Baseball wins Gehrig Division

For the second time in three years, our very own Columbia Lions have taken the Gehrig Division title, earning them a spot in this year’s playoffs.

Coming into this weekend, the Lions sat at 11-5 in the Ancient Eight—two games up on Penn with just four games left.

Though the Light Blue had four chances with which to clinch the division title, all they ended up needing was two. The Lions trekked out to Philadelphia to fight the Quakers in a doubleheader today and won both games.

The first game was settled with a 5-2 margin in favor of the Light Blue.

In the first two innings, Columbia managed to put three runs up on the board before the Quakers could score any of their own. Penn tried to chip away at the three-run deficit but could only manage one run in the bottom of each of the second and fourth innings.

After six innings, the score was still held at 3-2 until the top of the seventh when Nick Ferraresi’s sacrifice fly brought Jason Banos around for an RBI. Dario Pizzano then blasted a solo home run out to right field to bring the final score to 5-2.

Banos swung 3-for-4 from the batter’s box in game one and contributed one RBI of his own back in the first innings. Starter Pay Lowery represented the Lions from the mound, pitching a complete seven innings and allowing only three hits and two earned runs.

The Lions and the Quakers kept the second game interesting as the score was 9-8 in favor of the Quakers heading into the eighth inning.

Penn shot out to an early lead, scoring five runs in the second inning alone so that by the end of the third inning the score was already 9-2.

But the Lions fought back and in the top of the eighth it was Banos who drove in the tying run with a double down the left field line before being brought around to score the go-ahead run himself.

Penn couldn’t respond and after six straight innings without a single run, the Lions took their 10-9 win and the division title along with it.

Eric Williams was credited with the win, pitching four innings and allowing two hits while Zach Epstein got the save. Designated hitter Alex Aurrichio led the charge from the batter’s box, contributing three RBI in the victory.

The series isn’t over yet though, the Quakers and the Lions face-off again tomorrow but this time it will be at Columbia’s very own Robertson Field, starting at 12 p.m.