Columbia Softball Team Drops Both Games in Doubleheader Against Dartmouth

In the second series of its four-game road trip, the Columbia softball team was swept by Dartmouth, losing twice on Monday. The losses came a day after a sweep at the hands of Harvard and dropped the Lions to 2-4 in Ivy League play.

The Light Blue was able to score two runs in the first inning of the closely contested first game of the series. Center fielder Jaclyn Ecker led off with a single but was called out when second baseman Chantee Dempsey hit into a fielder’s choice. Shortstop Keli Leong’s single allowed Dempsey to reach third base, and Leong stole second to set up Ciji Rich’s two-run single with two outs.

The Big Green responded in the third inning when first baseman Alyssa Parker hit a one-out, two-run single to tie the game, but Rich’s solo home run in the fourth gave the Lions a 3-2 lead.

In the fifth inning, an error by Light Blue first baseman Danille Pineda and an RBI single from Dartmouth right fielder Sarah Bankoff gave the Big Green its first lead of the game, 4-3.

Columbia rallied when Leong took advantage of two errors by Dartmouth’s shortstop Kelly Mallery and a wild pitch from Angela Megaw to score the tying run in the sixth inning.

After throwing 4 2/3 innings, Maggie Johnson was pulled in the sixth inning after allowing four runs and eight hits. Aimee Kemp pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief, allowing two hits, one earned run, and two walks for her ninth loss of the year. Her second walk came in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded to end the game. It was the sixth time this season that Columbia was on the losing end of a one-run game.

The Lions were shutout for the second time this season in the second game of the day, as they connected for five hits and left eight runners on base. Ecker and Dempsey went a combined three-for-eight, and Johnson reached base three times on a hit and two walks, but Dartmouth pitcher Stephanie Trudeau threw a complete game, striking out seven and walking just two for the win.

The four losses dropped the Light Blue into last place in the Ivy League standings, five games behind first-place Princeton. The team has a chance to bounce back this week, as it faces Manhattan College in a doubleheader this Thursday. The Lions defeated the Jaspers twice during the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla. last month.

The first pitches are scheduled for Thursday at 3 and 5 p.m. at the Baker Field Athletics Complex.