Bucknell University Athletics
Baseball Adds Three-Game Series vs. Columbia to Schedule in Advance of NCAAs
5/20/2014 8:58:00 AM | Baseball
May 21 Update: The Bucknell-Columbia series is now three games. Two nine-inning games will be played Friday, May 23, and a single nine-inning contest will be played Saturday, May 24. First pitch both days is at noon.
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Fresh off its sixth Patriot League Tournament title since 1996, the Bucknell baseball team has added four games against Columbia to its upcoming schedule in advance of next week's NCAA Regionals. The Patriot League champion Bison will host the Ivy League champion Lions in doubleheaders this Friday and Saturday, May 23-24, at Depew Field. First pitch both days is slated for noon. Game one each day will be seven innings with a nine-inning affair to follow.
Without adding these contests, Bucknell (29-17-1) would have been idle for two weeks heading into the NCAA Tournament, while Columbia (27-17) would have had close to three weeks without a game before its NCAA appearance.
The Bison will enter the series against Columbia on a five-game winning streak after sweeping through the Patriot League Tournament as the top seed. Bucknell is 15-3 at Depew Field this season and is on the verge of reaching 30 wins in a season for the fourth time in program history.
Columbia swept the Ivy League Championship Series against Dartmouth on May 10. The Lions will be heading to the NCAA Regionals for the fourth time in program history and will enter this week's series having won 19 of their last 21 games.
This will be the first meeting between Bucknell and Columbia since the two teams squared off in a four-game series in 2010. The Lions swept that late-March series on their home field. The all-time series is tied 4-4 with the first meeting taking place in 2004.
The NCAA Tournament selection show will take place next Monday, May 26, at noon and air live on ESPNU. The NCAA Regionals will be held at 16 home sites starting next Friday, May 30. Each site will have four teams in a double-elimination pod.
