Saturday, April 2
New York, N.Y.
12:30 PM
Columbia University
vs
Harvard
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Columbia Set to Host Harvard for Ivy Softball Weekend
4/1/2022 4:23:00 PM | Softball
Lions and Crimson square off in 2019 ILPS rematch
NEW YORK — Winners of its first two Ivy League series, the Columbia softball team (7-15, 4-2 Ivy) will host its first three-game set of the Ivy season this weekend, welcoming Harvard (9-13, 3-3 Ivy) to the Baker Athletics Complex. The series opener from the Columbia Softball Stadium in Inwood is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
GAME COVERAGE:
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. This weekend's series schedule is listed below with accompanying links to ESPN+ and live stats for each game.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday:
Game 1 | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday:
Game 3 | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Jaden Hill and Abby Stuart carried over their power-hitting numbers from last weekend's series at Cornell, as each homered to help the Lions defeat Manhattan College, 7-1, Wednesday afternoon at the Baker Athletics Complex. The Lions jumped ahead on Hill's solo shot in the first, tacked on four more runs with six hits in the fourth and used another home run by Stuart in the fifth for the exclamation point. Strong pitching from Kaia McCaul and Monique Benjamin helped the Lions ride out their third victory in their last four outings.
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 (4-2 Ivy) will be taking on the Crimson (3-3 Ivy) in a rematch of the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series, which Harvard took in two games. 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.
Entering this weekend, Stuart leads the Ivy League in hits (27), RBI (17) and home runs (6), and is also No. 3 in batting average (.386), No. 2 in total bases (47), No. 3 in slugging (.671) and No. 4 in runs scored (14).
- The Lions boast two of the top six batting averages in the Ivy League in Abby Stuart (.386) and Bubba Gleaves (.333).
- Maria Pagane (.286) and Lauren Apollaro (.283) are also among the Top 20 in batting average.
- Stuart and Gleaves each rank among the Top 10 in OPS, runs scored and hits.
- Columbia's .264 team batting average, 87 runs scored, 27 doubles, 15 home runs, 80 RBI, .389 slugging percentage and .340 OBP all rank among the top three in the Ivy League.
PITCHING LEADERS
- Jordan Hill brings her team-leading 2.88 ERA into the weekend, which ranks No. 5 in the Ivy League.
- Hill is also top five in the Ivies in wins (4), innings pitched (58 1/3), strikeouts (35) and opposing batting average (.240).
- Raquel Reyes and Kaia McCaul have combined to start 13 games. Reyes' ERA sits at 4.61, while McCaul lowered hers to 5.56 after allowing just a run in five-plus innings on Wednesday against Manhattan.
Harvard (9-13, 3-3 Ivy) dropped a tight series to league-leading Princeton last weekend in Cambridge. The two sides split the doubleheader last Saturday, with Harvard winning the opener, 2-1, and Princeton holding on to take the second game, 5-4, after leading by as many as four runs. Sunday's rubber game was close until the sixth, when the Tigers scored three times with the help of two Harvard errors to go on to win, 5-1.
The Crimson enter the weekend with the second-lowest team ERA in the league (3.53). Their staff is led by sophomore Anna Reed, who is 5-5 on the season with a 2.68 ERA. She pitches to contact, striking out just 25 in 52 1/3 innings pitched, and has tossed three complete games through nine starts this season, including one shutout. First-year Katie Arrambide and junior Lindsay Poulos have combined to start the other 12 games. Arrambride (2-4) has a 3.43 ERA and team-high 30 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. Poulos (1-3) boasts a 4.15 ERA with 14 punchouts in 30 1/3 innings.
The Harvard offense ranks sixth in the league in batting average to this point (.227), led by senior Morgan Melito (.328) and junior Megan Welsh (.327). Melito leads the team with 19 hits and has driven in a team-high 15 runs to rank third in the Ivies in RBI. Welsh has scored a team-leading 10 runs and has three doubles. Teagan Shaw's three home runs head the squad, albeit with a .218 batting average.
Columbia trails the all-time series, 33-13, and will be looking to avenge its 2019 ILPS defeat. The Crimson won four of the five games they played against Columbia that season and also took two-of-three the last time they visited New York in 2018.
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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:
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. This weekend's series schedule is listed below with accompanying links to ESPN+ and live stats for each game.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday:
Game 1 | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday:
Game 3 | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Jaden Hill and Abby Stuart carried over their power-hitting numbers from last weekend's series at Cornell, as each homered to help the Lions defeat Manhattan College, 7-1, Wednesday afternoon at the Baker Athletics Complex. The Lions jumped ahead on Hill's solo shot in the first, tacked on four more runs with six hits in the fourth and used another home run by Stuart in the fifth for the exclamation point. Strong pitching from Kaia McCaul and Monique Benjamin helped the Lions ride out their third victory in their last four outings.
IVY LEAGUE STANDINGSAbsolute laser 🔥 #NCAASoftball x 🎥 @CULionsSoftball pic.twitter.com/C6817FoBX7
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) April 1, 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 (4-2 Ivy) will be taking on the Crimson (3-3 Ivy) in a rematch of the 2019 Ivy League Playoff Series, which Harvard took in two games. 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 | 7-15 | .318 | W2 |
| Harvard | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 9-13 | .409 | L2 |
| Penn | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 7-17 | .292 | L1 |
| Yale | 3-3 | .500 | 2.0 | 5-14 | .263 | L2 |
| Cornell | 1-2 | .333 | 2.5 | 5-11 | .312 | W1 |
| Dartmouth | 1-2 | .333 | 2.5 | 5-19 | .208 | L1 |
| Brown | 1-5 | .167 | 4.0 | 9-14 | .391 | W2 |
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.
Entering this weekend, Stuart leads the Ivy League in hits (27), RBI (17) and home runs (6), and is also No. 3 in batting average (.386), No. 2 in total bases (47), No. 3 in slugging (.671) and No. 4 in runs scored (14).
HITTING PROWESSHighlights from today's 9-1 victory over Cornell! #RoarLionRoar #BuckleUp pic.twitter.com/wBTXHupBuD
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 26, 2022
- The Lions boast two of the top six batting averages in the Ivy League in Abby Stuart (.386) and Bubba Gleaves (.333).
- Maria Pagane (.286) and Lauren Apollaro (.283) are also among the Top 20 in batting average.
- Stuart and Gleaves each rank among the Top 10 in OPS, runs scored and hits.
- Columbia's .264 team batting average, 87 runs scored, 27 doubles, 15 home runs, 80 RBI, .389 slugging percentage and .340 OBP all rank among the top three in the Ivy League.
PITCHING LEADERS
- Jordan Hill brings her team-leading 2.88 ERA into the weekend, which ranks No. 5 in the Ivy League.
- Hill is also top five in the Ivies in wins (4), innings pitched (58 1/3), strikeouts (35) and opposing batting average (.240).
- Raquel Reyes and Kaia McCaul have combined to start 13 games. Reyes' ERA sits at 4.61, while McCaul lowered hers to 5.56 after allowing just a run in five-plus innings on Wednesday against Manhattan.
THE OPPONENTLet's go Jordan!!! Well deserved @IvyLeague Rookie of the Week honors! #RoarLionRoar #BuckleUp 🦁🥎 pic.twitter.com/xxRDdcd1ul
— Columbia Softball (@CULionsSoftball) March 21, 2022
Harvard (9-13, 3-3 Ivy) dropped a tight series to league-leading Princeton last weekend in Cambridge. The two sides split the doubleheader last Saturday, with Harvard winning the opener, 2-1, and Princeton holding on to take the second game, 5-4, after leading by as many as four runs. Sunday's rubber game was close until the sixth, when the Tigers scored three times with the help of two Harvard errors to go on to win, 5-1.
The Crimson enter the weekend with the second-lowest team ERA in the league (3.53). Their staff is led by sophomore Anna Reed, who is 5-5 on the season with a 2.68 ERA. She pitches to contact, striking out just 25 in 52 1/3 innings pitched, and has tossed three complete games through nine starts this season, including one shutout. First-year Katie Arrambide and junior Lindsay Poulos have combined to start the other 12 games. Arrambride (2-4) has a 3.43 ERA and team-high 30 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. Poulos (1-3) boasts a 4.15 ERA with 14 punchouts in 30 1/3 innings.
The Harvard offense ranks sixth in the league in batting average to this point (.227), led by senior Morgan Melito (.328) and junior Megan Welsh (.327). Melito leads the team with 19 hits and has driven in a team-high 15 runs to rank third in the Ivies in RBI. Welsh has scored a team-leading 10 runs and has three doubles. Teagan Shaw's three home runs head the squad, albeit with a .218 batting average.
Columbia trails the all-time series, 33-13, and will be looking to avenge its 2019 ILPS defeat. The Crimson won four of the five games they played against Columbia that season and also took two-of-three the last time they visited New York in 2018.
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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.
Players Mentioned
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