Coming off a four-game road series this past weekend against Cornell, the Lions will take a midweek break from conference play to host Fordham in a doubleheader this afternoon. This nonconference matchup should be a good warm up for Columbia as it prepares to face Penn in a crucial four-game series this weekend.
The Light Blue enters today two games ahead of Penn for first place in the Gehrig Division with an 11-5 Ivy record (20-18 overall). This past weekend Columbia split its back-to-back doubleheaders against the Big Red in mostly close contests. Despite a brilliant complete game outing from Pat Lowery, the Lions’ bats couldn’t scrape together a single run in the 1-0 loss. However, the resilient Light Blue edged Cornell in game two by a score of 3-2. The story remained the same on Sunday as the teams each picked up a win. This time it was the Lions who picked up a ‘W’ in game one, 4-1, before imploding in the series finale in a 7-0 defeat.
“We would have liked to get one more at Cornell,” said Lions shortstop Alex Ferrera. “But as coach was telling us, don’t look back, just keep looking forward and just play our game.”
A series sweep against Cornell could have given Columbia a nice cushion on its division lead, but rookie Tim Giel was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his seven innings of shutout ball in the Lions’ 3-2 win on Saturday. Giel continues to impress on the mound this season with a 5.57 ERA and a 3-1 record.
Fordham has had a roller coaster of a season and currently sits 14-25 overall in 2010. This past weekend the Rams dropped a three-game series against Dayton. On Friday the Rams were bulldozed 11-0, but responded with an extra-inning victory on Saturday 5-3. The Rams’ starting pitcher Max Krakowiak pitched a jaw-dropping 10 complete innings to pick up his third win of the season.
With the series tied 1-1, the two teams traded runs for the first seven innings of the contest. However, the Rams could not hold on to their 7-6 advantage for two more innings, as Dayton’s shortstop Cole Tyrell crushed a walk-off two-run homer to win the game and the series.
Fordham has struggled both offensively and defensively in 2010. The ballclub is currently hitting a combined .275, with low slugging (.371) and on-base (.341) percentages. Senior Ryan McCrann leads the Rams in hitting with a .351 batting average, two home runs, and 22 RBI. Junior Chris Walker has also been a force at the plate this season as his batting average hovers at .327 and he leads the team with 33 RBI.
With a team-leading 4.12 ERA, 67.2 innings pitched, and three complete games, Krakowiak has been the Rams’ number one starter this year. Besides Krakowiak, however, Fordham’s starting pitching has been relatively weak. The squad holds a combined 6.13 ERA and has allowed 299 runs to cross home.
The Rams have struggled in particular in their road matchups with a 6-14 record, so the Lions have reason to be optimistic. Regardless of today’s outcome, Columbia will have to remain focused on its key season-ending series against Penn. The Light Blue needs to at least split against Penn to secure a position in the post-season.
“All we need to do is win two games,” Ferrera explained. “Still, we are shooting for a four-game sweep because we want to secure home field advantage. We want to take one game at a time and not look too far ahead.”
The first pitch of today’s doubleheader will be tossed at 2 p.m. at Robertson Field.
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