Saturday, March 23
New York, N.Y.
2:00 P.M.
Columbia University
vs
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Dartmouth
Photo by: Eric Espada/Columbia University
Lions Set to Open Ivy Play at Home against Dartmouth
3/22/2019 12:34:00 PM | Softball
Weekend series schedule changed to single game Saturday, doubleheader Sunday
NEW YORK — The Columbia softball team (7-10) begins the 2019 Ivy League season at home this weekend with a three-game set against Dartmouth (3-14). In an effort to avoid inclement weather, the series has been altered from its original schedule. The first game is now Saturday at 2 p.m. The final two games of the series at the Columbia Softball Stadium will be contested Sunday with first pitch at 11 a.m.
Every game of the series will be streamed live on ESPN+. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial. Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.
Pitch-by-pitch stats will be available for all games courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia is coming off a 5-2 trip to Florida where it went 4-1 at the USF-Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Spring Invitational. The Lions stayed in Clearwater for a Tuesday single, defeating Lafayette, 4-1, and concluded the trip down in Fort Myers on Wednesday, falling to Florida Gulf Coast, 6-0. Columbia's bats were on fire in the Sunshine State, hitting .343 across the seven games with three different Lions hitting .400 and seven starters hitting at least .300. The Lions also outscored their opponents, 41-28, earning wins over La Salle, Providence, Quinnipiac and Lafayette (twice).
ORTEGA NAMED IVY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Max Ortega hit .588 and slugged 1.118 as part of a 4-1 weekend in Clearwater to earn her first Ivy League Player of the Week selection. The sophomore third baseman went 10-for-17 at the plate, which included her first home run of the season, a triple, four doubles, two stolen bases, nine runs scored and seven RBIs. A native of Highland, California, Ortega also posted a .611 on-base percentage and played the hot corner to a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 24 chances.
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
February 25: Sommer Grzybek – Player of the Week
March 18: Max Ortega – Player of the Week
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
February 25: Madison Canby, Max Ortega, Abby Stuart
March 4: Erin Gallo, Maria Pagane
March 18: Sommer Grzybek, Alexa Pinarski, Alex Yule
QUICK HITS
Max Ortega hit .542 over Columbia's seven-game trip to Florida, going 13-for-24 with five doubles, a .958 slugging percentage and .560 on-base percentage. She enters Ivy League play No. 2 in batting average (.462), No. 1 in hits (24), No. 1 in doubles and top-five in RBIs (12), runs (13), slugging (.673) and OBP (.500).
Max Ortega and Maria Pagane are both on a 10-game hitting streaks.
Junior Sommer Grzybek ranks No. 1 in the Ivy League in home runs (6), runs (15), total bases (38) and slugging (905), as well as top five in batting average (.405), on-base percentage (.500) and RBIs (14).
Senior Alexandra Yule is hitting .342 on the year and is among the Ivy League's top-10 in batting average. She had a career-long eight-game hitting streak from March 2-17 in which she hit .429 (9-for-21) with three doubles and six RBIs.
First-year pitcher Alexa Pinarski went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA in three starts and four appearances last week in Florida. Her week included seven strikeouts in 15.1 innings and a complete-game victory over Lafayette.
Junior pitcher Madison Canby posted a 3-1 record and 3.27 ERA over spring break, making four starts and notching two complete games. She struck out 15 in 25.2 innings of work.
Four Lions enter the weekend hitting above .300 (min. 20 AB), including Max Ortega (.462), Sommer Grzybek (.405), Alexandra Yule (.342) and first-year Abby Stuart (.313). Ortega, Grzybek and Yule are all top-10 in the league in batting average.
Columbia's power offense leads the Ivy League in batting average (.280), runs (71), home runs (11), RBIs (61) and slugging (.416).
EARLY SEASON SHOWDOWN
Columbia hosts Dartmouth for what will be a meeting between two of the league's top contenders. The Big Green were picked second in the preseason poll, just ahead of Columbia, which was picked third. Last season, Dartmouth won the Ivy League regular season (16-5) but lost the championship series to Harvard. The Lions finished third (13-8), one game behind the Crimson (14-7) for a spot in the championship series.
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth enters Ivy play with a record of 3-14, but several of those losses came against quality preseason competition. The Big Green spent spring break in California, where they went 1-6 but faced 2016 and 2017 national champion Oklahoma and three-time defending Big West champion Cal State Fullerton. Their schedule also includes an 8-4 loss to last year's national champion, Florida State. Currently, Dartmouth ranks fifth in the Ivy League in batting average (.256) and sixth in ERA (6.13). Billie McFadyen heads the offense with a .326 batting average while Taylor Ward is hitting .265 with a team-high 10 RBIs. Madie Augusto is the ace in the circle, holding a record of 2-5 with a 3.48 ERA across 52.1 innings pitched.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Dartmouth leads the series, 27-16, and took two of three one-run games last year in New Hampshire. The last time the Big Green visited New York, Columbia earned a two-game sweep that included a ninth-inning, walk-off home run by Sommer Grzybek in game two. Each of the last five games between the two sides have been decided by one run.
Every game of the series will be streamed live on ESPN+. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial. Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.
Pitch-by-pitch stats will be available for all games courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia is coming off a 5-2 trip to Florida where it went 4-1 at the USF-Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Spring Invitational. The Lions stayed in Clearwater for a Tuesday single, defeating Lafayette, 4-1, and concluded the trip down in Fort Myers on Wednesday, falling to Florida Gulf Coast, 6-0. Columbia's bats were on fire in the Sunshine State, hitting .343 across the seven games with three different Lions hitting .400 and seven starters hitting at least .300. The Lions also outscored their opponents, 41-28, earning wins over La Salle, Providence, Quinnipiac and Lafayette (twice).
ORTEGA NAMED IVY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Max Ortega hit .588 and slugged 1.118 as part of a 4-1 weekend in Clearwater to earn her first Ivy League Player of the Week selection. The sophomore third baseman went 10-for-17 at the plate, which included her first home run of the season, a triple, four doubles, two stolen bases, nine runs scored and seven RBIs. A native of Highland, California, Ortega also posted a .611 on-base percentage and played the hot corner to a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 24 chances.
🏅 Max Ortega is your @IvyLeague Player of the Week!
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 18, 2019
Amazing weekend! Take a 👀 at those numbers 😲#RoarLionRoar #Team20 🦁🥎 pic.twitter.com/Kco57Sx15o
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
February 25: Sommer Grzybek – Player of the Week
March 18: Max Ortega – Player of the Week
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
February 25: Madison Canby, Max Ortega, Abby Stuart
March 4: Erin Gallo, Maria Pagane
March 18: Sommer Grzybek, Alexa Pinarski, Alex Yule
QUICK HITS
Max Ortega hit .542 over Columbia's seven-game trip to Florida, going 13-for-24 with five doubles, a .958 slugging percentage and .560 on-base percentage. She enters Ivy League play No. 2 in batting average (.462), No. 1 in hits (24), No. 1 in doubles and top-five in RBIs (12), runs (13), slugging (.673) and OBP (.500).
Max Ortega and Maria Pagane are both on a 10-game hitting streaks.
Junior Sommer Grzybek ranks No. 1 in the Ivy League in home runs (6), runs (15), total bases (38) and slugging (905), as well as top five in batting average (.405), on-base percentage (.500) and RBIs (14).
Senior Alexandra Yule is hitting .342 on the year and is among the Ivy League's top-10 in batting average. She had a career-long eight-game hitting streak from March 2-17 in which she hit .429 (9-for-21) with three doubles and six RBIs.
First-year pitcher Alexa Pinarski went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA in three starts and four appearances last week in Florida. Her week included seven strikeouts in 15.1 innings and a complete-game victory over Lafayette.
Junior pitcher Madison Canby posted a 3-1 record and 3.27 ERA over spring break, making four starts and notching two complete games. She struck out 15 in 25.2 innings of work.
Four Lions enter the weekend hitting above .300 (min. 20 AB), including Max Ortega (.462), Sommer Grzybek (.405), Alexandra Yule (.342) and first-year Abby Stuart (.313). Ortega, Grzybek and Yule are all top-10 in the league in batting average.
Columbia's power offense leads the Ivy League in batting average (.280), runs (71), home runs (11), RBIs (61) and slugging (.416).
WHAT A WIN! Lions rally for 5 runs in the 6th and come back from 5-0 down to defeat Quinnipiac, 8-6. #RoarLionRoar #Team20
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 17, 2019
Score presented by @OrthoColumbia pic.twitter.com/TiEI7yPmkY
EARLY SEASON SHOWDOWN
Columbia hosts Dartmouth for what will be a meeting between two of the league's top contenders. The Big Green were picked second in the preseason poll, just ahead of Columbia, which was picked third. Last season, Dartmouth won the Ivy League regular season (16-5) but lost the championship series to Harvard. The Lions finished third (13-8), one game behind the Crimson (14-7) for a spot in the championship series.
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth enters Ivy play with a record of 3-14, but several of those losses came against quality preseason competition. The Big Green spent spring break in California, where they went 1-6 but faced 2016 and 2017 national champion Oklahoma and three-time defending Big West champion Cal State Fullerton. Their schedule also includes an 8-4 loss to last year's national champion, Florida State. Currently, Dartmouth ranks fifth in the Ivy League in batting average (.256) and sixth in ERA (6.13). Billie McFadyen heads the offense with a .326 batting average while Taylor Ward is hitting .265 with a team-high 10 RBIs. Madie Augusto is the ace in the circle, holding a record of 2-5 with a 3.48 ERA across 52.1 innings pitched.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Dartmouth leads the series, 27-16, and took two of three one-run games last year in New Hampshire. The last time the Big Green visited New York, Columbia earned a two-game sweep that included a ninth-inning, walk-off home run by Sommer Grzybek in game two. Each of the last five games between the two sides have been decided by one run.
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Players Mentioned
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