MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Columbia softball head coach
Jennifer Teague picked up her 100th win at Columbia on a walk-off single from
Max Ortega, highlighting a day two split for the Lions at The Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida.
Columbia (3-1) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Albany (1-2). After first-year
Megan Ryono tied the game, Ortega stepped up with the bases loaded and singled home the winning run as the Lions celebrated.
Shortly after the win
, the team surprised Teague by informing her she had just one her 100th game as the head coach of the Lions.
"I had no clue," said Teague, the 2019 Ivy League Coach of the Year. "I answered texts from alumni saying how proud they were of how far the program has come. I told them I couldn't have done any of this without them. It's just a proud moment. It all goes back to the people and having the right people in the right places. I need people that believe in me and believe in our program. I can't do it without great people and that's what I like to celebrate, taking it back to the people who helped build it."
Senior
Madison Canby (2-0) had another spectacular day in the circle, earning the game-two start and earning the complete-game victory. She allowed just a run on five hits while striking out four.
"Maddie obviously pitched another fantastic game," Teague added. "They scored their only run on two bloop hits. She's just throwing really well right now. She did better keeping runners off base, which was progress from yesterday."
The walk-off win ended the day on a positive after the Lions bounced back from a 9-5 loss against Stony Brook.
Columbia closes out the weekend on Sunday when it takes on Colgate at 2 p.m.
Every game this weekend can be watched live with a paid subscription to FloSoftball.
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Game 1 Recap: Columbia 5, Stony Brook 9
The Lions got a boost from junior
Maria Pagane, who went 3-for-3 at the dish but it wasn't enough to get past Stony Brook, as the Seawolves handed the Lions their first loss of the year, 9-5.
In addition to her three hits, Pagane had two doubles to lead the Lions. Junior
Max Ortega furnished a standout performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. Sophomore
Hailey Wetherill put together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.
Freshman
Kaia McCaul (1-1) got the ball to start for Columbia (2-1) and took the loss. Sophomore
Monique Benjamin was a bright spot for the Lions, coming out of the bullpen and throwing one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
The Lions got the scoring started early, putting runs on the board in the first inning with the game still scoreless. Senior
Amanda Nishihira drove in two runs for Columbia with a single that scored Wetherill and Ortega.
The Seawolves then rallied to score four runs and take a 4-2 lead before the Lions got back on the board in the second. Columbia tied it up with two runs, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Wetherill, which evened the score at 4-4.
Stony Brook broke that tie with two more runs in the home half of the second and extended the lead with a three-run fifth. Columbia brought home a run in its last trip to the plate on a one-out RBI double from Ortega, but the ballgame ended before any more runs could come home.
Game 2 Recap: Columbia 2, Georgetown 1
Columbia rallied to score two in the seventh inning and walked it off on a single off the bat of junior Ortega to pick up the 2-1 win over the Albany Great Danes in Saturday's second game.
The Lions did not score until the bottom of the seventh. They entered the inning trailing 1-0 before
Danielle Mandichak sparked the rally with a one-out double. First-year
Megan Ryono singled in her fellow classmate two pitches later to tie the game.
A costly throwing error by the pitcher, Hammond, put two on before
Hailey Wetherill drew a walk to load the bases for Ortega. The returning First Team All-Ivy League junior won the game with a single to center, scoring Ryono with the winning run.
Senior
Madison Canby (2-0) picked up her second win in as many days for Columbia (3-1). The right-hander went the distance, giving up one run on five hits, allowing no walks and striking out four. She retired 10 straight at one point after the Great Danes put up their only run in the third.
Senior
Sommer Grzybek went 2-for-3 in the ballgame for the Lions with a double. Ryono had a nice performance as well, going 1-for-3 with an RBI. Ortega was 1-for-4 with the game-winning RBI in the seventh.
Hammond, a freshman, took the tough-luck loss after not allowing a run through the first six innings.
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