NEW YORK - Columbia baseball is set to face No. 1 Southern Miss in its opening game of the Hattiesburg Regional at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field on Friday, May 30. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles enter the postseason with a 44-14 record and earned the No. 16 national seed NCAA Tournament. Columbia (29-17) will play either No. 2 Alabama (41-16, 16-14 SEC) or No. 3 Miami (31-24, 15-14 ACC) on Saturday, with game times set for 2 p.m. or 9 p.m. ET in a double-elimination format.
Tickets for the Hattiesburg Regional are sold out.
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions made it a double after earning a share of their 17th Ivy League regular season title and winning the Ivy League Tournament, going 3-0 in the double-elimination event.
Since March 15, Columbia has posted a 28-8 record. The Lions have won nine straight and 17 of their last 18 contests heading into regional play.
NCAA HISTORY
The Lions are making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, seventh under
Brett Boretti and sixth since 2013. They hold a 6-14 all-time in the "Big Dance." Columbia has reached the Regional Championship round twice - 2015 in Coral Gables, where it faced off against Miami, and 2022 in Blacksburg, falling to host Virginia Tech. The Lions earned a No. 3 seed both years they reached the final stage of the regional.
SOUTHERN MISS' STATUS
Southern Miss secured second place behind Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference. Under head coach Christian Ostrander, who is in his eighth season, the Golden Eagles showcased a potent offense, batting .305 as a team with 97 home runs.
Southern Miss enters the postseason ranked No. 12 nationally by D1Baseball and No. 14 in the coaches' poll. The Golden Eagles have made 10 straight postseason appearances and reached the Super Regionals in 2022 and 2023.
The Golden Eagles have six players hitting over .300 in the lineup. Nick Monistere has a team-high 19 homers and 68 RBI. JB Middleton has been at the top of the rotation and is 10-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 98.1 innings of work.
ALABAMA'S STATUS
Alabama will be making its 28th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Rob Vaughn is in his second year with the Crimson Tide and guided his team to a nine-win improvement from 2024.
Alabama checks in at No. 24 in the D1Baseball poll and No. 20 in the coaches' poll.
Justin Lebron is pacing the squad with 18 homers and 72 RBI.
MIAMI'S STATUS
Under second-year head coach J.D. Arteaga, the Hurricanes are making their 50th NCAA Tournament appearance. The team experienced a midseason surge, highlighted by a three-game sweep of No. 16 Georgia Tech in April.
Daniel Cuvet leads the team with a .378 average with 16 home runs and 76 RBI. Shortstop Jake Ogden checks in with a .350 batting average, 57 runs, 30 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK RECORDS
Columbia saw three records either tied or broken in three consecutive at-bats in the eighth inning of its contest against Holy Cross on May 24.
Sam Miller took the first pitch he saw to the opposite field for his record-tying 31st carer home run, which was his Ivy League-leading 16th of the year. He joins Chandler Bengtson '18CC as the Lions' all-time leader. Griffin Palfrey followed that up with double number 49 for his career to match the mark held by Matt Buckmiller '02CC and Billy Hess '03CC. Anton Lazits then took four straight pitches to pass Buckmiller's mark of 95.
RECORD CHASING
Anton Lazits is also right behind teammates Miller and Palfrey with 30 career homers and 48 doubles on Columbia's all-time lists.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
For the latest on Columbia baseball, follow @CULionsBaseball on X and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
