Columbia Baseball has made the playoffs, so finally here’s a sports event we can get into

(Happy?) Finals week, Columbia. Believe me I’m aware, there is no part of me that can convince you to do anything else but set up shop in Butler for the next six days. Even if it were any ordinary week, you’d make any excuse to avoid any affiliation with athletics. But just hear me out.

We all like success stories. Hopefully, this Saturday, Columbia can add one to its list. After starting at a paltry 8 win and 21 loss record, the baseball team has turned things around at the right time. Winning 10 of its past 11 games, the Lions capped off this weekend series against the University of Pennsylvania with three straight wins on the road: the last of which, a 7-5 victory, thanks in no small part to sophomore pitcher Ian Burns, who threw over four clean innings, and upperclassmen Randell Kanemaru and Shane Adams, who combined to drive in six runs.

Just like we all hope will happen to our grades after this week, the Lions were able to climb back from a huge deficit in the standings to reach a tie with Penn. Now, at a stalemate, the Lions must face off in a one game playoff against the same Penn Quakers, to determine who advances to the Ivy League Championship versus Yale next weekend.

I know. You skipped through all of the stuff about standings and statistics that I just wrote. But you heard me in one regard, Columbia. Championship. And no, not the Quiz Bowl or Mock Trial team. An athletic program of Columbia’s has the chance to bring home some serious hardware.

Many members of the Columbia community are quick to write off non-academic affairs as trivial, and are especially hard on the athletics department. While these feelings were once validated by years of athletic futility (note: use present tense “are” in case of football team), the baseball team is opening eyes out here, with little support from the student community.

If you aren’t rooting for the sake of the team, do it for your own Columbia pride, or as bragging rights over your other-Ivy friends. Columbia already has the superior memes page. The lower acceptance rate. Now let’s see if we can beat Penn at something we’re not known for.

The game is HOME at 1PM at Satow Stadium, up at Baker Complex on 533 W 218th St. If you’ve ever agreed to take a FroSci final on a Sunday, there’s no way this can be the worst way to spend a weekend afternoon.