Mix of Freshmen and Veterans Unable to Boost Softball Team Over .500

The Columbia softball team began the 2008 season with the hopes of attaining a winning record after finishing 22-26 in 2007. The team lost four seniors to graduation as well as its starting catcher, but hoped to recoup these losses with a talented group of incoming freshman.

The Lions added Maggie Johnson and Erica Clauss to bolster the team's pitching staff while outfielder Jackie Ecker, infielders Karen Tulig and Yagi Stephanie, and catcher Anne Marie Skylis filled the holes created by the class of 2007.

The team's hitting was fueled by junior shortstop Keli Leong, who led the team with a .342 (52 for 152) batting average. She won the Magic City Classic all-Tournament Most Valuable Player award after hitting .500 (9 for 18) with two doubles, a triple, and three RBI through her first five games in Birmingham, Ala.

The pitching staff was one of the strengths of the team in 2007, boasting a 2.79 ERA. However, it was not as effective this season as its ERA jumped to 4.95. The Lions missed sophomore Amanda Snyder, who was out for the entire season nursing an injury to her throwing arm.

Sophomore Aimee Kemp, who won 16 games in her first season, was just 4-10 with a 4.94 ERA. She showed some flashes of last season's success against a Maryland team that ranked 23rd in the Terrapin Invitational on March 9, scattering eight hits through six innings in the 2-0 loss.

Johnson assumed her role as the ace of the staff, stepping in to make 19 starts in her first collegiate season and posting a 4.24 ERA in 26 appearances. She won three games during the Rebel Games Spring tournament in March and threw two shutouts against Brown and Yale to help the Lions jump out to a historic 3-1 start in Ivy League play.

These would mark the last conference wins for the Lions, however, as they dropped 19 of their next 22 contests to finish 15-33 overall and 3-17 in Ivy League play. They were swept in all 12 games against their Ivy League South Division opponents—Cornell, Penn and Ivy League champion Princeton.

The Lions will aim to build on the influx of young talent they have in the class of 2011. The continued development of its freshman players should help the team become more competitive in 2009.