Cinderella was never sent home from the ball with such authority.
Columbia’s dream of becoming the first Ivy League school to reach the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals was dashed by top-seeded Miami in a season-closing 21-3 drubbing Monday night at Alex Rodriguez Field in the Coral Gables Regional final.
It capped a memorable season for Columbia, which reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season under coach Brett Boretti and became the first Ivy League school to win three NCAA Tournament games since Harvard in 1974.
“I can’t be more proud of the group for what they accomplished this year as a team and specifically this senior class,” Boretti said in a phone interview. “They’re a really special group. They’ve really stepped up and they’ve been leaders on and off the field. It’s a big part of why we were able to get this far.
“We always talk about the journey, and enjoying the journey, not the end of it. All good things come to end at some point. Usually, that happens sooner than you want.”
Twenty-four hours after the third-seeded Lions (33-17), playing their fifth game in four days, forced Monday’s showdown with a 3-0 victory over Miami, the powerhouse Hurricanes responded with fury.
The good feelings from Sunday didn’t last a single batter. Starter Mike Weisman hit Hurricanes leadoff man Ricky Eusebio with a pitch, an ominous sign of the rout to come. Miami would strike for four first-inning runs against Weisman — third baseman David Thompson delivered the big blow, a two-run double — who lasted one inning. Right fielder Willie Abreu homered and had five RBIs as six different Hurricanes drove in at least two runs.
“We were trying to piece it together,” Boretti said. “We knew it was going to be tough. They came out swinging it. We tried to weather the early storm, but it continued.”
The Hurricanes scored in seven innings, plating eight runs in the fourth, and struck for 20 hits, seven for extra bases, against six Columbia pitchers. Center fielder Jordan Serena had three of Columbia’s nine hits and right fielder Robb Paller drove in a run.
The Lions will be in the mix to get back to the NCAA Tournament next year. While Columbia graduates Serena, the co-Ivy League Player of the Year, Gus Craig and starters David Vandercook and Joey Falcone, the Lions return most of their pitching staff, led by top starters Kevin Roy and George Thanopoulos, in addition to closer Adam Cline.
“They set the bar high and expectations are high,” Boretti said.