NEW YORK - Senior Jack Cooper went 4-for-4 with a pair of homers and set a new program record with eight RBI to help the Columbia baseball team take down Marist 15-3. The Lions racked up 13 hits and scored in all but one inning to pick up their first win of the season.
Cooper's big day makes him the fourth Ivy League player to have eight or more RBI in a game. Senior Cole Hage was 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBI and three runs scored from the leadoff spot. Derek Yoo picked up the win (1-0) after tossing three innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit and striking out four.
"We've got an incredible history here of amazing players," Cooper said after the game. "To be able to have my name in the record books is something I'll have the rest of my life. It's a really cool feeling."
The Red Foxes (1-7) got on the board first after putting men on the corners with one away. Ethan Conrad legged out an infield single to bring the runner from third in to put Marist up, 1-0. However, Cooper had the answer in the bottom of the frame.
Two walks and a hit batter set the table for Cooper, who launched a towering shot over the high fence in center to give the Lions a 4-1 lead with one swing of the bat. In the bottom of the second, a leadoff walk led to a Griffin Palfrey RBI single to extend the cushion to four.
An error by the Lions allowed two Marist runs to score in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 5-3 before another big frame by Columbia in the bottom half of the inning gave them a 10-3 advantage.
Cooper yanked a 3-2 pitch to left to score Cole Fellows, and later in the inning, Hage and Palfrey posted back-to-back doubles, followed by Owen Estabrook beating out an infield single to plate another run. Columbia's first baseman struck again in the fourth, with a double to plate two more Lions, and Hage launched his third dinger of the year in the fifth to make it a 10-run game.
Columbia's third and final homer of the day came off the bat of Cooper in the sixth to set the new benchmark. The Lions capped the scoring after a wild throw to first while Marist was trying to turn a double play, allowing pinch runner Dean Reynolds to come around from second base.
Joe Sheets started and lasted four innings, allowing three runs on four hits. Thomas Santana and Jagger Edwards pitched the eighth and ninth to help the Lions' bullpen toss five shutout innings.
"We always play tough opponents before we get into Ivy League play," said Cooper. "Coming away with a win, and hopefully we'll be able to build on it, is going to build confidence and continue to grow."
The Lions and Red Foxes will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday, March 1, with a doubleheader. Game one is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN+.
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