Softball swept in season opener in Virginia tourney

After taking an early lead against Delaware State, the Columbia softball team (0-4) looked as though it would win the season opener. Instead, the Hornets rallied back and won, while the Lions dropped their first four games of the season in the UVA Cavalier Classic.

Columbia jumped out to an early lead with six first-inning runs. After leading off the game with a strikeout, Allison Lam started reached base on an error by Hornets first baseman Janelle Lukens. Third baseman Karen Tulig, doubled to center field to put runners on the corners and after Dani Pineda was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs, Maggie Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Lam for the first run of the game.

Tulig scored on a wild pitch and Kayla Lechler walked to put runners at first and second, with one out before outfielder Christie Taylor singled to left to make it 3-0.

Shortstop Jennifer Bergeron hit an infield single to load the bases again, before junior outfielder Anne Marie Skylis singled to left field to knock in two more runs to chase starter Andrea Waters out of the game after just 1/3 of an inning. Delaware State answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to make the score 6-2, but Pineda scratched out in the second after a walk, a steal, and a fielding error to score Columbia’s final run of the game. Delaware State scored seven runs in the bottom of the third and kept the Lions scoreless through the final four innings to earn a 15-7 win.

The game against Virginia began in similar fashion, as Johnson hit an RBI single to score Tulig, and give her team an early lead in the first inning. But the Cavaliers rallied to tie things up in the bottom of the frame by taking advantage of Pineda’s fielding error at second base. A seventh inning rally ended with Johnson fouling out to the catcher and the Lions lost their second game, 9-3.

The Light Blue did not fare much better on Sunday, losing to Delaware State 12-8. Bergeron and Skylis each went 3-4, with a run scored and an RBI while Johnson hit 2-4 with 2 RBI. But Maureen O’Kane took the loss in her first collegiate start, surrendering 12 earned runs on 15 hits in seven innings of work.
Virginia took the final game of the tournament, as freshman Melanie Mitchell tossed five innings of shutout ball, before the mercy rule was called to end the game.
Columbia will try to bounce back during the Rebel Spring Games tournament next week in Central Florida.