New York City, N.Y. - As the Quakers entered Saturday's doubleheader at Columbia (15-25, 10-7 Ivy), more was riding on the pair of games than one might initially expect. With just six conference matchups remaining and the Lions sitting three games up, Penn (13-23-1, 7-9-1 Ivy) required -- at the very least -- a series win to insure an opportunity at second place in the final weekend of play. Fortunately for Penn's Ivy Title Series hopes, the Quakers managed to split the doubleheader in two completely different games, notching a 3-2 victory in the opener before the Lions roared back to even the series in the second matchup on a 20-4 decision.

Game One - Penn 3, Columbia 2
WP: Gabe Kleiman (2-6)
LP:  Jordan Chriss (2-5)
SV: None

Game Two - Columbia 20, Penn 4
WP: Ben Wereski (2-4)
LP: Christian Scafidi (2-4)
SV: Ty Wiest (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
The pitching duel that evolved from the low-scoring opener operated against how the Quakers have been succeeding the past few weeks, as offensive efficiency has been the name of the game. Despite that, senior starter Gabe Kleiman performed on a level beyond his usual crisp effectiveness, tossing a complete nine innings with just five hits, two runs and 12 strikeouts. The memorable outing marked the co-captain's second complete game of the year (eight innings in loss at Harvard), while the 12 strikeouts serves as a career high. Columbia's mound presence was much of the same, with starter Jordan Chriss battling through eight and one-third frames before surrendering the last two outs to reliever Leo Pollack.

Meanwhile, the Penn offense did just enough to pick up the one-run victory while Kleiman worked his magic, initially grabbing the lead on a second-inning solo homer from Sean Phelan before recapturing the advantage for good with an Eduardo Malinowski RBI single one frame later. Junior Matt O'Neill added an insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh as well, a policy the Quakers would cash in when Columbia jacked its second solo home run of the game two outs into the ninth.

GAME TWO
Compared to the low-scoring Penn victory from less than an hour prior, the second matchup of the day looked unrecognizable to both squads. The Quakers carried their momentum into the first few innings -- scoring two runs in the first and another in the third -- but Columbia's offensive weapons failed to slow down as the game progressed, notching runs in every frame save two as the Lions secured the victory.

Sophomore Peter Matt opened the scoring for Penn in the first, pushing across two with an RBI into right-center field, and the Lions immediately matched with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. After Columbia grabbed its first lead of the series with one run in the second, a ground-out from junior Matt McGeagh in the third knotted the game at three apiece. From that point on, though, the Lions' offense surged, plating three in the third, five in the sixth, three in the seventh and another six to close out the eighth. Meanwhile, the remainder of Penn's production came from McGeagh, as the junior jacked a solo homer over the left-field fence midway through the sixth frame.

In a complete 180 from game one, the Quakers relied on a set of four pitchers to handle the Columbia batting order, as starter Christian Scafidi put together two and one-third innings on the mound with six hits, six runs and two strikeouts. Junior reliever John Alan Kendrick pushed through three and one-third frames, striking out four with five hits and one earned run, while fellow junior Grant Guillory and senior Jordan Della Valle combined on the final two and one-third innings to close out the matchup.

NEXT UP
The Quakers return to face Columbia one last time Sunday afternoon with everything on the line, as a win keeps the Quakers' postseason hopes alive while a loss will shut out any Ivy Title Series opportunities.