With their chance at a playoff run slipping away, the baseball team (8-24, 3-12 Ivy) got swept at home over the weekend by the first-place Columbia Lions (19-14, 12-3 Ivy) by finals of 15-4, 19-7 and 6-1. The Bears, stuck in an eight-game losing streak, currently sit at the bottom of the Ivy League standings with six conference games remaining.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not playing at the standard of baseball that we expect and that we want to play at,鈥� first baseman Mark Henshon 鈥�26 said following the series. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to get back to playing the baseball that we can play and that we know how to play.鈥�
鈥淲e put in a lot of work to get more than the results we鈥檙e getting,鈥� right fielder Nathan Brasher 鈥�25 said.
Columbia was led all weekend by their fearsome offense, which ranks first in on-base percentage and slugging percentage this season, including an eye-popping 63 homers 鈥� more than Brown, Yale and Dartmouth combined. The Lions scored 40 runs on 45 hits across the three games, tallying seven home runs in the process.
鈥淵ou look across the lineup, and their players have gained twenty pounds from the time they set foot on campus and since their sophomore year,鈥� Head Coach Grant Achilles said. 鈥淭hey do a tremendous job of physical development.鈥�
鈥淚t feels like they鈥檙e just catching barrels every inning and keeping us behind,鈥� Henshon said. 鈥淲e just had to keep trying to fight back all weekend.鈥�
Columbia ambushed Brown starting pitchers Jack Seppings 鈥�25 and Paxton Meyers 鈥�24 early in the series鈥� first two games on Saturday and Sunday, scoring 10 and eight in the first three innings respectively. Three of the runs charged to Meyers were unearned after a two-out error by shortstop DJ Dillehay 鈥�26.
鈥淥ur team had some opportunities to get off the field with two outs, and we just didn鈥檛 capitalize on that at times,鈥� Achilles said. 鈥淚f you give a team that鈥檚 really offensive extra outs, then they鈥檙e gonna make you pay.鈥�
In the doubleheader and series finale on Sunday, pitcher Santhosh Gottam 鈥�25 appeared to have finally found a cure for Columbia鈥檚 bats, allowing just one run in the first four innings on a leadoff homer to two-time reigning First Team All-Ivy player Cole Hage. But then the Lions erupted in the fifth, putting up a five-spot powered by five extra-base hits.
The Bears were only able to muster one run on an opposite-field single by last season鈥檚 Ivy batting champ Mika Petersen 鈥�26 in the eighth.
鈥淲e had a number of chances to push some runs across and it just didn鈥檛 happen,鈥� Achilles said. 鈥淲e knew going into this weekend we were gonna have to score to win and it was no different.鈥�
The weekend saw Brasher extend his impressive hitting streak to 17 games, as well as Henshon extending his on-base streak to 24 games before it was snapped in the series finale. Both players emphasized the team-focused approach which has led to their consistency this season.
鈥淲hen you have a job in the forefront of your mind of 鈥榞et on and help the team win,鈥� it鈥檚 a lot better than thinking about any stats or streak or anything like that,鈥� Brasher said.
The Bears now look to its penultimate series of Ivy play against Yale in New Haven this coming weekend, where they鈥檒l try to make a miraculous late-season push for the playoffs and reverse the momentum currently piling up against their favor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 contagious both ways,鈥� Achilles said on trying to swing the team鈥檚 momentum. 鈥淪ometimes it just takes one solid inning or a bunch of hitters getting some cheap hits. At the same time, it鈥檚 really just continuing to go about your work, having an aggressive mindset with everything and trying to push for what we want in the result 鈥� not wait for it to happen.鈥�
Linus is a sports editor from New York City. He is a junior concentrating in English, and when he's out of The Herald office you can find him rooting for the Mets, watching Star Wars or listening to The Beach Boys.
