Columbia University
Manhattan
Columbia Renews Local Rivalry with Manhattan Wednesday
4/2/2019 2:09:00 PM | Softball
Lions and Jaspers set to square off for a seventh consecutive year
NEW YORK — The Columbia softball team (12-12, 5-1 Ivy) makes a short trip up to the Bronx for a midweek game against Manhattan College (11-15, 0-2 MAAC). First pitch from Gaelic Park is slated for 4 p.m.
Live stats for Wednesday's game will be provided by GoJaspers.com. Fans can also keep up with the action on Twitter by following @CULionsSoftball.
LAST TIME OUT
The Lions traveled to Princeton last weekend and took two of three from the Tigers behind the pitching of first-year Alexa Pinarski. After Princeton won Friday's series opener, 11-5, Pinarski took the ball for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and tossed a three-hit, complete-game gem, surrendering just one unearned run as the Lions took a 2-1 win. The rookie out of Dyer, Indiana also got the ball to start the second game of the doubleheader, lasting five-plus innings before junior Madison Canby shut the door on a 5-4 victory. First-year Abby Stuart hit a two-run double as part of Columbia's four-run third while Pinarski was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the fourth.
Alexa Pinarski was on 🔥🔥 today. She threw 12 of our 14 innings, including a two-hit complete game victory, and was also 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI at the plate. #RoarLionRoar #Team20 🦁🥎 pic.twitter.com/LN3PDK4XlZ
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 30, 2019
ALONE IN FIRST
Columbia is alone in first place in the Ivy League standings after two weekends of play. The Lions swept 2018 co-champion Dartmouth on opening weekend before winning a series against 2016 and 2017 champion Princeton on the road. Harvard (4-2) awaits the Lions for a three-game series this weekend in Cambridge. The Crimson won last year's Ivy League Championship Series over Dartmouth to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
COLUMBIA BULLETS
- At 5-1, Columbia has tied the 2017 team for the program's best six-game Ivy League start.
- Alexa Pinarski and Maria Pagane were named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Monday. Pagane hit .385 and slugged .615 with a home run and was 5-for-11 at the plate against Princeton. Pinarski went 2-0 and posted a 2.33 series ERA against the Tigers.
- Columbia ranks No. 3 in the Ivy League with a .274 batting average and ranks among the Ancient Eight's top three in runs (103), hits (164), doubles (30), home runs (14), RBIs (92), total bases (244) and slugging (.407).
- Columbia leads the Ivy league in scoring at 4.29 runs per game.
- Columbia's pitching staff ranks among the top half of the league in ERA (4.17), including No. 3 in Ivy League play at 3.15.
- Sophomore Max Ortega ranks No. 2 in the Ivy League in batting average (.427), No. 3 in runs (18), No. 1 in hits (32), No. 2 in doubles (8), No. 2 in RBIs (17), No. 2 in total bases (45) and No. 5 in OBP (.463).
- Junior Sommer Grzybek leads the Ivy League in home runs (6) and slugging (.905).
- Madison Canby (3.45), Erin Gallo (3.88) and Alexa Pinarski (4.12) all rank among the top 10 in the Ivy League in ERA (min. 20 IP).
- Pinarski carries a team-best 1.94 ERA in Ivy League games, which ranks No. 2 in the league.
SCOUTING MANHATTAN
Manhattan snapped a five-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep over Morgan State by scores of 10-5 and 2-1 on Sunday. They opened MAAC play the day prior with two losses at Quinnipiac. The Jaspers are a perfect 4-0 at home, also sweeping Central Connecticut State in a doubleheader on March 13. Senior Lauren Pitney leads the team offensively with a .420 batting average and .598 on-base percentage, ranking atop the MAAC and No. 4 in the NCAA in OBP. She also leads the team with 22 runs scored and shares the team lead in RBIs (22) with freshman Annie Moore, who enters Wednesday hitting .394. The three members of the pitching staff all carry similar ERAs. Stephanie Kristo (4-3) leads the trio with a 4.46 mark in 42.1 innings. Junior Kayla McDermott (3-7) is the workhorse with 73.1 innings of work.
THE SERIES
Manhattan leads the all-time series, 17-15. The two sides went head-to-head last season at the Columbia Softball Stadium with the Lions coming out on top, 8-7, behind home runs from Amanda Nishihira, Maria Pagane and Taylor Troutt. Wednesday will mark the seventh consecutive year the two teams have played against one another.
