Lions Softball Prepares for A Date With the Broncos

Off to its best Ivy League start in program’s history, the Columbia softball team will take a breather from conference play this week when it faces Rider University at home.

A pair of wins over the Brown Bears on Saturday followed by an 11-0 blowout over the Yale Bulldogs has given the Lions a 3-1 start, and improved their record to 12-14 overall. They are one game behind the Princeton Tigers in the Ivy League’s Southern Division standings.

“I’m extremely happy with the way we approached business last weekend,” said head coach Kayla Noonan.

Right-handed pitcher Maggie Johnson hit .333 over the weekend with three RBIs, including her first collegiate home run against Brown on Saturday. She has pitched exceptionally well for the Lions thus far, compiling an 8-4 record with a 1.78 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched. In her 14 appearances this season, she has struck out 52 batters and held the opposition to a .260 batting average. Her two shutouts over Brown and Yale last weekend helped her earn Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors to go along with the Rookie of the Week honors she won on March 11.

The team’s offense was firing on all cylinders, as they combined to score 22 runs over the weekend. Outfielder Jackie Ecker had a leadoff hit in both games against Brown on Saturday, and catcher Anne Marie Skylis hit a three-run homer in the first game against Yale last Sunday. Shortstop Keli Leong continues to lead the team with a scorching .371 average, and first baseman Dani Pineda lifted her average to .346 with nine hits in the last four games.

“We scored first in all three games we won, and that’s a big key for us. We want to continue to be consistent offensively” said Noonan.

The Lions should get a chance to tune up their offensive against Rider on Thursday.

The Broncos are currently 5-12 and have lost their last six games, including doubleheaders against Lafayette and North Florida, and losses to Cornell and Rhode Island.

Columbia will use the games against Rider as a tune up before it resumes its Ivy League schedule at Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend.

“We’ll use Thursday to get kinks out, work on some strategies offensively, and get some innings for our pitchers in the circle,” said Noonan.

The first pitch in Thursday’s doubleheader against the Rider is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the second game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Baker Field Athletics Complex.