Columbia softball split a doubleheader at Princeton yesterday afternoon, with a 7-5 win in the opener and a 5-2 loss in the nightcap. The Lions won three out of four over the Tigers (14-24, 5-11 Ivy) this week. The two teams were forced to finish off the series yesterday after Saturday’s doubleheader was postponed due to rain.
With the win in the opener, Columbia (16-25, 6-10 Ivy) won its seventh game in a row, tying a program record. The Lions scored all of their seven runs in the opener with two outs in the fourth inning. Senior second baseman Karen Tulig started the rally with a two-run single. Senior Maggie Johnson, coming off her no-hitter on Sunday, closed out the win for freshman starting pitcher Prophet Gaspard, who earned her 12th win of the season.
In game two, Princeton sophomore pitcher Alex Peyton cooled off Columbia’s bats, snapping the Lions’ win streak. She retired the final ten batters she faced in her complete game victory. The Tigers broke through against Columbia starter Johnson in the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases with nobody out and scoring three runs to break what was a 2-2 tie. Johnson also contributed to both Columbia’s runs, with an RBI hit and a run scored in the third inning.
The Lions will next take the field on Thursday, when they host a non-conference doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Columbia lacrosse team (4-9, 1-5 Ivy) is getting a second chance to show its stuff tomorrow.
The Light Blue will travel to Princeton (7-6, 4-2 Ivy) to face off against the Tigers for the second time this season. A severe thunder and snow storm hit the field during the middle of their first matchup in late March, forcing the game to be rescheduled.
During the cancelled contest, Princeton, then No. 12 in Division I, got off to an early 3-0 lead. The Lions were able to fight back, however, and went into halftime tied with the Tigers.
Since then, the Tigers have fallen to No. 19 but also defeated Ivy foe No. 9 Penn, ending the Red and Blue’s 34-game league win streak that extended back to 2006.
The Lions have also found their stride since playing Princeton. The Light Blue won three consecutive matches before dropping a game against Harvard this past Saturday, 15-9. One of those wins included a victory over Yale—it was Columbia’s first-ever win against the Bulldogs as well as its first-ever Ivy win at home.
Key players for the Lions include senior attacker Gabrielle Geronimos, sophomore attacker Kacie Johnson, freshman midfielder Paige Cuscovitch, and junior goalkeeper Karlee Blank. Geronimos, Johnson, and Cuscovitch have all provided offensive power for the Light Blue recently—Geronimos has consistently found the net in the past four games, Johnson holds Columbia’s record-number of goals scored in a single game with eight, and Cuscovitch scored four tallies against Yale. Blank has been producing key saves for the Lions at key moments to help secure their wins.
The match, Columbia’s last in the Ancient Eight this season, is set to start at 7 p.m.
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