Saturday, March 19
Philadelphia, Pa.
12:30 PM
Columbia University
at
Penn
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Columbia Travels to Penn for Ivy League Opening Series
3/18/2022 2:10:00 PM | Softball
Ivy League preseason favorites begin quest for first title
NEW YORK — The Columbia softball team opens up Ivy League play with a three-game series at Penn this weekend. The two sides will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Sunday's series finale at Penn Park will also begin at 12:30.
GAME COVERAGE:
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided through StatBroadcast. This weekend's series schedule is listed below with accompanying links to ESPN+ and live stats.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday:
Columbia vs. Penn | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Columbia vs. Penn | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday:
Columbia vs. Penn | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia (2-12) flew to the West Coast over spring break for five games, but couldn't come away with a win. The Lions dropped three close ones to St. Mary's, 3-1, Cal Baptist, 7-3, and North Dakota, 5-2. Cal Baptist got the better of a second game, 8-0, while Loyola Marymount took Monday's final game in six innings, 9-1.
Senior Lauren Apollaro had the hot bat for the Lions, going 4-for-10 (.400) with an RBI and a walk. Senior Abby Stuart hit .385, while sophomore catcher Maddy Rifenberick was 3-for-8 (.375) with two doubles. Columbia's bats were cooled off most of the weekend, hitting just .189.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
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.
THE RETURN OF IVY SOFTBALL
Columbia will be taking on an Ivy League opponent for the first time in 1,043 days (two years, 10 months and eight days). The last time the Lions did so was in the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series against Harvard (May 11, 2019). The 2020 season was canceled before Ivy League play began. The entire 2021 softball season was also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TRACKING THE DEBUTS
Entering the season, 10 of the 19 players on Columbia's roster had never played in a collegiate softball game. All 10 Lions have since made their collegiate debuts.
Eight Lions made their debut on opening weekend at FAU's Strike Out Cancer Tournament -- Raquel Reyes, Jordan Hill, Maddy Rifenberick, Maddie Souza, Jaden Hill, Cami Neal, Lauren Osborne and Caroline Palys. All eight of them started at least once over the weekend. Reyes, a pitcher, was named to this week's Ivy League Honor Roll, posting a 4.02 ERA in 15 2/3 innings, which included a one-run, two-hit, complete-game performance against Michigan State.
Hunter Travers and Maddie De Leon made their debuts against FDU. Travers pinch ran for Maria Pagane in the third inning. De Leon pinch hit in the fifth and doubled down the left field line in her first collegiate at-bat.
THE OPPONENT
Penn (4-13) swept a doubleheader on Wednesday at Delaware State by scores of 7-1 and 4-0, which put an end to its 11-game losing streak. Senior Emma Nedley went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs and two RBI to lead the offense in the first game. Payton Bean and Rachel Riley combined to toss Penn's first shutout of the season in game two. Bean got the win, allowing five hits in six innings and striking out four.
Dana Anderson leads the offense with a .340 batting average, four home runs and 11 RBI. She is also slugging a team-high .600. Nedley (.316) and Corrie Phillips (.333) are also hitting north of .300. Nedley has two homers and slugs .526.
In the circle, Payton Bean (2-5) and Julia Longo (1-7) have combined to toss the majority of the innings. They've started 15 of the 17 games. Bean carries a 5.65 ERA while Longo is currently at 6.07.
Penn leads the all-time series, 42-21, but Columbia has taken 2-of-3 from the Quakers the last time times they met (2018, 2019).
--
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.
GAME COVERAGE:
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided through StatBroadcast. This weekend's series schedule is listed below with accompanying links to ESPN+ and live stats.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday:
Columbia vs. Penn | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Columbia vs. Penn | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday:
Columbia vs. Penn | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia (2-12) flew to the West Coast over spring break for five games, but couldn't come away with a win. The Lions dropped three close ones to St. Mary's, 3-1, Cal Baptist, 7-3, and North Dakota, 5-2. Cal Baptist got the better of a second game, 8-0, while Loyola Marymount took Monday's final game in six innings, 9-1.
Senior Lauren Apollaro had the hot bat for the Lions, going 4-for-10 (.400) with an RBI and a walk. Senior Abby Stuart hit .385, while sophomore catcher Maddy Rifenberick was 3-for-8 (.375) with two doubles. Columbia's bats were cooled off most of the weekend, hitting just .189.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
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.
THE RETURN OF IVY SOFTBALL
Columbia will be taking on an Ivy League opponent for the first time in 1,043 days (two years, 10 months and eight days). The last time the Lions did so was in the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series against Harvard (May 11, 2019). The 2020 season was canceled before Ivy League play began. The entire 2021 softball season was also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TRACKING THE DEBUTS
Entering the season, 10 of the 19 players on Columbia's roster had never played in a collegiate softball game. All 10 Lions have since made their collegiate debuts.
Eight Lions made their debut on opening weekend at FAU's Strike Out Cancer Tournament -- Raquel Reyes, Jordan Hill, Maddy Rifenberick, Maddie Souza, Jaden Hill, Cami Neal, Lauren Osborne and Caroline Palys. All eight of them started at least once over the weekend. Reyes, a pitcher, was named to this week's Ivy League Honor Roll, posting a 4.02 ERA in 15 2/3 innings, which included a one-run, two-hit, complete-game performance against Michigan State.
Hunter Travers and Maddie De Leon made their debuts against FDU. Travers pinch ran for Maria Pagane in the third inning. De Leon pinch hit in the fifth and doubled down the left field line in her first collegiate at-bat.
THE OPPONENT
Penn (4-13) swept a doubleheader on Wednesday at Delaware State by scores of 7-1 and 4-0, which put an end to its 11-game losing streak. Senior Emma Nedley went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs and two RBI to lead the offense in the first game. Payton Bean and Rachel Riley combined to toss Penn's first shutout of the season in game two. Bean got the win, allowing five hits in six innings and striking out four.
Dana Anderson leads the offense with a .340 batting average, four home runs and 11 RBI. She is also slugging a team-high .600. Nedley (.316) and Corrie Phillips (.333) are also hitting north of .300. Nedley has two homers and slugs .526.
In the circle, Payton Bean (2-5) and Julia Longo (1-7) have combined to toss the majority of the innings. They've started 15 of the 17 games. Bean carries a 5.65 ERA while Longo is currently at 6.07.
Penn leads the all-time series, 42-21, but Columbia has taken 2-of-3 from the Quakers the last time times they met (2018, 2019).
--
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.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
1B/3B
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/UT
/ SoftballHighlights: SOFT | Columbia vs. Brown
Friday, May 09
Highlights: SOFT | Columbia vs. Harvard
Thursday, May 08
Highlights: SOFT | Columbia at Harvard
Friday, March 28
Highlights: SOFT | Columbia 4, Yale 0
Saturday, April 27
