For a second straight year, Phillipsburg came to Underhill Field and knocked Columbia out of the NJSIAA Section 2 Group 4 state baseball tournament.

Phillipsburg came out smoking right from the gate when Tyler Roseberry hit a solo homer in the first inning, giving the Stateliners an early 1-0 lead. They would increase their lead in the second to 4-o, highlighted by Tim Balbaugh's two-RBI single. Later, Dana Lee's fourth-inning round tripper gave Phillipsburg a commanding 5-0 lead. 

Andrew Rigassio gave the Cougars some life by blasting his ninth homer of the season to dead centerfield (383 feet) in the bottom of the fourth. However, the Cougars gave the run right back in the top of the fifth on some untimely errors.  Again, the Cougars tried to fight back but were only able to push across one run after the first two batters in the inning reached safely. Things got worse for the Cougars in the top of the sixth, as Phillipsburg was able to score two more runs, all on a two-out rally. 

With the score standing at 8-2 and time running out, Columbia desperately needed one of its signature late-inning comebacks. It came in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases, the Cougars started chipping away at the lead, getting an RBI single by Robert Buchner, an RBI groundout by Matt McGriff, and another RBI groundout by Eli Weiss. Rony Jean-Mary's two-out RBI single brought Columbia to a manageable 8-6. Joe Meola then sent the crowd and Cougar bench into a frenzy when he crushed a fastball over the leftfield fence for his first homer of the season, equaling the score at 8. 

While the table was certainly set for yet another great comeback victory for the Cougars, Phillipsburg was not participating. The Stateliners scored five times in the top of the seventh, crashing the Cougar comeback party, 13-8.

"I'm disappointed with the loss. While we came back from another deficit, it wasn't enough," stated CHS coach Larry Busichio. "But you have to tip your hat to Phillipsburg. They answered the call in the last inning."

Columbia has five games remaining in the season, all this week. They will take on Livingston on Wednesday at Underhill Field, followed by Cranford, Bloomfield and a double-header at Nutley on Saturday.