Gehrig Division title at stake for Columbia baseball team

Competition will be fierce on the diamond this weekend as Columbia’s baseball team has a lot riding on this weekend’s pair of twinbills.

Currently, the Lions sit atop the Gehrig Division rankings. The Light Blue is two games ahead of Penn but the teams have yet to face off—this weekend they will duel in a four-game series for first place.

First, the Quakers (20-17, 9-7 Ivy) will welcome the Lions to Philadelphia on Friday for a doubleheader and then both teams will travel back to New York City for the final twinbill of the regular
season, which will take place on Saturday.

With a record of 11-5 in the Ancient Eight, the Light Blue needs to win two games this weekend to clinch the division title and earn a spot in the Ivy League Championship during May 8-9.

In the 2009 series, the Quakers slipped in the first game allowing Columbia to win 13-5, but after that it was lights out as Columbia fell in the final three games, one after the other.

Last year, it only took one loss before the Lions were officially eliminated from the race for the division title. This year, they can only hope that their improved play will be enough to result in a different outcome at the end of the weekend.

The Quakers won’t make it easy on the Light Blue though—Penn has the skill to be a very difficult opponent.

Quaker pitcher Chris McNulty can be expected to provide some trouble from atop the mound as the sophomore was recently named Co-Ivy Pitcher of the Week.

The southpaw started twice in the last week for the Quakers and finished with a 1.12 ERA and a 1-0 record. In last Saturday’s game against Princeton, McNulty allowed only five hits over seven innings.

On the season as a whole, McNulty leads the Quakers with a 4.50 ERA and a record of 4-1.

Penn is still putting forth tough competition from the batter’s box. Also on the awards circuit last week was senior Tom Grandieri who was named Co-Player of the Week in the Ancient Eight as well as the Big 5 Player of the Week.

Including a successful week that featured a .652 batting average, the right fielder currently leads the team with 66 hits and 42 RBI. His overall batting average of .410 is second among the Quakers’ lineup.

The Lions have their own contenders to put up against Penn this weekend, but the series is sure to be a challenge.

Jon Eisen leads the Light Blue from the plate with a .367 batting average and 51 hits on the season. The most RBI have come from designated hitter Alex Aurrichio (31) but Nick Ferraresi is close behind with 30 of his own.

The Lions’ pitchers have also turned around this month after a tough start to the season and have since posted impressive performances. Pat Lowery leads the Lions with a 3.86 ERA. After 49 innings pitched, the sophomore has allowed 21 earned runs and 45 hits.

The top record on the team comes from junior Dan Bracey who is 4-3 in 2010 with an ERA of 4.09. In the 50.2 innings Bracey has pitched, he has allowed 23 earned runs and just 45 hits, to match Lowery.

While both teams have a lot of talent taking the field this weekend, both have an unmatched desire to win. The outcome of this series will determine which team gets to play for the Ivy League title and you can be sure that neither team is going to lose the opportunity without a fight.

“They are a good club—we want to compete smart and hard,” head coach Brett Boretti said of the weekend’s matchup with Penn.

Though the Quakers pose a threat, Boretti noted that “we are not changing our approach at all” when it comes to preparing for the series and trying to get the necessary two wins.

The teams are fighting for a spot in the championship against an unknown opponent, however, as the competition in the Rolfe Division is even more heated than in the Gehrig Division. Heading into this final weekend of the regular season, Dartmouth and Brown are tied for first with 9-5 records in the Ancient Eight. The Big Green has a four-game series against Harvard this weekend, while the Bears will face off against Rolfe Division cellar-dweller Yale in their quest for the title.

After Friday’s doubleheader between Columbia and Penn in Philadelphia, the game will return to the Big Apple as the Lions take on the Quakers at Robertson Field this Saturday. Both twinbills are scheduled to start at noon.