Softball splits series in final weekend

The Columbia softball team (15-32, 4-16 Ivy) finished the 2010 season by winning two out of four games against Penn (19-23, 12-8 Ivy) last weekend, including a pair of shutout victories at home in the final two games of the season.

Columbia lost the first two games against Penn in Philadelphia, loosing a close game 4-3 to start the series. The Lions rallied from a three-run deficit in the third inning by scoring two runs on junior Maggie Johnson’s base hit to center and tied the game 3-3 in the fourth inning on Alison Lam’s two-out double to score junior Anne Marie Skylis.

In the second game, Columbia took an early 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the third inning, but Penn came back to tie the game and outscored the Lions 4-3 over the final four frames to win 8-7.

The Light Blue would respond by scoring 20 unanswered runs in Saturday’s doubleheader. Senior Dani Pineda hit a lead-off single and stole a base to begin the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Kayla Lechler’s one-out single put runners on the corners, and Christie Taylor’s two-out base hit scored Pineda for the first run of the game.

Columbia scored three more runs in each of the next two innings with bases-loaded walks from Lechler and Johnson along with an RBI single from Taylor in the second inning. Lechler and junior Karen Tulig both had an RBI in the third inning.

The Lions scored four more runs in the fourth inning with four consecutive base hits from Taylor, Skylis, junior Stephanie Yagi, and freshman Jennifer Bergeron to score two runs. A Penn error and Tulig’s one-out ground ball to shortstop brought Skylis home to make the score 11-0.

Senior Aimee Kemp retired the side in order to end the game in five innings. Kemp saved her best for last, throwing ten scoreless innings over her final two career games for her first two wins of the season.

In game two, Columbia scored five first-inning runs off of four hits and two Penn errors. Skylis hit a 2-RBI double in the inning to score Bergeron and Taylor. The Lions pounded out five hits and four more runs in the third inning with a leadoff double by Yagi, a single by Bergeron, and a bunt single by Lam to load the bases. Pineda unloaded a 2-1 pitch into left field for her sixth homer of the season in a 9-0 win.

Columbia finished the season last in the South Division of the Ancient Eight.