Yale Athletics

This weekend, the Yale men’s baseball team  (9–16, 4–5 Ivy) competed in a three-game series against Columbia University (16–11, 7–2 Ivy) at home at the George H.W. Bush ’48 Field in New Haven. 

Although the Bulldogs fought hard, they fell to the Lions in a three-game sweep in games on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Bulldogs had a doubleheader to kick off the games Saturday, losing the first game in a tight 1–0 loss. In the afternoon, the Bulldogs fought hard, but fell again by just a single run in a 3–2 loss.

“I think we learned that we are a good team that can compete with anyone, but in doing that we also learned that in order to compete with anyone, we need to take care of the margins,” pitcher Colton Shaw ’25 wrote to the News. “Little details caught up to us in all three games and if we take care of those, who is to say we don’t come out of that series feeling a little different. Just need to come out better next weekend.”

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first game on Saturday, combining for just five hits and zero runs across the opening three innings. In the top of the fourth, the Lions scored the first and only run of the game as Andy Blake reached home plate on a passed ball.

Daniel Cohen ’26 started on the mound for the Bulldogs in the morning and was relieved by Josh Richardson ’24 in the top of the sixth. Despite strong performances on the mound, the offense failed to drive in a run to even the score.

In the second game of their doubleheader on Saturday, the Lions hit a homer in the top of the first to kick off the scoring. In the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs tied up the game off a double to left-center from Beck Milner ’26, which brought Tommy Martin ’25 home. In the top of the third, the Lions struck again and gained a 3–1 lead with a double down the left-field line bringing one run in, and another run off an error. 

No runs were then scored until the bottom of the fifth when Jeff Pierantoni ’24 singled, bringing Jimmy Chatfield ’24 home. Chatfield represented the last run of the game against the Lions, bringing the final score to 3–2. 

Shaw pitched a long nine innings for the Bulldogs, allowing two unearned runs and four hits. He also had six strikeouts while on the mound. 

“I think our pitchers really competed for us this weekend,” Martin wrote to the News. “They did their job, but unfortunately we had a few too many mistakes and couldn’t score as many runners as we needed to.”

In the last game of the series on Sunday, the Bulldogs fell to the Lions 5–4 in a tight back-and-forth game. 

The Lions scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, but the Bulldogs came back to tie the score in the bottom of the inning off an error by the third baseman, bringing Chatfield in for an unearned run. In the top of the fourth, the Lions scored, making the score 2–1; They then scored again in the top of the fifth off a double which brought another run in. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Hanson singled to left-center, bringing Chatfield home for his second run of the game. 

In the top of the eighth, the Lions seemed to pull away, scoring two more runs to bring the game score to 5–2. The Bulldogs inched closer to the Lions in the bottom of the eighth with a run scored from Martin. The last run of the game came on an unearned run from Carson Swank ’23, making the final score of the game on Sunday 5–4. 

“This week we plan to focus on winning the margins,” Milner wrote to the News. “Limiting walks, errors, and runs that are otherwise preventable. Losing three games this weekend by a mere one run each shows us just how important each out is in the game. If we can strive for perfection here, we will find success.”

During the games last weekend, the Bulldogs invited youth baseball teams, family, friends and others from New Haven and surrounding areas to come and meet the team. The children in attendance were able to run the bases after the double header on Saturday.  

“My highlight of the weekend was the Kids’ Day we held on Saturday after Game 2 of the doubleheader,” Milner said. “Although we lost both games that day, everyone got together with smiles on our faces as the kids ran the bases. They were all so excited to be on the field, and their joy was a reminder for me why I play the game. We signed autographs and met the kids. All in all, it was a heartwarming experience.” 

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will compete against the University of Hartford (2–20, 0–0 CCC) at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford. The Bulldogs will then look to get back on track in Ivy play against Dartmouth College (1–23, 0–9 Ivy) in Hanover, New Hampshire over the weekend.