The most successful season in the 127 years of the Columbia baseball program ended Monday with a dispiriting thud. The University of Miami thrashed the Lions, 21-3, in the Coral Gables regional of the N.C.A.A. tournament at Alex Rodriguez Park, the Hurricanes’€™ home stadium.

The loss eliminated Columbia (34-17), while eighth-ranked Miami (47-15) advanced to play Virginia Commonwealth in a best-of-three super regional for a spot in the College World Series.

Miami was seeded first in the regional, and Columbia was seeded third. The Lions, who set a school record for wins in a season, beat Miami, 3-0, on Sunday on a combined two-hitter by three pitchers to stay alive after losing to the Hurricanes on Saturday, 8-3.

Columbia played without its best position player, outfielder Gus Craig, the Ivy League co-player of the year, who sustained a leg injury earlier in the tournament.

The Lions finished the regional with three wins and two losses to become the first Ivy team to win three games in the current format of the N.C.A.A. tournament, and the first to win three postseason games since Harvard in 1974.

In the first game of the double-elimination regional, the Lions beat East Carolina, 6-3. After losing to Miami on Saturday afternoon, Columbia beat Florida International, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon, setting up another date with the Hurricanes that night. By winning that game, Columbia essentially won its sixth straight elimination game back to the end of the regular season.

Monday’€™s loss came on the 90th anniversary of the pinch-hit appearance by the former Columbia star Lou Gehrig that began his streak of playing 2,130 consecutive games for the Yankees.

Source: Free News Headlines Sports Columbia Is Eliminated in Crushing Loss