It was a disappointing start to the season this weekend for the Columbia softball team. Over the three-day FAU Miken Classic in Boca Raton, Fla., the Lions went 0-5 in their opening series against Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Harvard, Towson and Stony Brook.
CMU pitcher Ali Petit had no problem handling the Columbia lineup in the first matchup of the series. In tossing a 4-0 no-hitter, Petit retired all 21 Light Blue batters, striking out seven and allowing only one ball to leave the infield.
The Chippewas went up 1-0 in the third with a sacrifice fly to left field. Columbia kept Central Michigan’s bats in check until the fifth, when CMU notched three more runs. The only challenge to Petit’s perfect pitching came during the seventh when sophomore Jackie Ecker hit a sharp line-drive that was snagged by the diving third baseman. The Light Blue defense was led by junior Dani Pineda who had eight putouts.
The following game against host FAU saw a pickup in the Lions’ offense. However, the Light Blue could not convert its hits to runs and fell 6-1. The fourth inning blew the game wide open for the Owls, who were up 3-1 at the start of the inning before picking up an additional three runs. Two balks by Jessica Rakonza allowed for two of the FAU runs and with the momentum against them Columbia could not catch up. Karen Tulig, Chantee Dempsey, and Ecker led the Lion offense. Tulig went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Ecker had two hits in four trips to the plate. Dempsey was walked and brought around the bases by a Tulig single in the third.
On day two of the classic, the first matchup for Columbia was against Ivy foe Harvard. The Light Blue went down early, giving up four runs in the second. The Crimson was held there for six innings until a walk in the sixth gave Harvard its final run, closing the game at 5-0.
With three losses and only one run under their belts, the offense finally came to life in game four. Unfortunately, Towson bats blew the game wide open, and the match ended in a 17-5 win for the Tigers. With Aimee Kemp pitching, the Tigers notched two runs with a double and a triple in the first inning. The Lions responded with a run of their own as soon as they were up to bat. Ecker and Dempsey were advanced by a Towson throwing error, after a walk and sacrifice bunt, respectively. Tulig brought Ecker in for the first Light Blue run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Four runs in the bottom of the third put the Lions up 5-3 for their first lead of the season. Dempsey hit Columbia’s first home run of the year, bringing home Anne Marie Skylis. Up at bat, Ecker later brought home Tulig with a double, and later scored on a Pineda double. But the Tigers could not be held back, as their offense exploded in the sixth and seventh innings with nine and five runs, respectively. Dempsey once again led the Light Blue offense in the loss, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Hoping to find their first win in the final game of their opening series, the Lions faced Stony Brook on Sunday morning. The score stayed tied at zero until Stony Brook went up 1-0 in the fourth. The Seawolves notched one more run in the fifth on a wild pitch by Maggie Johnson. Dempsey posted Columbia’s only run after reaching base on a fielder’s choice, stealing second and scoring on a Tulig single to right center field, but were unable to close the 2-1 deficit. Johnson pitched the complete game with only two runs and six hits while Dempsey finished with a run and a stolen base. Tulig went 2-for-3 for the game with an RBI.
The Lions will return to Florida for their next series starting with a matchup against Bucknell on March 13.
Head coach Kayla Noonan feels that the spring break trip is an important opportunity for the Lions.
“We really get a chance to see a lot of people playing a lot of different positions, [and] all our pitchers get some innings,” said Noonan. “We can start to narrow our focus of how we want to move forward after that.”