After salvaging the final game in their weekend series versus the Ohio Bobcats, Buffalo's softball team travels to the Big Apple to challenge the Lions of Columbia University (15-22, 4-6 Ivy League) in a doubleheader today at 3 p.m..
UB received excellent pitching performances over this past weekend by Sophie Barstad (6-5) and Stacey Evans (8-7), who recorded the Bulls lone victory, but will need the offense to arrive if they are to snare a pair of victories.
The Buffalo hurlers, Evans and Barstad, combined efforts held the Bobcats' offense to just four runs (none earned) on 10 hits over the 24.1 innings played this weekend.
Buffalo (14-18, 5-6 Mid-American Conference) will need similar performances from their two aces in their two-game stint with Columbia.
Hopefully the UB bats don't have a similar performance as they did in Ohio. Despite the amazing pitching the Bulls received, they could only muster one victory this weekend on three runs.
Buffalo's inability to put runs on the board wasted two of the stellar performances from Evans and Barstad. UB scored just one run on six hits in the two Bulls' losses and is hitting at only a .198 clip on the season.
Things won't come easier for the Bulls either when they take the field against Columbia. The Lions have two studs of their own on the mound in Jackie Adelfio and Megan Ivey, who are like fire and ice.
Adelfio provides the heat and has baffled hitters all season. Over 125 innings, she has punched out 112 batters while scattering only 102 hits in posting a 7-11 record with a 1.79 ERA.
Ivey, on the other hand, makes the bats go cold with her precision control. In 107 innings, she has recorded just 31 strikeouts and three walks. Ivey's nine wins are tops on the team to go along with an impressive 1.83 ERA.
UB will have their hands full finding trying to bust out of their slump against either of Columbia's aces.
Offensively, the Lions are experiencing similar difficulties as the Bulls. As a team, Columbia is hitting a meager .216 on the season.
The Lions' lineup relies on three players for the offensive output. The trio of Marisa Marconi, Taylor Tierney and Kacy Krisman have driven in more than half of Columbia's runs and responsible for all seven of the team's homeruns.
Marconi leads the team in runs scored and is the heartbeat of the Lions' offense. Her .352 batting average stands as the lone Columbia batter hitting over .300.
Both teams come into this doubleheader hoping to awaken their bats. The team that can produce the first run of the game will make the opposition press even that much more. One run will probably win the game the way both teams are struggling to score.
UB should look to scratch an early run across and rely on the arms of their aces on the mound. If Buffalo gets any run support from their offense, they will have a great chance to take two on Wednesday.
First pitch is scheduled for today at 3 p.m. in Baker Field.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
