Softball Makes Magic In First Weekend Games

Thanks to strong contributions from its freshmen players, Columbia softball finished its first weekend of play with a 3-2 record at the Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama.

On Friday against Grambling State, the Lions shut out the Tigers en route to a 4-0 victory. In the second inning, freshman Karen Tulig smashed a two-run homer in her first collegiate at-bat to bring Alex Rodriguez home and take a 2-0 lead.

The Lions struck again in the third, as freshman Jackie Ecker scored on an RBI triple from senior Ciji Rich, who came home on the throw. Ecker paced the offense with an impressive rookie performance—she hit safely in all four of her at-bats.

Pitcher Maggie Johnson picked up the first win of her collegiate career, scattering four hits over seven innings. Johnson escaped from a jam in the fifth inning with the help of infielder Chantee Dempsey, who gunned down a runner at the plate with one out and runners on second and third. Johnson ended the threat by inducing an inning-ending groundout.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Lions rode a seventh-inning rally to turn 3-2 deficit into a victory over Samford University. Karen Tulig led off the seventh with a walk, and Keli Leong followed with her second RBI double of the night, knotting the score at 3-3. Freshman Anne Marie Skylis added a clutch double in the bottom of the eighth to set up runners on second and third before Deanna Minuto reached on an error, bringing the winning run home.

Skylis had a leadoff single and showed her strength on the basepaths, as she scored the Lions’ first run on a passed ball. Later in the third, shortstop Keli Leong followed with a single that scored Dani Pineda.

Aimee Kemp picked up her first win of the season, allowing three runs—two unearned—over eight innings of work.

On Saturday, Columbia picked up a 4-3 win against Alabama State, as Johnson stole the show with both her arm and bat. The freshman pitcher held the Hornets to two unearned runs, and added game-tying hits in both the sixth and ninth innings. Karen Tulig scored the game-winning run when Johnson reached base on an error.
Birmingham Southern jumped all over Aimee Kemp with six runs, five earned, over six innings in a 7-0 defeat. Erica Clauss gave up one earned run on three hits over one inning in her first collegiate appearance.

The Light Blue did not fare any better on Sunday, as Kemp took the loss on six runs—four earned—in four-and-one-third. Johnson gave up one unearned run in one-and-two-thirds innings of relief. The team ended the weekend on a sour note, dropping their record to 3-2.

The Lions look to continue to build off the successful performances of their freshmen talent next week at the Terrapin Invitational hosted by the University of Maryland.