CLEARWATER, Fla. — Madison Canby tossed her fifth complete game of the season and Columbia put up three runs in the third on its way to a, 4-1, victory over Lafayette College Tuesday afternoon at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
The win improved Columbia (7-9) to 5-1 over spring break. The Lions will head from Clearwater to Fort Myers for their final game of the trip against Florida Gulf Coast, scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Canby improved to 4-4, spreading eight hits and just the one run over 111 pitches. The junior retired Lafayette (2-16) in order in both the second and fifth innings to take a shutout into the seventh. The first three Leopards all singled in the final frame to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. A wild pitch spoiled the shutout but Canby settled down and retired the next three with some help from her defense to lock down the victory.
"I wish we would've played a little bit cleaner but I thought we were pretty disciplined at the plate," Columbia head coach Jennifer Teague said. "I think we need to get a little tougher on the mound in terms of battling against batters that we need to beat. But for the most part, we played solid defense and got a win. We have momentum going down to Florida Gulf Coast, who will be a pretty tough opponent for us."
The Lions got to Lafayette pitcher Kinzi Van Wyk for four runs, three earned, on eight hits. Junior catcher Amanda Nishihira was 2-for-3 out of the No. 8 hole, including a double to left-center in the second that put the Lions on the board first. Abby Stuart was also 2-for-3 while seniors Alexandra Yule and Jordan Townsend each added RBIs.
Rookie Hailey Wetherill drew a walk to lead off the three-run third. Two batters later, Stuart rocketed a pitch back up the middle that ricocheted off Van Wyk on its way to center. Wetherill held at third but Paige Grover's throw to the plate sailed to the backstop, allowing Wetherill to head for home with the second run of the game.
Yule kept the inning going by putting a 2-2 pitch in play toward short. Lafayette's Brooke Wensel threw home to try and cut Sommer Grzybek down at the plate, but the throw was not in time as Columbia went ahead 3-0. Townsend flied the next pitch to left, but it was deep enough for Stuart to tag and score from third and increase the lead to 4-0.
Canby retired eight straight Leopards before back-to-back two-out singles in the sixth put runners at the corners. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Max Ortega snagged a hot shot at third to end the threat and came up big again in the seventh. With two in scoring position, she smothered a hard-hit ball and threw to first in time to record the first out. Krystin Wong came up with an acrobatic catch in center after nearly colliding with Townsend for the second out and Canby got Erica Hanson to ground out to end the game.
Following Wednesday's game at FGCU, the Lions will fly back to New York for their first Ivy League series of the season against Dartmouth. The three-game weekend set begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
"Hopefully, we battle hard tomorrow and come home off a successful trip to be ready for Dartmouth," Teague added.
