WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale, the Ivy League regular season champs, had its season come to a heartbreaking end on Wednesday afternoon in a 15-inning, 2-1 loss to Columbia. 

Joe Engel's sacrifice fly off of Alex Stiegler in the bottom of the 15th scored the game-winning run for the Lions who swept the best-of-three Ivy League Championship Series.  

The Bulldogs (22-21) finished the season in first place with a 15-6 Ivy League mark and earned their third straight trip to the ILCS.

Eric Brodkowitz started for the Bulldogs and allowed one run over the first seven innings.  Brodkowitz, a senior, finished the season with a league-high six wins during the conference regular season.

Brodkowitz finished his final season at Yale with a 2.76 ERA and allowed 66 hits in 84 and 2/3 innings over 12 starts. 

Benny Wanger went the next five innings, including getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the 12th getting McGill on a called strike three.  Wanger struck out six and did not allow a run to extend his scoreless streak this season against Ivy League opponents to 24 innings. 

In the 14th, Wanger worked a one-out walk and Griffin Dey followed with a single.  Alex Stiegler lined out to first to start an inning-ending double play. 

Wanger also get the Bulldogs out to a 1-0 lead in the first with a sac fly to score Teddy Hague, who had two hits and a walk in the game.  Hague also doubled in the third.

Hague went 4 for 7 in the series and finished his rookie season with a .330 batting average. 

Columbia tied the game in the third on a Lane Robinette homer to left center. The teams remained scoreless until the 15th.  

With the win, the Lions received the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.  

Report filed by Ernie Bertothy, Yale Sports Publicity