Columbia Claims Series from Baseball, Clinches Ivy League Tournament Spot

ITHACA, N.Y. — Columbia's Jimmy Chadwell had a game-high four RBI, leading the visiting Lions to a 9-1 victory over the Cornell baseball team to claim the rubber match of this weekend's three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Booth Field.

The victory for Columbia (15-23-1, 10-10-1 Ivy League) solidified the Lions' spot as the No. 4 seed in the 2026 Ivy League Baseball Tournament, which will be hosted by the regular-season champion in two weeks.

Jack Kail and Ben Fishel joined Chadwell in having multiple hits. Chadwell went 2-for-4 while Kail and Fishel both went 2-for-3. Anthony Temesvary also had multiple RBI in the victory for Columbia, which has gone 7-3-1 over its last 11 games.

Freshman designated hitter

Trent Lopez went 2-for-4 with a double to pace the Big Red (11-26, 8-13 Ivy League) offense.

Chadwell opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-out, two-run single, lining a base hit just out of the reach of a leaping senior shortstop

TJ Swidorski into center field.

Cornell loaded the bases with no outs in the third on a leadoff walk by Lopez, a single by sophomore first baseman

Jayden Shin and a hit by pitch to freshman second baseman

Aiden Barclay. Columbia starter Thomas Santana was able to escape the jam, generating a pair of strikeouts before inducing an inning-ending fielder's choice on a groundout.

Columbia broke the game wide open with a five-run fifth after its first four batters reached base safely. Temesvary's two-run double and a two-run single by Chadwell highlighted the inning before the Lions capped their string of eight unanswered runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Kail.

Swidorski drove in Cornell's lone run in its half of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, increasing his team lead in RBI to 25.

Lucas Jackson restored Columbia's eight-run advantage in the seventh on a sacrifice fly.

Senior right-handed pitcher

Ethan Hamill was the losing pitcher for the Big Red, allowing six runs on five hits in four-plus innings, issuing three walks and striking out none.

Fellow senior

Noah Keller worked a scoreless ninth inning for the Big Red, with the southpaw walking one and striking out one.

Santana earned his fifth win of the season after striking out seven and allowing one run on four hits during his six-inning start. Will Harrigan and Jack Korthas combined to allow three hits over the final three innings for the Lions.

GAME NOTES

• Columbia, which trimmed Cornell's lead in the all-time series to 135-125, secured its seventh consecutive series victory over the Big Red. The Lions have won 17 of the last 22 meetings against Cornell, dating back to 2017.

• Cornell extended its streak of games without an error to eight games — a span that stretches across 66 1/3 innings — the longest errorless streak posted by the Big Red over the last 40-plus seasons.

• Five Big Red pitchers combined to strike out four Columbia batters Sunday, increasing the team's season total to 267, which still ranks as the third-most strikeouts in a single season in program history. The Big Red is 10 strikeouts away from matching the program record, set in both 1977 and 2003 (277).

MOST STRIKEOUTS IN A SINGLE SEASON

Cornell Program History

T1. 277, 1977

T1. 277, 2003

3. 267, 2026

4. 261, 2002

5. 260, 2015

• With his sixth-inning double, freshman right fielder

Jake Hower increased his on-base streak to 12 games, tying his season best, and has reached base in 27 of his last 30 games.

• Sophomore left fielder

Tyler Beaulieu and senior shortstop

TJ Swidorski both saw their respective career-long on-base streaks get snapped at 10 and 13 games after each player went 0-for-3.

LOOKING ON DECK

Cornell will conclude the 2026 season on Tuesday, May 5, when it travels to Binghamton to face the Bearcats for the third time in four weeks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from the Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, N.Y. Game action will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Big Red last played the Bearcats on April 21, also in Vestal, where Cornell snapped Binghamton's then-Division I-leading 11-game winning streak with a 10-6 victory, powered by a season-high four home runs and five scoreless innings from five relievers.

A win on Tuesday would mark the second time in three seasons that Cornell has won the season series over Binghamton. The Big Red swept the 2024 season series, posting victories of 9-7 and 13-7, both in Vestal.