Columbia University’s baseball team secured a 7-4 win over No. 23 West Virginia on Friday in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Lions scored five runs in the second inning and held off a late rally from the Mountaineers to claim their first regular season victory over a ranked opponent since 2023.
With this result, Columbia improved its record to 2-5 for the season, while West Virginia fell to 8-3. The Lions have managed to hold leads in all seven of their games so far this year and have scored first in six of those contests.
Senior Jack Kail and sophomore Ben Fishel each drove in two runs for Columbia. Junior Cole Fellows and sophomore Jimmy Chadwell contributed with two hits apiece, while sophomore Jackson Brewer added an insurance run with an RBI double in the ninth inning.
Sophomore pitcher Alex Sotiropoulos earned his first win of the season by pitching 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits. Junior Baylor Hicks provided two innings of relief before junior Payton Soske closed out the game with two strikeouts in the ninth inning to secure the save.
During the decisive second inning, Columbia batted through its lineup. Fishel hit a two-run double down the leftfield line to score Fellows and Tate Vogler. Kail followed with a single that brought home Fishel and Hunter Snyder. Owen Estabrook then singled through the right side to drive in Chadwell, completing the scoring for that frame.
In the fifth inning, Anthony Temesvary singled to center field, increasing Columbia’s lead to 6-0.
West Virginia responded in its half of the fifth when Tyrus Hall grounded out to bring home a run and later took advantage of a throwing error to cut Columbia’s lead to 6-2. Armani Guzman scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, and Gavin Kelly added another run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Brewer’s double off the center field wall gave Columbia additional security heading into the bottom of the ninth. After West Virginia led off with a triple, Soske retired three straight batters to end any hopes of a comeback.
West Virginia starter Dawson Montesa was charged with his second loss of the season after surrendering five runs on five hits over four innings.
The series between Columbia and No. 23 West Virginia continues Saturday at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
For updates on Columbia baseball, fans can follow @CULionsBaseball on X and Instagram or visit GoColumbiaLions.com.
