
For fans looking to go watch Columbia's season-opening series, tickets can be purchased here.
Columbia's projected starting pitchers (2023 stats):
Game 1 – RHP Joe Sheets (12 GS, 3-4 W/L, 4.26 ERA, 67.2 IP)
Game 2 – RHP Andy Leon (12 GS, 6-3 W/L, 4.79 ERA, 62.0 IP)
Game 3 – LHP JD Ogden (9 APP, 4 GS, 0-2 W/L, 10.98 ERA, 19.2 IP)
Opening Day
The Lions have notched two opening day victories in the Brett Boretti era, with both coming in Florida. In 2022, Columbia opened with an 8-3 win over Stetson in Florida. Joe Sheets pitched two scoreless innings to close out the win. Columbia's other opening day win under Boretti was a 1-0 win over South Florida in 2014.
A Tradition of Excellence
Since 2012, Columbia leads the Ivy League with 135 conference wins, 11 wins over ranked opponents, six NCAA Tournament wins, and five Ivy League Championships. In that span, the Lions have also produced 12 Major League Baseball Draft selections and have had 18 players in MLB organizations.
A tradition of excellence#RoarLionRoar🦁 #OnlyHere🗽 pic.twitter.com/b6qIrsWRXs
— Columbia Baseball (@CULionsBaseball) July 20, 2023
Preseason Polls
Columbia was tabbed to finish second in the 2024 Ivy League Preseason Poll, as voted on by eight sports information directors and eight media members from around the league. The Lions have never been picked to finish worse than third in the Ivy League Baseball Preseason Poll. Penn received all 16 first place votes this year, while Harvard and Princeton were picked to finish behind the Lions in third and fourth place, respectively.
D1 Baseball's Eric Sorenson also projected the Lions to finish second in the Ivy League standings.
The Schedule
Columbia baseball head coach Brett Boretti announced the program's 2024 schedule, which features 42 games with 19 of them being played at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
"We put together another very challenging schedule for the team," Boretti said. "This year is a little unique because of all the conference changes. There have been several schedule changes later than usual which ended up allowing us to play an early home weekend against Marist. Ivy League Baseball continues to get better every year and each weekend will be very competitive."
The Lions square off with three opponents who reached the NCAA Regionals last season (Santa Clara, East Carolina, and UConn) along with the College World Series runner-up, Florida. Other strong non-conference opponents include UC Irvine, who finished with an RPI of 45, the highest RPI team not to earn an at-large spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Ivy League play commences on March 23 when the Lions welcome Harvard. Columbia closes out an eight-game homestand when the reigning Ivy League Champion, Penn, comes to town March 30-31.The Lions wrapup Ivy League play on May 4-5 against Princeton at home.
The Ivy League Tournament is set for May 17-19 at the top seed's home field. The winner will advance to the NCAA Regionals on June 2-5. The NCAA Super Regionals are scheduled for June 9-12 with the College World Series slated for June 17-28 in Omaha, Neb.
The Roster
Columbia returns 27 players from 2023's team that went 23-22 and 11-10 in conference play. Just 11 players are not returning in 2024. The Lions welcomed 11 newcomers ahead of this season. Columbia's' class of 2027 features student-athletes from seven different states (Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, New York, and Texas).
The 2024 roster features back-to-back All-Ivy League First Team selection Cole Hage, Second Team members Anton Lazits, Andy Leon. Joe Sheets was named to the All-Ivy Honorable Mention Team.
Also expected to make an impact is infielder/pitcher Griffin Palfrey, who ranked second on the team in batting average (.356) and RBIs (44) in 2023. He was tied for second on the team in hits (62) and ranked in the top ten among Ivy League hitters in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, hits, RBIs, and doubles. Palfrey had the longest hitting streak on the team last year (17 games) and made eight appearances on the mound.
Infielder Jack Kail looks to take the next step in his game, coming off a solid rookie season in 2023. The McMurray, Pennsylvania native appeared and started in 39 games in 2023. He struck out just 14 times in 133 at-bats and ranked tied for 74th in the country in toughest to strikeout.
The middle of the lineup is packed with Hage, Palfrey, Lazits, Kail, Skye Selinsky, Seth Dardar, and Jack Cooper. Miles Blackwell will do a majority of the catching for the Lions. Eric Jeon and Owen Estabrook will also see time in the lineup, while Sam Miller and Hunter Snyder add a lot of versatility.
Andy Leon, Joe Sheets, and JD Ogden are the projected starting rotation for the Lions. Pitchers Thomas Santana, Brandon Madrigal, Baylor Hicks, Will Harrigan, Payton Soske, Derek Yoo, and James Vaughn will be viable options out of the Columbia bullpen from the right side. Left-handed pitchers Justin Bowman and Jagger Edwards will be southpaw options.
The Captains
Joe Sheets, EJ Kreutzmann, Cole Hage, JD Ogden, and Griffin Palfrey are the program's captains for the 2024 season.
The Coaching Staff
Three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year Brett Boretti enters his 19th season at the helm of the Columbia baseball program and is 11 wins shy of becoming the program's all-time wins leader.
Pitching coach Tom Carty and assistant coach Canyon Kyle '22SPS enter their second season with the program. Carty was named to the USA Baseball 2023 16U/17U National Team Development Program staff last summer. Kyle was recently promoted to a full-time position on Boretti's staff.
Former two-time All-Ivy League First Team infielder David Vandercook '15CC was named Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator this offseason. Vandercook was a three-year starter and helped the Lions win the Ivy League title all three of those seasons from 2013-15. The Boca Raton, Florida native received a bachelor's degree in history at Columbia.
A Look Back at 2023
In 2023, Columbia set the following program records: Team single-season home runs (72), team single-game hits (26) vs. Monmouth, and home runs (7) at Marist. The Lions ranked in the top 25 nationally in batting average (.306), doubles per game (2.38), scoring (8.4 runs per game), and slugging percentage (.517).
Nine opponents from Columbia's 2023 schedule reached the NCAA Tournament regionals (Virginia, UNC Wilmington, Alabama, Troy, Samford, Tulane, UConn, Army West Point, and Penn).
Shortstop Andy Blake '23CC was named 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year (fifth under head coach Brett Boretti and first since 2017). Blake led Ivy League hitters in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.366), hits (75), and runs (53). The Hopewell Township, New Jersey native also set the program's single-season record for hits and tied the Ivy League record with 75. Blake went on to sign a Minor League contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Catcher Weston Eberly '23CC was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round (479th overall) after appearing in 44 games and making 42 starts behind the plate his senior season in 2023. He was a Second Team All-Ivy League selection and was named one of 13 semifinalists on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List which honors the best division one catcher in the country.
The Lions ranked in the top 25 nationally in batting average, doubles per game (2.38), scoring (8.4 runs per game), and slugging percentage.
Columbia led the Ivy League overall in home runs (72), batting average (.306), runs (376), runs batted in (340), slugging percentage (.517), and total bases (850) for the second-straight season. Also led the Ivy League in on-base percentage (.401).
Scouting Florida
The Gators enter the weekend at 2-1 and are coming off back-to-back wins over North Florida in a home-and-home this week. Florida is hitting .337 as a team through its first three games and pitching to a 4.32 ERA. The Gators were picked to finish first in the Eastern Division of the Southeast Conference.
Series History - Florida
Columbia has dropped all five matchups to the Gators, including most recently a 2018 NCAA Tournament Regionals contest.
Lions Active in the Community
Columbia participated in the 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer's. The event took place on October 21, at South Street Seaport in downtown Manhattan. The Lions walked in this event to help raise awareness and money for the disease.
The Lions also hosted a clinic for Inwood Little Leaguers in the fall. About 60 Inwood Little Leaguers enjoyed a free clinic with the Lions. The kids were broken up into groups by age and did offense and defense instruction for almost two hours at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
Joe Sheets was named Honorable Mention on the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team. This recognition highlights collegiate baseball players that display a substantial commitment to their community through service, embody the generous spirit and character of Gehrig, and make remarkable contributions to the success of their respective teams. To further Lou Gehrig's legacy & his baseball career that began at Columbia University, Phi Delta Theta & the Live Like Lou Foundation announced the inaugural team this month.
Captain and RHP Joe Sheets (@joesheets_) has been named Honorable Mention on the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team ⚾️ (1/2)#RoarLionRoar🦁 #OnlyHere🗽 https://t.co/i187IOVwTS
— Columbia Baseball (@CULionsBaseball) February 20, 2024
On Deck
Following the season-opening series with Florida, the Lions return to New York City for their home opener next weekend from Robertson Field at Satow Stadium. Columbia will host a four-game series against Marist starting on Friday at 3 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday with game one starting at 12 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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Highlights: BASE | Columbia 8, Fordham 9
Tuesday, March 31
Highlights: BASE | Columbia 3, Dartmouth 1
Sunday, March 29
Highlights: BASE | Columbia 2, Dartmouth 3 (10)
Sunday, March 29
Highlights: BASE | Columbia vs. Manhattan
Wednesday, March 25
