NEW YORK — The 21st season of Columbia softball starts up this weekend with the Lions set to play five contests in Madeira Beach, Florida, as part of The Spring Games. Opening weekend kicks off Friday at 11 a.m. against Providence.
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WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday
- Columbia vs. Providence: 11 a.m. |
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- Columbia vs. Georgetown: 4 p.m. |
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Saturday
- Columbia vs. Stony Brook: 11 a.m. |
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- Columbia vs. Albany: 1:30 p.m. |
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Sunday
- Columbia vs. Colgate: 2 p.m. |
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2020 SEASON PREVIEW
Columbia enters the 2020 season in an unfamiliar position. Two weeks ago, the Lions were voted as the Preseason No. 1 in the Ivy League poll for the first time. Columbia received 10 of the 16 first-place votes and 120 total votes overall, eight ahead of second-place Penn.
The No. 1 preseason selection comes on the heels of a 24-21 campaign a year ago that saw the Lions finish second in the Ivy League with a record of 15-6. The 15 Ivy wins marked the most in program history and helped Columbia qualify for the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series.
This year, Columbia returns six All-Ivy League selections, including First Team honorees
Max Ortega,
Maria Pagane and
Sommer Grzybek. Pagane and Grzybek also earned NFCA All-Region honors, becoming the first pair of Lions to named to an all-region team in program history.
"I don't think we take any different approach than what we took my first year here, which is to be process-oriented," said sixth-year head coach
Jennifer Teague, the 2019 Ivy League Coach of the Year. "Our players understand that it's a marathon and not a sprint. We're approaching preseason that way and there are going to be some challenges. We hope that we work through those challenges with the goal of being ready for that first Ivy League weekend at Dartmouth."
The 2020 Lions are led by a group of six seniors –
Sommer Grzybek,
Erin Gallo,
Madison Canby,
Amanda Nishihira,
Genny Soltesz and
Amber Swinarski. All six members of the senior class have seen significant playing time throughout their Columbia careers. Grzybek enters her final year as the program's career leader in batting average (.347) and slugging (.626).
"It's crazy how fast it went," Grzybek said. "It feels like yesterday I was in our freshmen's shoes. They are handling it a lot better than we did our freshman year … We've improved every year and it would be great to go out with [a championship].
Canby and Gallo bring a wealth of experience in the circle. The tandem has combined for 93 starts and 600 innings pitched in their four years. Canby heads into the season third in program history in career wins with 33.
"We've grown really close," said Canby, who was a Second Team All-Ivy League selection in 2019. "We came into the program and it's changed dramatically since then. We were Coach Teague's first official recruiting class so to come all the way through to our senior year has made a big impact on each other."
The Lions boast two senior outfielders in Soltesz and Swinarski, each of whom have played in over 85 career games. Meanwhile senior catcher
Amanda Nishihira, a two-time All-Ivy League selection, boasts 14 career homers and figures to be a force throwing runners out behind the plate once again.
"The goal is definitely to win Ivies," said Nishihira, who has thrown out 24 baserunners over the last two seasons, the most of any Ivy League catcher. "We're definitely ready going into the season. Just coming from our first year, we had our first winning season and so many team records set. It's been awesome."
Junior infielders
Max Ortega and
Maria Pagane are both coming off First Team All-Ivy League seasons. Pagane scored 33 runs in 2019, which ranked No. 3 in the Ivy League. She was also top five in hits (52), total bases (82) and triples (4). Ortega tied the program's single-season RBI record (40) and led the team and the Ivy League with 36 runs scored. She also led the league in hits (56) and triples (4).
Other returning starters include sophomore Abbey Stuart at first base, an All-Ivy Honorable Mention who had seven home runs and 30 RBI as a rookie. Classmate
Hailey Wetherill started 26 games in the outfield.
The incoming class features two infielders, two utility players, a catcher and a pitcher.
Kaia McCaul is the newcomer in the circle out of Los Gatos, California.
Regardless of class status, Coach Teague knows the preseason is all about preparation.
"I just want us to compete," Teague added. "It's all about getting better. I think we can have a pretty successful weekend and we match up pretty well with all five teams. Again, the game doesn't know who is supposed to win. We need to play Columbia softball every time we get in the dirt. If we do that, I really like our product."
SERIES VS. OPPONENTS
Columbia vs. Providence
- Columbia leads series 1-0
- Lions beat Providence in only meeting last season, 7-3, in nine innings
Columbia vs. Georgetown
- Georgetown leads series 3-1
- Lions won the last meeting between the two teams, 10-4, on March 3, 2018 at the District Classic
Columbia vs. Stony Brook
- Stony Brook leads series 11-4
- The teams last played in 2016 in New York City, which Stony Brook won, 10-6
- Columbia's last win over the Seawolves came in 2014, winning game one of a doubleheader, 1-0
Columbia vs. Albany
- Albany leads series 2-1
- Great Danes took the last meeting between the two sides, 2-1, in 2017 down in Madeira Beach
- Prior to 2017, the Lions and Great Danes hadn't met since 2001, when they split a doubleheader in New York
Columbia vs. Colgate
- Colgate leads series 7-4
- Columbia was victorious the last time the two teams met in 2018 at the UC Riverside Classic, 7-1
- Colgate has not won a game in the series since 2010
For the latest on the Columbia softball program, follow @CULionsSoftball on
Twitter and
Instagram, on Facebook at
Facebook.com/CULionsSoftball. You can view all the latest with the Lions on the web at
GoColumbiaLions.com/Softball.
