How Columbia baseball saved its season to make NCAA tournament again

New York Post

3 days ago

Columbia couldn't have scripted a worse start to its baseball season.
Three key players — top starting pitcher Andy Leon, top reliever Will Parkinson and starting third baseman Eric Jeon — were lost to season-ending injuries.
The Lions then proceeded to lose their next 10 games after opening the year with a win at Kennesaw State.
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Head coach Brett Boretti's message to his team was simple: Our expectations are the same.
Winning big is still the plan.
He didn't waver.
3 Columbia coach Brett Borett and his players celebrate after their win over Harvard in the Ivy League title game on May 18, 2025.
Brian Foley for Foley-Photography
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'We've to come together here, keep moving forward,' he told them, star junior shortstop and Ivy League Player of the Year Sam Miller recalled. 'This is what we train all year for.'
A few months later, Columbia is getting ready for the NCAA Tournament in the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Regional.
The lone team to qualify from the area, this will be its seventh appearance on college baseball's biggest stage since Boretti took over two decades ago.
Since that losing streak, Columbia has won 28 of 35 games.
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Jagger Edwards replaced Leon as a weekend starter, while Griffin Palfrey took over at the hot corner.
The Lions are experienced, led by 11 seniors, and finished first in the Ivy League in home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage, doubles and batting average.
They mash.
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Miller and senior captain Anton Lazits credited Boretti with keeping the team together amid injuries and that early season slide.
Lazits described him as a 'leader of men,' someone who is able to maximize talent.
'When he speaks, you listen. At the same time, he's very personable,' Lazits said. 'He keeps everybody disciplined, but keeps it loose at the same time.'
Said Miller: 'He just knows how to push guys.'
Prior to Boretti, 54, taking over at Columbia in 2006, the Lions last reached the tournament in 1976.
3 Columbia shortstop Sam Miller was named the Ivy League's Player of the Year.
Columbia Athletics/Stockton Photo
He has turned this program into one of the most successful in the Northeast, winning the Ivy League regular-season title eight times.
Boretti doesn't like to think of this as his success.
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A successful coach, he noted, is only as effective as his players.
He pointed to a number of former assistant coaches who built up Columbia with him, such as current Endicott College head coach Bryan Haley, Minnesota Twins pitching coach Pete Maki, Boston College assistant coach Dan Tischler and San Francisco assistant Erik Supplee.
He singled out his entire current staff for continuing the winning tradition.
'I'm good at surrounding myself with people that are a lot smarter than me,' he said jokingly.
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Boretti has had opportunities to look elsewhere. He interviewed for one Power 5 job before — he declined to name the school — but didn't want to uproot his family.
Plus, as the saying goes, why mess with happy?
At Columbia, he doesn't have to manage Name, Image and Likeness as much as other coaches.
3 Columbia head coach Brett Boretti helped his team turn it around after injuries put his team in an early hole this season.
Brian Foley for Foley Photography.
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His players pick Columbia mostly for academics.
The Lions are Ivy League contenders every year.
'The type of kid, the type of student-athlete you get, we get very driven guys. We get overachievers,' Boretti said. 'That's what we're looking for: Guys who want to work on the field, work in the classroom, and, frankly, don't give you many headaches off the field.
'It's one of the best things about the job: You get to work with great people, great kids that are going to be great adults. That's something that goes a long way when you're in this position.'
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After reaching the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons from 2013-15, and advancing to the Coral Gables (Fla.) regional final in 2015, Columbia had established itself.
It helped that in 2010 the program received an upgraded facility, Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
'It built on each other,' Boretti said. 'My former boss, Dianne Murphy, did a heckuva job building our facilities and raising money and getting people involved. That goes a long, long way.'
This team has a unique belief in itself, fostered by that difficult start.
First came the injuries, then the losing streak.
It didn't break the Lions.
As the tournament begins, few teams in the country are as hot.
Columbia has won nine straight games and 16 of 17.
It will be a decided underdog Friday night against host and No. 16 seed Southern Miss, and not be expected to beat the following opponent, either Miami or Alabama.
But the Lions and their 11 seniors believe they can play with anyone.
They've been here before.
'We're a very confident group. We know the talent we have and we know what kind of baseball we can play with each other,' Lazits said. 'If we go out there and play as well as we can, we can beat just about anybody.'