Lions Head to N.J. for Decisive Weekend

After a disappointing road trip to New England last weekend, the Columbia baseball team travels to New Jersey for what might end up being the most important series of the 2007 season.

The Lions (10-19-1, 5-7 Ivy) will try to keep their playoff hopes alive in a two-day, four-game series at Princeton. The team was swept by both Brown and Yale last weekend and dropped to last place in the Lou Gehrig division, one game behind third-place Princeton and two games behind first-place Cornell.

Moving up in the standings will not be easy for a Columbia team that has lost six straight games and has a 1-7 record in the month of April. Lions first baseman Ron Williams and left fielder Jason Banos have been the team's few consistent hitters lately, with Williams posting a .350 average with four RBI and two runs scored last week, while Banos drove in six runs in the last three games. Williams was recently named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for the week of April 10 and has overtaken outfielder Andrew Ward for the highest batting average on the team. Ward began the season red hot, hitting .372 with 25 RBI and a .577 slugging percentage in March, but the senior co-captain has since cooled off, hitting 7-28 with only three RBI in April.

The pitching staff has also struggled in recent games. As in any four game series, the challenge will be how head coach Brett Boretti manages the bullpen in each of the two doubleheaders. The Lions will need strong pitching from ace Bill Purdy, who leads the starting staff with a 4.56 ERA. Despite some good starting performances, the Lions have lost close games due to a shaky bullpen and an even shakier defense. Right-hander Henry Perkins, who adeptly plays second base on his off days, has a 1-5 record despite boasting a 4.85 ERA, the second-lowest among Columbia starters. Perkins has been the victim of his defense, leading the staff with nine unearned runs.

Columbia will face a tough test in the Tigers, a team that has 20 players returning from last year's Ivy League champion squad. The Tigers (8-16, 4-4 Ivy) have underperformed this year and have better talent than their record or division standing would suggest. Senior Sal Iacono leads the team with a .404 batting average and 23 RBI. Also of note is sophomore Dan DeGeorge, who was one of two Tigers named to this week's Honor Roll. DeGeorge went 9 for 15 last week, and has a season average of .308.

The second Tiger named to the weekly Honor Roll was pitcher Steven Miller Jr. His latest performance was a complete game win against Harvard in which he gave up two earned runs on seven hits scattered over eight innings while striking out a career-high 11 batters. Miller also leads the staff with a 3.55 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Princeton has all-around strong pitching, as the starting staff has a relatively low ERA of 5.11. The bullpen is led by sophomore Brad Gemberling, who boasts a miniscule 0.73 ERA and has 11 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.

The Columbia staff will need good situational pitching to neutralize a Princeton offense that has hit .290 with runners on base. In addition, the Lions must be more patient to stand a chance against the strong starting pitching they will face this weekend. Columbia has drawn only 91 walks and has a disappointing .346 on base percentage, while giving up 139 walks and a .428 on base percentage to opponents. The free-swinging Lions must exhibit better discretion at the plate and jump out to a quick start against Princeton in what will be a make or break weekend.

First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Princeton, N.J., on Saturday and Sunday.