Wednesday, March 30
New York, N.Y.
4:00 PM
Columbia
vs
Manhattan
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Columbia Entertains Manhattan Wednesday at Baker
3/29/2022 4:54:00 PM | Softball
Coming off a 24-run weekend at Cornell, Columbia looks to tune up for Ivy stretch
NEW YORK — The Columbia softball team (6-15, 4-2 Ivy) begins a stretch of four straight and eight of its next nine games at home when it welcomes Manhattan College (5-12, 0-0 MAAC) to the Columbia Softball Stadium on Wednesday. First pitch up at the Baker Athletics Complex in Inwood is set for 4 p.m. ET.
GAME COVERAGE:
Wednesday's game will air live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided through GoColumbiaLions.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia began the Ivy League season with two straight series on the road and has won each series, which includes taking two of three last weekend at Cornell. The Lions outscored the Big Red, 24-6, across those three games, which included an, 11-0, win in the series opener and a, 9-1, victory in the rubber game. First-year Jordan Hill threw a one-hit shutout to start things off and also earned another victory in a complete-game effort on Saturday. She was backed up by a lineup that hit .314 on the weekend, which included six home runs. Senior Maria Pagane and sophomore Jaden Hill each hit a grand slam -- Hill's was the first home run of her career. Pagane and senior Abby Stuart each homered twice.
Columbia enters the week in second place in the Ivy League standings, one game back of Princeton (5-1 Ivy). The Tigers swept Brown on opening weekend and then won two of three in a closely contested series at Harvard, dropping the opener, 2-1, but winning the final two games, 5-4 and 5-1.
The Lions will be hosting Harvard for three games this weekend. The Crimson are tied for third in the standings (3-3 Ivy), having lost two of three to Princeton after winning two the weekend prior at Yale.
The top two teams at the end of the regular season will face off in the Ivy League Playoff Series for the right to earn the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regionals. Columbia is chasing its first Ivy title and first NCAA berth.
STUART CRUSHES HER WAY TO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Abby Stuart was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday. Stuart, a senior, hit .429 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI across a 2-2 week for the Lions. In the three-game set against the Big Red, the senior from Southlake, Texas hit .455 (5-11), which included both of her homers, three runs and six RBI. The power-hitting first baseman had an OPS of 1.455 in the Cornell series.
The highlight of Stuart's week came on Saturday. After splitting the first two games in Ithaca on Friday, Stuart ripped a three-run shot over the fence in left in the first inning, and later blasted another three-run homer to center to help the Lions win the rubber game, 9-1. With her performance, Stuart moved into the Ivy League lead in RBI (16), and is also No. 2 in homers (5), No. 3 in batting average (.358), No. 2 in total bases (40), No. 5 in slugging (.597), No. 5 in runs scored (12) and No. 2 in hits (24).
Manhattan (5-12) is hitting just .222 as a team this season. The Jaspers are led offensively by Annie Moore, who is currently averaging .353 at the plate with a team-leading OPS of 1.051. Moore also heads the bunch in home runs (3), RBI (11), runs scored (7), slugging (.647) and on-base percentage (.404). The senior has started all 17 games to this point.
Kaitlyn Flood is hitting .325 an also shares the team lead in runs scored (7) with Moore and Lauren Rande. A junior from Ardsley, New York, Rande has a team-high five doubles.
In the circle, the Jaspers have a five-player rotation, four of which have started at least three games so far this season. Ava Metzger (2-6) has pitched the most, throwing 43.0 innings to this point with four complete games, a shutout and 29 strikeouts across seven starts and eight appearances. Her team-leading ERA sits at 4.19, just ahead of Jessie Rising (2-0) who carries a 4.34 ERA with two complete games and 13 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings of work.
Wednesday will mark the 34th all-time meeting between the programs. Manhattan holds the narrowest of leads, 17-16. Columbia came back from a 3-0 deficit and scored four in the seventh to defeat the Jaspers the last time they squared off In 2019 at Gaelic Park.
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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:
Wednesday's game will air live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided through GoColumbiaLions.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Columbia began the Ivy League season with two straight series on the road and has won each series, which includes taking two of three last weekend at Cornell. The Lions outscored the Big Red, 24-6, across those three games, which included an, 11-0, win in the series opener and a, 9-1, victory in the rubber game. First-year Jordan Hill threw a one-hit shutout to start things off and also earned another victory in a complete-game effort on Saturday. She was backed up by a lineup that hit .314 on the weekend, which included six home runs. Senior Maria Pagane and sophomore Jaden Hill each hit a grand slam -- Hill's was the first home run of her career. Pagane and senior Abby Stuart each homered twice.
IVY LEAGUE STANDINGSHighlights from today's 9-1 victory over Cornell! #RoarLionRoar #BuckleUp pic.twitter.com/wBTXHupBuD
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 26, 2022
Columbia enters the week in second place in the Ivy League standings, one game back of Princeton (5-1 Ivy). The Tigers swept Brown on opening weekend and then won two of three in a closely contested series at Harvard, dropping the opener, 2-1, but winning the final two games, 5-4 and 5-1.
The Lions will be hosting Harvard for three games this weekend. The Crimson are tied for third in the standings (3-3 Ivy), having lost two of three to Princeton after winning two the weekend prior at Yale.
The top two teams at the end of the regular season will face off in the Ivy League Playoff Series for the right to earn the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regionals. Columbia is chasing its first Ivy title and first NCAA berth.
| Team | Ivy League | Pct. | GB | Overall | Pct. | Streak |
| Princeton | 5-1 | .833 | -- | 11-10 | .524 | W2 |
| Columbia | 4-2 | .667 | 1.0 | 6-15 | .286 | W1 |
| Harvard | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 9-13 | .409 | L2 |
| Penn | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 7-16 | .304 | W1 |
| Yale | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 5-13 | .278 | L1 |
| Cornell | 1-2 | .333 | 2.5 | 4-11 | .267 | L1 |
| Dartmouth | 1-2 | .333 | 2.5 | 4-18 | .182 | W1 |
| Brown | 1-5 | .167 | 4.0 | 7-14 | .333 | L1 |
STUART CRUSHES HER WAY TO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Abby Stuart was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday. Stuart, a senior, hit .429 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI across a 2-2 week for the Lions. In the three-game set against the Big Red, the senior from Southlake, Texas hit .455 (5-11), which included both of her homers, three runs and six RBI. The power-hitting first baseman had an OPS of 1.455 in the Cornell series.
The highlight of Stuart's week came on Saturday. After splitting the first two games in Ithaca on Friday, Stuart ripped a three-run shot over the fence in left in the first inning, and later blasted another three-run homer to center to help the Lions win the rubber game, 9-1. With her performance, Stuart moved into the Ivy League lead in RBI (16), and is also No. 2 in homers (5), No. 3 in batting average (.358), No. 2 in total bases (40), No. 5 in slugging (.597), No. 5 in runs scored (12) and No. 2 in hits (24).
THE OPPONENT💥 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗬 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗧 💥
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 28, 2022
The numbers speak for themselves. Congratulations to this week's @IvyLeague Player of the Week! 🦁🥎#RoarLionRoar #BuckleUp #NCAASoftball
🗞👉 https://t.co/yfnC32kUqg pic.twitter.com/F03ZG6qfzc
Manhattan (5-12) is hitting just .222 as a team this season. The Jaspers are led offensively by Annie Moore, who is currently averaging .353 at the plate with a team-leading OPS of 1.051. Moore also heads the bunch in home runs (3), RBI (11), runs scored (7), slugging (.647) and on-base percentage (.404). The senior has started all 17 games to this point.
Kaitlyn Flood is hitting .325 an also shares the team lead in runs scored (7) with Moore and Lauren Rande. A junior from Ardsley, New York, Rande has a team-high five doubles.
In the circle, the Jaspers have a five-player rotation, four of which have started at least three games so far this season. Ava Metzger (2-6) has pitched the most, throwing 43.0 innings to this point with four complete games, a shutout and 29 strikeouts across seven starts and eight appearances. Her team-leading ERA sits at 4.19, just ahead of Jessie Rising (2-0) who carries a 4.34 ERA with two complete games and 13 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings of work.
Wednesday will mark the 34th all-time meeting between the programs. Manhattan holds the narrowest of leads, 17-16. Columbia came back from a 3-0 deficit and scored four in the seventh to defeat the Jaspers the last time they squared off In 2019 at Gaelic Park.
--
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
UT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
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