SEASON PREVIEW: 2016 Columbia Softball
2/18/2016 12:53:00 PM | Softball
Sophomore Second Baseman Taylor Troutt
2016 Softball Schedule
NEW YORK - Led behind second-year head coach Jennifer Teague, the Columbia softball team is ready to kick off the 2016 season next weekend as it heads to Boca Raton, Florida, for a three-day tournament.
"I think we have a good foundation of players that are back," said Teague. "Their internal drive is what is going to get them to an Ivy League Championship and they are pretty driven right now."
A LOOK AT THE RETURNERS
The Lions do have a strong core of returners coming back for the 2016 season as four of the top five hitters from last year will return to the lineup in Kerry Cook (.299 avg.), Tonia Wu (.260 avg.), Taylor Troutt (.241 avg.) and Madison Gott (.240 avg.). Columbia will also be turning towards junior Shelby Unger this season who led the Lions in Ivy League play last year with a .319 average after posting three doubles, a home run and eight RBI for a .447 slugging percentage.
The Lions will be returning its entire pitching staff back to the circle in 2016 as well with senior Tessa Kroll (7-10, 4.21 ERA, 47 K) and junior Tonia Wu (7-13, 2.97 ERA, 96 K) leading the way. With a 2-5 record and a 4.06 ERA last year, junior Kayla Maloney will also return to the circle for the Lions to help add some depth to the team.
Cook, Unger and Wu were also named College Sports Madness Preseason All-Ivy Second Team selections heading into the 2016 season thanks to an impressive campaign last year. For more information on the CSM Preseason All-Ivy List, click here.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE NEWCOMERS
With only one senior and four juniors on the team, the Lions are made up of 11 underclassmen including a group of six newcomers for the 2016 season, the first recruiting class for second-year coach Teague.
"I am super excited about our first recruiting class," said Teague. "All six are very talented on the defensive side, and this class is also extremely gifted offensively."
Joining the Lions will be Sandy Kaul, Reilly Metzger, Bonnie Schipper, Jordan Townsend, Krystin Wong and Alex Yule. For a full look at the six newcomers, click here.
ADDITIONS TO THE COACHING STAFF
The Lions will also have a couple of new additions to the coaching staff in 2016 as Cassie Vondrak joins Teague for the 2016 season as the new pitching coach after serving as an assistant coach at New York University last year. Vondrak comes to the Lions after an illustrious playing career at LIU Brooklyn where she was named a three-time All-NEC Tournament selection and helped the Blackbirds win the 2012 NEC Championship where she was named the Tournament MVP. For more information on Vondrak, click here.
Also joining the staff for the 2016 season will be Shannon Mozek who was named a volunteer assistant this past fall after a four-year playing career at Montclair State University where she was named a four-time NJAC Second Team All-Conference selection. For more information on Mozek, click here.
A LOOK AT THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Lions will open up the 2016 season with a tough preseason as they head down to Boca Raton for the FAU Invitational (Feb. 26-28) where they will take on Boston University, Maryland, Stony Brook and Michigan State before heading back North for the District Invite (March 4-6) against George Washington, Robert Morris, Maryland and Georgetown.
The schedule does not get any easier as the team heads into Spring Break as the Lions will open up the week-long trip in South Carolina at the Holy City Showdown (March 12-13), taking on a pair of 2015 NCAA Tournament teams in Chattanooga and No. 12 Georgia as well as a rematch with Michigan State and a closing game with Charleston Southern.
From there, the Lions will continue across South Carolina with games against Charleston Southern (March 15) and Coastal Carolina (March 16) before wrapping up the week with a three-game series against UNC Wilmington (March 18-19).
Before heading into conference action, the Lions will welcome Canisius and Fairleigh Dickinson to the Columbia Softball Stadium as they host the 2016 Columbia Classic on March 25-26.
Scattered throughout league play, Columbia will also play non-conference games with Stony Brook (April 6), Saint Peter's (April 14), Fairfield (April 20) and Rider (April 29).
A LOOK AT THE IVY LEAGUE SCHEDULE
"Dartmouth has won the past two years but there are some dark horses," added Teague. "The Ivy League is interesting because at any given time, a team can sneak up."
The 2016 Ivy League schedule will kick off on April 1 this season as the Lions open up conference play at home in New York as they host Yale (April 1) and Brown (April 2) before hitting the road for 10-straight games with back-to-backs against Harvard (April 8) and Dartmouth (April 9) as well as four-straight with Cornell (April 16-17).
Following their trip to Ithaca, the Lions will then return home to host Princeton in four-straight games (April 23-24) before a home-and-home with Penn (April 29-30) to round out the 2016 schedule.
