ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell baseball team will take on Ivy League Gehrig Division leader Columbia in a four-game set this weekend at Hoy Field. The Big Red enters the weekend five games back of the Lions, needing a sweep over the in-state rival to keep its hopes alive of repeating as the divisional champions.

Cornell enters the weekend with an 11-17 overall record and a 4-8 mark in the Ivy League. The Big Red trails division-leading Columbia, which enters the weekend at 18-16 overall and 9-3 in league play, by five games. A weekend sweep against the Lions would catapault the Big Red back into the race for the divisional title, while Cornell taking three of four would still leave Cornell three games back with four to play.

The Big Red is coming off a split of a doubleheader on Tuesday against Siena. Cornell dropped the opener, 13-2, before taking the nightcap by a 7-2 margin. Mickey Brodsky was 5-for-7 on the day to inch closer to .400 for the season, currently hitting .398 for the season. Brodsky picked up three runs scored and two RBI on the day against the Saints, raising his team-leading run total to 19. Jadd Schmeltzer was 2-for-4 with three RBI on the day, with Brian Billigen going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Brodsky leads the Cornell offense with his .398 batting average, one of three regulars to be hitting better than .300 for the season. As a team, the Big Red is batting .282 for the year. Joining Brodsky in the over-.300 group are catcher Brandon Lee (.328) and outfielder Brian Billigen (.316), while third-baseman Frank Hager is just under that mark, hitting .297 for the season. Brodsky leads the team in runs scored with 19, while Billigen has scored 16 times, Hager 15 and Brenton Peters has scored 14 runs. Billigen leads the team in runs batted in with 20, while Hager has driven in 19. Kyle Groth leads the team with five of the 21 home runs clubbed by the team this season, and Nate David has a team-best six stolen bases in six attempts.

Cornell's pitchers have combined for a 7.08 earned-run average this season, striking out 163 batters in 218.2 innings. Tony Bertucci leads the regular starters with a 2.83 earned-run average in 28.2 innings, while Corey Pappel (4.05 ERA) and Taylor Wood (8.10 ERA) share the team lead in innings pitched with 33.1 apiece. Pappel has a team-best 36 strikeouts, followed by Bertucci and Matt Hill, who both have 20 punchouts on the season. Bertucci, Pappel, Wood and David Rochefort all share the team lead with a pair of wins on the year. Rochefort has been nearly unhittable out of the bullpen, posting a 0.48 earned-run average in 18.2 innings of work, striking out 16 and picking up three saves with a 2-1 record.

Columbia enters the weekend having claimed three wins in each of the first three Ivy League weekends, most recently taking three of four from Princeton last weekend in New York City.The Lions swept the Saturday doubleheader, claiming 7-2 and 6-3 wins, before dropping game one on Sunday, 9-3, and rallying for a 9-4 win in game two. Columbia dropped a pair of non-league games at Manhattan on Wednesday, falling 2-1 in eight innings before dropping a 6-2 contest in the nighcap.

The Lions are batting .308 on the year, with seven regulars batting better than .300 on the year. Jon Eisen leads the team with a .369 average, with Dean Forthun (.350) and Dario Pizzano (.340) both over the .325 mark. Eisen leads the team with 30 runs scored, while Nick Ferraresi has a team-best 30 runs driven in on the year. Alexander Aurrichio has a team-high nine home runs, while Pizzano has slugged eight round-trippers.

On the mound, the Lions have combined for a 5.67 earned-run average and 215 strikeouts. Dan Bracey leads the team with 38 strikeouts, while Pat Lowery has a team-best 4.25 earned-run average. Bracey also paces the squad with 43.2 innings pitched, with Bracey, Lowery and Geoff Whitaker each collecting three wins on the season. Derek Squires has been strong out of the bullpen, picking up three saves in eight appearances in relief.

The series with Columbia dates back to the 1885 season, and Cornell holds a 117-90 lead in the all-time series. Last season, the Big Red claimed three of four against the Lions, splitting the Saturday doubleheader before claiming a sweep on Sunday. Cornell out-scored the Lions, 22-17, over the four-game series in New York City last season. The last time the two teams met in Ithaca, Columbia took three of four from the Big Red on their way to the Gehrig Division title in 2008.

Following the series with Columbia, Cornell will take to the road for a single, nine-inning contest at Binghamton on Wednesday in Vestal, N.Y. The Big Red then returns to Ithaca for a two-game set against Princeton on Friday, April 30, before playing a pair of games at Princeton to close out the Ivy League regular season on Sunday, May 2. The doubleheader on April 30 will serve as Senior Day for the class of 2010.