CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Columbia softball team began its spring break with two wins on Friday at the USF-Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Spring Invitational, defeating La Salle, 5-1, before downing Providence in nine innings, 7-3.
Columbia (4-8) scored three insurance runs in the seventh against the Explorers (2-9) while junior Madison Canby tossed her fourth complete game of the season to earn the victory. Sommer Grzybek hit a towering two-run shot as part of the three-run seventh.
"Obviously, it's always great to start spring break with two wins," fifth-year head coach Jennifer Teague said. "I thought our fight against a good Providence team was really the highlight. It was a total team effort that included great defensive plays, great pitching and great adjustments at the plate."
Canby (3-3) also picked up the win in relief in game two, allowing just one run across the final 5.2 innings. She pitched to a 1.11 ERA on the day in 12.2 innings, striking out nine.
"I thought Madison Canby had an outstanding day," Teague added. "Alex Yule was huge for us at the plate getting hits and putting down bunts when we needed them. It was a very solid day for us and great to see us rebound from our weekend in North Carolina."
The Lions surrendered a game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh against Providence (10-8) but finished off the Friday sweep with four runs in the ninth. Grzybek and senior Alexandra Yule each had two hits and two RBIs in the victory. They picked up three hits apiece and combined for seven RBIs on the day. Max Ortega and Abby Stuart also posted three-hit days with an RBI.
Columbia continues the tournament Saturday with a doubleheader against Army and Lafayette. First pitch against the Black Knights is scheduled for 9 a.m.
Game 1 Recap: Columbia 5 – La Salle 1
Madison Canby turned in her fourth complete game of the season and the Lions got to La Salle for five runs on eight hits to win Friday morning's tournament opener, 5-1.
Canby used 91 pitches and shut out La Salle through 6.1 before surrendering what proved to be a meaningless run in the seventh. The junior struck out five while allowing just four hits, retiring 14 straight between the end of the second and beginning of the seventh innings.
Sommer Grzybek and Abby Stuart each went 2-for-4 to combine for four of the Lions' eight hits. Max Ortega scored two runs while Grzybek went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
The Lions rewarded Canby with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to go on top. Ortega doubled down the left field line off La Salle starter Cailey Joyce (2-3) to begin the fourth and was driven in by a two-out double to the gap off bat of Alexandra Yule. Columbia added an unearned run in the fifth when Pagane doubled and came around to score on a throwing error by Joyce on Hailey Weterill's sacrifice attempt.
With Canby in control, the Lions padded the lead to five with a three-run seventh. All three runs came with two outs, beginning with an RBI triple to right from Max Ortega. The next batter was Sommer Grzybek, who crushed a mammoth home run to left to make it a 5-0 game.
La Salle scored on back-to-back one-out hits in the seventh but her defense put the finishing touches on the victory with a 3-4-5 double play.
Game 2 Recap: Columbia 7 – Providence 3 (F/9)
Columbia broke open a back-and-forth extra-inning affair with four runs in the ninth and Providence had no response as the Lions swept their first day of games in Clearwater, 7-3.
Columbia never trailed and took a 2-1 lead off a Providence throwing error in the sixth. The Friars tied it on a one-out single with runners on the corners in the seventh, setting up a thrilling final few frames.
With international tiebreak rules in effect, the Lions executed perfectly on a sacrifice bunt by Abby Stuart and a sac fly by Alexandra Yule to score their run in the eighth. Providence's Vanessa Portillo needed just four pitches to single down the left field line and score the tying run in the bottom half. Madison Canby retired the next three she faced to send the game to the ninth.
Maria Pagane put the Lions back on top with a single to right before a fielding error by Portillo at short set up the big inning. Grzybek came up two batters later with the bases loaded and socked a two-run single to right to make it a 6-3 game. The next batter, Abby Stuart, bounced a hard-hit ball off the pitcher, Miranda Trinidad, plating Ortega from third for the fourth run of the inning.
Fresh off her complete game in Friday's front end, Madison Canby locked down her second win of the day with a 1-2-3 ninth. The junior from Pembroke Pines relived first-year starter Alexa Pinarski with two on and one out in a 1-1 game in the fourth and proceeded to strike out Molly McGarry and Allison Abbatiello to get out of the inning. She went the final 5.2 innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out four.
The Lions took the first lead of the game courtesy of a leadoff double from Grzybek and RBI single from Yule in the second. PC tied it in the third by putting the first two runners on against Columbia starter Alexa Pinarski and getting a two-out pinch-hit single off the bat of Hadley Tate.
Columbia racked up 10 hits, including two-hit performances by Grzybek and Yule, who drove in two runs apiece. Grzybek also scored twice while reaching base three times. Eight different Lions found the hit column and all nine starters reached base safely.
