Columbia Outslugged by Harvard in Playoff Opener, 10-7

Friday, May 10

Cambridge, Mass.

1:30 P.M.

Columbia University

24-20

Harvard

24-17

Columbia

Harvard

Sommer Grzybek drives a run-scoring double in the first inning of Friday's opening game.

Photo by: The Ivy League

Columbia Outslugged by Harvard in Playoff Opener, 10-7

5/10/2019 6:13:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Feature: A Look Back at Softball's Postseason Debut Postgame: Head Coach Jennifer Teague Ivy League Championship Home Box Score Box Score (pdf)

Lions trade blows with Crimson in program's first Ivy League postseason game

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Seven runs through the first three innings were not enough for the Columbia softball team to earn its first Ivy League postseason victory. Harvard rallied to take the lead on two separate occasions and held off the Columbia offense through the final frames, 10-7, Friday afternoon in Game 1 of the Ivy League Playoff Series at Soldiers Field.

First-year Abby Stuart was a triple shy of the cycle. going 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs in her playoff debut. She hit Columbia's first ever Ivy League postseason home run with a two-run shot in the third. Sommer Grzybek was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while seven different Lions safely crossed the plate.

"The environment was pretty electric from the get-go," Columbia head coach Jennifer Teague said. "After Harvard scored two runs to answer us in the bottom of the first we knew it was going to be a battle. The excitement was pretty evident from the first pitch."

The Lions chased Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Katie Duncan from the game with a three-run first. She hit Maria Pagane with the third pitch of the day and walked Hailey Wetherill to set the table. Grzybek and Stuart made her pay with back-to-back run-scoring doubles to make it a 3-0 game.

The Crimson answered with two runs in the home half before taking the lead with four in the second. Columbia starter Madison Canby was charged with those six runs, five earned, including four runs on five hits in the second. First-year Alexa Pinarski entered with two outs in the inning and didn't allow any further damage. The rookie went the final 4.1 innings and was charged with the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out four.

Stuart's two-run blast pulled Columbia back within a run in the top of the third and the rally was on. After Harvard's Grace Krantz walked Alexandra Yule on four pitches, the Crimson went to the bullpen for Alissa Hiener, their third pitcher in as many innings. Hiener was greeted by a single to left off the bat of Jordan Townsend that bounced by Trina Hoang and scored Yule all the way from first. Columbia retook the lead, 7-6, on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Amanda Nishihira.

"Anytime you can punch back like we did it's exciting," Teague went on to say. "We just need to make sure we take care of the ball defensively and that's something we have to get better at for tomorrow."

Pinarski stranded two in scoring position in the third to keep the Lions in front by a run. Back-to-back one-out doubles in the fourth leveled things up for a third time before a fielding blunder allowed the Crimson to extend the inning and retake the lead. Morgan Melito grounded to short with one out and pinch-runner Mackenzie Tyler standing on second. Tyler got caught in a rundown between second and third but avoided the tag of Pagane and safely slid into third to put two in scoring position. Harvard went back in the lead, 8-7, on an RBI groundout by Hoang.

Two more Crimson runs crossed home in the fifth. Megan Welsh hit a home run down the right-field line that the first-base umpire deemed to have traveled over the foul pole on its way over the wall. Three straight hits plated the second run of the inning and brought the game to what proved to be its final tally.

Hiener was credited with win, allowing an unearned run on three hits in two innings of work. Katie Duncan reentered the game in the fifth after Columbia threated with back-to-back one-out singles by Stuart and Yule. She got Townsend to ground into a double play to end the inning and retired seven of the final eight batters she faced to get credited with the save.

The Ivy League Playoff Series continues with Game 2 on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

"We just have to fight, take care of us and play Columbia softball tomorrow," Teague added. "We need to be crisper on the mound and I thought we were swinging at some junk pitches at the plate later in the game. We have to make sure we're not forcing anything at the plate, go back to basics and trust our process."