WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 | 4:00 p.m. | WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.
(17-16, 9-6 IVY) Columbia
MONMOUTH (17-13, 8-0 MAAC)
NEW YORK – The Columbia softball team (17-16, 9-6 Ivy) makes its final non-conference stop of the season on Wednesday, heading over to the Jersey Shore for an afternoon game at Monmouth (17-13, 8-0 MAAC). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Live stats will be available for Wednesday's game through StatBroadcast. Fans can also receive in-game updates on Twitter by following @CULionsSoftball.
LEADING OFF
- Senior Taylor Troutt carries a 21-game on-base streak into Wednesday. She has reached safely in 29 of the 33 games this season and leads Columbia in batting average (.439), slugging percentage (.724) and on-base percentage (.505), while also leading the Ivy League in doubles (13). Troutt ranks 21st nationally in batting average (.439), 10th in doubles per game (0.41) and 44th in on-base percentage (.505). She has also hit safely in 10 of her last 11 and 19 of her last 21 games. Last week, she hit .583 (7 for 12) with three doubles, a homer, five runs and six RBIs in four games, and was named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll for a sixth time.
- First-year Max Ortega hit .500 (5 for 10) last week with a triple, three runs scored and four RBIs. She was named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season.
- First-year Maria Pagane hit .385 (5 for 13) last week with two home runs, two RBIs, two stolen bases and six runs scored. She was named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth time to go with one Rookie of the Week selection.
- Sophomore pitcher Madison Canby posted a 2-0 record with a 0.64 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched last week to be named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll for the third time. Canby tossed her first collegiate shutout tin the second game of the weekend series at Brown, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out three in a 7-0 victory.
- Maria Pagane and sophomore Amanda Nishihira lead the Ivy League with seven home runs apiece. Columbia also boasts three of the top six and four of the top 11 home run hitters in the Ivy League.
- Senior Madison Gott leads the Ivy League in RBIs (29) and total bases (79). She also ranks among the top five in runs (26), hits (41), doubles (12), triples (4) and home runs (6). Gott ranks 20th nationally in doubles per game (0.36) and tied for 25th in total triples (4).
- Columbia has hit 35 home runs in 33 games to rank No. 23 in the NCAA in home runs per game (1.06). First-year Maria Pagane and sophomore Amanda Nishihira lead the Ivy League with seven home runs apiece. Columbia also boasts three of the top six and four of the top 11 home run hitters in the Ivy League.
- Columbia ranks among the nation's top-20 in doubles per game (1.55), 33rd in slugging (.472) and 34th in scoring (5.55 runs/game).
- Columbia (9-6 Ivy) sits in third place in the Ivy League standings with two weekends remaining. The Lions are two games back of first-place Harvard (11-4). Dartmouth (8-3) is in second and plays Cornell on Tuesday to wrap up last weekend's series. The top two teams advance to the Ivy League Championship Series (May 12-13).
SCOUTING MONMOUTH
Monmouth (17-13, 8-0 MAAC) sits atop the MAAC with an undefeated record in league play. The Hawks have won nine in a row overall, including a 13-7 victory over reigning Ivy League champion Princeton last Wednesday. They won three one-run games over the weekend, sweeping Saint Peter's, 3-2 and 2-0, on Friday before taking another doubleheader from Manhattan, 2-1 and 7-6, on Saturday. Katie Harrington hit a walk-off, two-run triple in game one against the Jaspers. Monmouth then came back from 6-2 down with a five-run fifth to win game two. Katie Baron leads the team with a .415 batting average, nine doubles, seven homers, 25 RBIs, a .500 OBP and a .739 slugging percentage. Kayla Rosado (.306) and Amber Wozniak (.301) are also hitting better than .300. In the circle, Amanda Riley (10-5) boasts a team-best 2.84 ERA. She has gone the distance in 10 of her 17 starts and struck out 123 in 108 1-3 innings pitched.
THE SERIES
Columbia leads the series 10-7, sweeping a doubleheader last year at the Columbia Softball Stadium, 9-1 (6) and 5-1. Last year's meeting was the first between the two programs since 2009, which was the last time the Lions visited Monmouth.
THREE-HOMER THIRDS
Columbia hit three home runs in the third inning of last Friday's, 8-2, series-opening win at Brown. Madison Gott and Sommer Grzybek hit back-to-back home runs to start the inning before Amanda Nishihira hit her Ivy League-leading seventh to make it an 8-0 game. Columbia started the inning with six consecutive extra-base hits. It marked the second time this season the Lions hit three home runs in an inning, also doing so in the third inning on March 28 against Fairfield. Columbia went on to win that game in extra innings, 11-10.
IVY LEAGUE POWERHOUSE
Columbia is the class of the Ivy League in terms of offensive power. The Lions lead the conference in hits (268), runs (183), doubles (51), home runs (35), RBIs (161), total bases (440), slugging percentage (.472) and even walks (99). Through the first 15 Ivy League games, the Lions are hitting .300 and rank at or near the top of the conference in most offensive categories, including first in hits (132), doubles (27), home runs (17) and total bases (216).
GOTT RECORDS?
Madison Gott is Columbia's career leader in home runs (28), doubles (40), RBIs (113), total bases (312) and slugging (.559). The senior also ranks third in batting average (.323), third in hits (180) and third in runs scored (90). 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).
HITTING STREAKS
Senior Madison Gott hit .468 through a 12-game hitting streak that spanned March 17 – April 6. Gott had 22 hits, 15 RBIs, 14 runs scored, six doubles, two triples and four home runs over the three-week span.
Sophomore Sommer Grzybek had an 11-game hitting streak from Feb. 24 – March 13. Grzybek hit .417 along the way with four runs and six RBIs, also walking four times and stealing two bases.
A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
Columbia has gone to extra innings five times this season and holds a record of 4-1 in those games. The Lions walked off against Virginia (March 3) in nine innings on Amanda Nishihira's three-run homer in the ninth, winning the game 11-8. Madison Gott hit an eighth-inning home run in both game one and game two of a three-game series against Penn (March 17), helping the Lions win by scores of 8-6 and 9-7. Columbia also walked off in the ninth against Fairfield (March 28) on Gott's double to defeat the Stags, 11-10.
Adding to the drama, five of Columbia's last 11 games have been decided by one run, including all three games at Dartmouth. The Lions hit three home runs last Wednesday to earn an 8-7 victory over Manhattan.
GOTT MAKES NATIONAL HEADLINES
Senior infielder Madison Gott made national headlines when she was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week (March 20). 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 also named Ivy League Player of the Week for a second time this season.
Headline: Gott Selected NFCA National Player of the Week
HOME COOKIN'
The Lions have started 6-3 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
April 2 – Madison Gott, Taylor Troutt, Maria Pagane
April 9 – Taylor Troutt, Erin Gallo, Max Ortega
April 16 – Taylor Troutt, Madison Canby, Maria Pagane, Max Ortega
