NEW YORK —  Behind a pair of 12-run performances from its offense and the pitching of junior Madison Canby, the Columbia softball team earned a pair of mercy-rule victories over Cornell, 12-0 (5) and 12-4 (6), Saturday afternoon at the Columbia Softball Stadium.
With the wins, Columbia (16-15, 8-3 Ivy) moved into a tie for first place in the Ivy League standings with Harvard (8-3). Both teams are a half-game ahead of Princeton (8-4), which completed its series against Penn on Saturday.
The Lions battered Cornell pitching for 19 hits while drawing 16 walks, including 10 bases on balls in game two. Sophomore Max Ortega and junior Sommer Grzybek led the way with a pair of 4-for-6 performances. Ortega scored three times and drove in a combined seven runs, while Grzybek tattooed her Ivy League-leading seventh home run of the season on her way to six RBIs. First-year Abby Stuart also impressed with a 3-for-6 day that included a home run and five RBIs.
"I was impressed with our poise at the plate and our pitch selection," head coach Jennifer Teague said. "We can't score that many runs in a day if we don't work walks and have timely hitting."
Meanwhile, Madison Canby was fantastic in the circle. The junior twirled a five-inning shutout in the opener before coming on to toss 2.2 innings of scoreless relief in game two. She allowed just six hits between the two games, striking out four and walking none.
"Madison Canby was lights out today," Teague added. "Lex got in a little bit of trouble in game two but Maddie was able to pick her up. That's the beauty of having a staff and having pitchers that can provide different looks to opposing batters."
Game 3 of the series will take place Sunday. First pitch is at 12 noon.
Game 1 Recap: Columbia 12 – Cornell 0 (5 Inn.)
The Lions used two big innings to make quick work of Cornell in Saturday's series opener, needing just an hour and 20 minutes to pull out a 12-0 victory in five innings.
Maria Pagane, Max Ortega and Sommer Grzybek all had two-hit games. Grzybek was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, ripping a three-run blast to center to open up the lead to 7-0 in the second. Ortega scored twice and drove in three, while Pagane and first-year Abby Stuart added two RBIs apiece.
Madison Canby (6-6) was spectacular in the circle, needing just 61 pitches to pick up her seventh complete game and second shutout of the season. She retired 15 of the 19 batters she faced, allowing just four hits, and didn't issue a single 3-ball count the entire way. Two of her three strikeouts came in the first inning before catching Ashley Delany looking in the fourth.
Lisa Nelson (0-6) started for Cornell but was unable to make it out of the second inning. After Grzybek singled in Genny Soltesz to get the Lions on the board in the first, Nelson allowed five earned runs in the second to bring her day to an abrupt end. She walked Jordan Townsend, Amber Swinarski and Genny Soltesz around an RBI single off the bat of Pagane, exiting with the bases loaded and her team trailing 2-0.
Relief pitcher Ashley Delany allowed all three of those inherited runners to score and then some. Ortega singled up the middle to drive in the first two before Grzybek sent a 1-0 pitch well beyond the fence in center, capping Columbia's six-run frame.
Cornell committed two errors in the third to help the Lions tack on five runs. A one-out RBI single from Pagane plated Jordan Townsend, who walked to lead things off. Soltesz reached on a throwing error by Delany that resulted in the second run of the inning and brought Ortega up with two on. The sophomore kept the inning going with an RBI single to right. Two batters later, Abby Stuart tripled down the right field line, plating both Soltesz and Ortega to increase the lead to 12-0.
All of those runs were more than enough for Canby, who allowed just one hit over the final three innings to pick up her sixth victory.
Game 2 Recap: Columbia 12 – Cornell 4 (6 Inn.)
Columbia scored in five of its six trips to the plate, coming up with 12 runs on 11 hits and 10 walks to dispose of Cornell in another shortened game, 12-4.
Max Ortega and Sommer Grzybek each went 2-for-3 and combined for six runs batted in. Ortega drove in a game-high four with her ninth and 10th doubles of the season. Abby Stuart was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs, including her fifth home run of the campaign.
Alexa Pinarski (9-6) wasn't at her best but pitched well enough to pick up her Ivy League-leading ninth victory. She worked her way out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first without giving up a run and stranded two more in scoring position in the second. After retiring the Big Red in order in the third, she surrendered three one-out doubles sandwiched around a fielding error in the fourth. Her day came to an end after 3.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits and a walk.
Canby entered in a 6-4 game with a runner on second and the tying run at the plate. A diving stop by Ortega at third helped the junior get out of the inning. She went on to toss the final 2.2 frames, giving up just two sixth-inning hits before striking out Emily McKinney looking to strand two in scoring position.
Columbia put up its first six runs on just four hits, taking advantage of five walks over the first three innings. Every one of those hits scored a run. Genny Soltesz drove in the first with a bases-loaded slap through the left side in the second. Max Ortega then stepped up and cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center. Abby Stuart led off the third with a massive home run on a 3-2 pitch to make it a five-run game. Three batters later, Amanda Nishihira doubled home Alexandra Yule to make it 6-0.
Cornell's four-run fourth wound up being a minor dent in Columbia's day. The Lions got three of them back in the home half courtesy of RBI singles by Grzybek and Stuart. Nishihira followed with an RBI groundout to increase the lead to 9-4. Maria Pagane led off the fourth with a double and came around to score on a fielder's choice groundout from Stuart.
Columbia put the game away in the sixth. Townsend and Swinarski singled to set the table and Soltesz walked with two down to load the bases for Ortega. She too drew a five-pitch walk to force home a run and put the clinching run at third for Grzybek. The junior capped her day with a single back through the middle to plate Swinarski with the final run.
Katie Lew tossed the entire game for Cornell and fell to 3-13 on the year. She was tagged for 12 runs, 11 earned, surrendering all 11 hits and 10 walks.
