NEW YORK – The Columbia softball team (9-12, 4-2 Ivy) hosts Fairfield (7-15) in non-conference action on Wednesday. First pitch from the Columbia Softball Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Wednesday's game will be available on the Ivy League Network. It can be tracked online with live stats accessible on GoColumbiaLions.com. Fans can also follow @CULionsSoftball on Twitter for live in-game updates.
QUICK NOTES
- Senior Madison Gott is hitting .480 through her current six-game hitting streak with three homers, four doubles, seven runs scored and seven RBIs. Gott leads the Ivy League in doubles (10), triples (2) and total bases (52).
- Senior Taylor Troutt is on a career-best nine-game hitting streak. She has hit safely in 18 of the 21 games this season. Troutt leads Columbia in batting average (.413) and on-base percentage (.479), while sharing the team-lead in hits (26) with Gott.
- Eight Lions hit .300 or better (min. 3 hits) in last weekend's series against Yale. Nine Lions are hitting .300 or better through the first six Ivy League games. - First-year Maria Pagane leads the Ivy League in home runs (5).
- Sophomore Madison Canby went 2-0 last weekend against Yale with a 2.57 ERA in 16 1-3 innings pitched. She earned both wins on Saturday, tossing a complete-game in the opener and two shutout innings of relief in game two.
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD
Fairfield (7-15) takes on Seton Hall Tuesday before visiting the Big Apple. The Stags snapped a seven-game losing streak on Sunday with an 8-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. They scored three runs before FDU came to bat and were led by Amanda Ulzheimer's 3 for 4 day at the plate. Lacey Olaff leads the offense with a .293 batting average, playing in 19 of 22 games with six RBIs. Courtney Hankins heads the team with 10 RBIs. Fairfield is hitting just .220 as a team, while opponents are hitting .304. Destinee Pallotto (6-5) carries the pitching staff with a 3.45 ERA, starting 12 games, tossing five complete games and three shutouts. She has struck out 52 in exactly 65 innings pitched. The Stags carry a team ERA of 5.75. Fairfield leads the all-time series against Columbia 6-4, including three wins last season.
IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS
Columbia has started 4-2 in Ivy League play and is tied for first in winning percentage with Cornell (2-1) and Dartmouth (2-1). Four of the eight teams started one week earlier than the rest. The Lions take on Dartmouth this weekend in a three-game set in Hanover.
IVY LEAGUE POWERHOUSE
Columbia is the class of the Ivy League in terms of offensive power. The Lions lead the conference in runs (102), hits (163), doubles (34), home runs (18), total bases (259), slugging percentage (.451), and even walks (63). Through the first six Ivy League games, the Lions are hitting .335 with a conference-best 40 runs scored, 65 hits, 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs, 110 total bases and .567 slugging percentage.
GOTT RECORDS?
Madison Gott is Columbia's career leader in home runs (26), RBIs (101) and total bases (285). The senior also currently holds the career record in slugging (.551), while ranking second in doubles (38), third in batting average (.319), fifth in hits (165) and sixth in runs scored (79). Last season, Gott broke the program's single-season records in batting average (.381), hits (59), total bases (102) and RBIs (40), while tying the home run record (10).
GOTT MAKES NATIONAL HEADLINES
Senior infielder Madison Gott made national headlines when she was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week last Tuesday. Gott batted .474 with a .524 OBP, 1.000 slugging percentage, three home runs, five runs and eight RBIs through five games. The highlight of her week came in Saturday's Ivy League opener against Penn, when she hit game-winning home runs in both of Columbia's extra-inning victories. Her first came in the eighth inning of game one to win it, 8-6 (8), and her second game in the eighth of game two, winning the game, 9-7 (8). Gott went on to hit her third two-run home run of the series on Sunday, finishing the first weekend of Ivy play 7 for 13 with five runs and six RBIs. The national player of the week recognition is the first in Columbia softball program history. The senior was named Ivy League Player of the Week for a second time this season on Monday. Headline: Gott Selected NFCA National Player of the Week
HOME COOKIN'
The Lions have started 2-1 at home this season after going 10-4 (.714) a year ago. Last year's team tied the program record from 2014 for home winning percentage (15-6, .714). The 2017 Lions won their first eight home games, marking the longest home winning streak since the 2014 team won its first 12. Columbia started the Ivy League season at home last year with a four-game weekend sweep over Dartmouth and Harvard. The Lions won three of those four games in walk-off fashion, including a ninth-inning home run by Sommer Grzybek in game two against Dartmouth.
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
March 5 – Player of the Week – Madison Gott
March 5 – Rookie of the Week – Maria Pagane
March 19 – Player of the Week – Madison Gott
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
February 26 – Erin Gallo, Maria Pagane
March 5 – Madison Canby, Taylor Troutt
March 12 – Sommer Grzybek, Olivia Parker, Taylor Troutt
March 19 – Erin Gallo, Max Ortega, Taylor Troutt
March 27 – Madison Gott, Madison Canby, Maria Pagane
