NEW YORK — For the first time in nearly two years, the Columbia softball team will compete in an NCAA contest. The Lions make their long-awaited return this Friday at the three-day FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament. All games will be held at the FAU Softball Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
 
THE BASICS:
Columbia (0-0) opens the season with a bang on Friday, taking on the 12th-ranked team in the country, Kentucky (10-1), at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are coming off a 43-16 campaign in 2021 that saw them advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. Friday concludes with a game against tournament host FAU (3-6) at 4 p.m. ET. Saturday, the Lions play back-to-back games against LIU (1-8) and Jacksonville (0-9) beginning at 10 a.m. Their tournament concludes on Sunday with a matchup against Michigan State (5-4) at 10 a.m.

FROM THE COACH:
"It's going to be a fun ride for us," said eighth-year head coach Jennifer Teague when asked about the outlook of the season. "We're pretty deep across the field and it's a good problem to have. We have a lot of big sticks on the bench and I just think it's going to be a wild ride. I hope all of our fans and alums … are ready to buckle up and enjoy it with us."

GAME COVERAGE:
Live stats will be available for all five games this weekend courtesy of FAUSports.com. All games in which FAU competes will be streamed online through C-USA.TV.
 
WHAT TO KNOW:

1. TOP DOGS
- Columbia was voted No. 1 in the 2022 Ivy League Preseason Poll. This marks the second consecutive season the Lions were voted as the top team in the Ivy League. The Lions last completed a full season in 2019, when they went 24-21 overall with a program-best 15-6 mark in the Ivy League, finishing second in the league standings and advancing to the Ivy League Playoff Series.
  2. ALL-IVY TANDEM
- Senior Abby Stuart and fifth-year Maria Pagane are among Columbia's four returning players that played a full season of softball back in 2019. Stuart was a 2019 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention, starting 45 games at first base and ranking top five in the ivy League in home runs and RBI. Pagane is a two-time All-Ivy League selection and a 2019 NFCA All-Region selection. She started all 45 games at shortstop in 2019 and hit 344 with a .386 OBP, .543 slugging percentage and .929 OPS.

3. TO BE EXACT…
- Columbia's last softball games came on March 1, 2020, when they defeated Drexel, 7-4, and Ball State, 10-1, at the UCF Invitational in Orlando. Friday's season opener will mark 726 days since those games, which is one year, 11 months and 24 days. The Lions went 5-5 in 2020 before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the remainder of their season. The Ivy League Presidents voted to cancel the entirety of the 2021 season.

4. MAKING THEIR DEBUTS
- Ten of the 19 players on Columbia's roster have never played in a collegiate softball game. That number accounts for all of the first-years and sophomores on the Lions' roster. The five members of the junior class all have limited playing experience from the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Just four players on this year's roster – Maria Pagane, Lauren Apollaro, Monique Benjamin and Abby Stuart – have at least one entire year of collegiate experience.

5. THE OPPONENTS
- Kentucky (10-1) enters at No. 12 in the USA Today / NFCA Coaches Poll. Their lone blemish came against No. 13 Virginia Tech, 6-1, on opening weekend at the 2022 Northern Lights Southern Nights Invitational in Leesburg, Florida. Kentucky owns ranked wins over No. 24 Liberty and No. 11 Arizona entering the tournament. Friday's matchup marks the first game between the two programs.

- FAU (3-6) went 1-3 on opening weekend with all three losses coming to either Louisville or Indiana. They went to Leesburg last weekend and went 2-3 with victories over Maryland, 1-0, and Monmouth, 9-5. The Owls return home to host their annual Strike Out Cancer Tournament. They are coming off a 12-35 campaign from 2021. Columbia will be looking for its first win against the Owls, coming up short all three times, including in their last meeting on Feb. 23, 2018 by a score of 8-6.

- LIU (1-8) started the season at the FGCU Kickoff Classic (Feb. 10-12) but came up empty through five games against FGCU, Kent State (2), Boston College and Clemson. The Sharks earned their fist win last weekend at the Grand Canyon University Purple Classic in Phoenix, defeating Santa Clara, 8-2. Columbia is 0-2 all-time against their neighbors from New York, last falling, 4-1, on Feb. 28, 2020 at the UCF Invitational.

- Jacksonville (0-9) is still looking for its first win of the season. They opened at home, hosting the River City Leadoff (Feb. 11-13) but fell in lopsided games to NC State and Campbell. The Dolphins also dropped a doubleheader that weekend to Western Carolina. Following two losses to No. 4 Florida and Mercer entering this weekend's tournament. Columbia will be looking to defeat the Dolphins for the first time, entering the season 0-2 against them all-time.

- Michigan State (5-4) was also at the Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament on opening weekend with Kentucky, posting a record of 3-2 with victories over Akron, UConn and Pttt. The Spartans flew down to Jacksonville last weekend, where they split four games, defeating Mercer and Jacksonville but falling twice to North Florida. The Spartans went 14-26 in a 2021 season in which they only played against Big Ten competition. Columbia is 0-2 all-time against MSU. Both matchups came in 2016, including a narrow 3-2 decision at the Holy City Showdown.
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For the latest on Columbia softball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsSoftball), on Facebook (Facebook.com/CULionsSoftball), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.