ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell baseball team will close out its home schedule this weekend with a three-game series against Ivy League leader Columbia at Hoy Field. The series is set to start with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. and will conclude with a single game on Sunday at noon with a celebration of its seniors and a proper goodbye after 100 years at Hoy Field.

In the first game of last weekend's series with Dartmouth, Cornell's offense put on a power hitting clinic, belting four home runs to defeat the Big Green 12-7. Sam Kaplan was superb in game one, going four-for-four at the dish with a single, two triples, and one of the Big Red's four homers. Joe Hollerbach also posted big numbers at the plate in game one, compiling three base hits and driving in a trio of runs. Senior Luke Yacinich was steady on the mound for the Big Red, hurling 7.0 innings while allowing four runs off five hits while striking out three to pick up the win. Dartmouth's Trystan Sarcone silenced the Cornell bats in game two, striking out ten Big Red batters and allowing only two runs through 8.0 innings of work, as the Big Green earned the 12-2 victory. In the series finale this past Sunday, Dartmouth came back from an early 4-0 deficit to win 10-8 and earn the series victory over the Big Red. After the loss on Sunday, Cornell fell to 9-20 (4-11 Ivy) on the season.

Junior Sam Kaplan has been a sparkplug for the Big Red offense as of late, smashing home runs in four of his past five games and in each of his last three, pushing his total to six on the year. Kaplan is currently enjoying a five-game hitting streak and has driven in seven runs on nine hits over that stretch. Max Jensen has continued his role as a stalwart in the heart of the Cornell lineup, leading eligible Big Red players in batting average (.340), hits (36), RBI (20), and total bases (59). Jensen is also on a hitting streak, having notched hits in each of his past six contests. Luke Yacinich continues to be a reliable starting pitcher for the Big Red, leading the team in innings pitched (54.0) and strikeouts (48) while posting a 6.50 ERA.

Columbia (22-13) is coming into this weekend's series scorching hot, having won 15 straight games and compiling a 13-2 conference record, tops in the Ivy League. This past weekend, Columbia swept Yale in a three-game series. In the first game of their its with Yale, Columbia scored four runs in the seventh to come back from a 4-1 deficit, defeating the Bulldogs 5-4. Columbia dominated Yale in the final two games of the series 11-2 and 16-4.

Five of Columbia's typical staring nine are posting batting averages north of .315, with three having belted eight homers or more. Hayden Schott has set the pace for Columbia's potent offensive attack this season, leading the Lions in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.346), OPS (1.049), runs scored (33), hits (46), RBIs (37), and home runs (10).

Cornell will look to finish out the remainder of their home schedule strong this weekend against Columbia.