Softball Releases 2012 Schedule
11/16/2011 6:21:00 PM | Softball
**Updated on Jan. 5, 2012**
2012 Schedule | 2012 Schedule PDF
NEW YORK - Columbia head softball coach Kayla Noonan and the Lions softball program recently released the team's 2012 schedule.
"We feel like we have put together a really competitive schedule that will prepare us for the Ivy League season while challenging us to get better every time we step on the dirt," said Noonan, who enters her 10th year leading the Lions.
With eight veterans returning and seven first-years joining the squad, Columbia is preparing for an exciting 2012 season. The Lions return their top hitter and top baserunners from 2011. Sophomore outfielder and 2011 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention Emily Caruthers paced the team with a .322 average in her first collegiate season. Caruthers also led the team with 12 stolen bases and 2011 All-Ivy League Second Team selection Jennifer Bergeron was second on the squad with 11 stolen bases.
Columbia opens its season down in Starkville, Miss., competing in the Mississippi State Bulldog Classic from March 2-3. The Lions face Louisiana Tech in their season opener on March 2 in the first-ever meeting between the teams. Columbia takes on host Mississippi State that afternoon and again the next morning before ending its trip to the Magnolia State against Samford.
The following weekend, the Lions play a pair of doubleheaders at Towson March 10-11. Towson went 28-26 last season and finished third in the CAA. The Tigers should provide four of the toughest non-conference tests for the Lions as they return their top three power hitters from last year in Andrea Stevenson (.341 BA, 5 HRs, 32 RBI) and Erika Stasch (.319 BA, 5 HRs, 26 RBI). Towson also returns its top two pitchers in Dominique Ortega (10-12, 2.09 ERA) and Katie Lingmai (17-13, 2.36 ERA).
For Spring Recess, Columbia heads to Kissimmee, Fla., to compete in the Rebel Games March 12-17. The Lions will play 10 games over the course of six days. Opponents include Fairfield, Wagner, Utah Valley, Bucknell, Youngstown State, Nebraska-Omaha, Houston Baptist, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Fairleigh Dickinson and Lafayette.
The Lions return to the Northeast the following week for a doubleheader against Saint Peter's on March 24. Columbia leads its all-time series against Saint Peter's, 13-4-1. Last season, the Lions swept the Peahens in a doubleheader on March 26, 2011. Columbia took a six-inning, 8-0 victory in the first game before claiming a thrilling 3-2 win in the second game when Bergeron hit a two-out, game-winning RBI single.
Columbia makes its 2012 home debut a few days later when it hosts Rider for a doubleheader on March 28. The Lions lead the all-time series 16-12 and dominated the Broncs in last year's doubleheader on April 21, 2011. Columbia took both games in six innings with 9-1 and 10-1 victories.
Columbia opens Ivy League play the following weekend with a pair of home doubleheaders. The Lions host Yale on March 30 and Brown on March 31. The Bulldogs took both games of last season's series. The Lions and Bears split last year's doubleheader. Columbia's six-inning, 16-1 win over Brown in the second game marked the Lions' highs run total and highest margin of victory in program history.
The Lions renew one of their most even non-conference rivalries on April 4 when they head to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a doubleheader against Marist. Columbia holds a slight 6-5 edge in the all-time series and has won the past five games between the teams, a streak that date back to 2009.
Columbia resumes Ivy League play the following weekend, heading to Cambridge, Mass., on April 6 for a doubleheader against defending Ivy League champion Harvard before going to Hanover, N.H., on April 7 for a twin bill at Dartmouth. Both Harvard and Dartmouth swept the Lions in their respective doubleheaders last season.
The Lions play the first of three Ivy League four-game series April 14-15 when they take on Empire State rival Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. The teams split last season's four-game set with the Big Red taking a pair of 2-1 victories in the first two games and the Lions claiming 6-0 and 6-4 wins in the last two games.
Three days later, Columbia heads down to the Garden State for an April 18 doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Lions have a 6-5 lead in a back-and-forth all-time series. The Knights have won each of the last two games, including a 4-2 win last year in New York.
The following weekend features a four-game set at home against Princeton. Columbia won last year's series against the Tigers three games to one in Princeton N.J., taking 5-3, 2-0 and 7-5 wins in the first three games before falling 5-2 in the fourth. Last year's performance ended the Tigers' streak of winning three consecutive season series against the Lions.
On April 25, Columbia hosts Lehigh for a midweek doubleheader. This twin bill will mark the first time since 2001 that the two teams have faced each other.
Columbia closes out its Ivy League regular season schedule with a four-game, home-and-away series against Penn. The Lions play a doubleheader in Philadlephia on April 27 before returning to New York for a doubleheader on April 28. The Quakers the 2011 series, 3-1. Columbia closed out its 2011 season with a 9-5 road win over Penn.
The Lions will conclude their 2012 regular season at home on May 1 when they take on local rival Manhattan in a twin bill. Last season, the teams split a doubleheader in Riverdale, N.Y.
