KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Columbia softball team took home its first victory of the 2011 season on Friday evening, downing Bryant, 5-2, on the first day of the Rebel Spring Games. Senior Stephanie Yagi went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Lions, while sophomore Christie Taylor had three hits and a run scored. Columbia pounded out 10 hits against the Bulldogs, a season-high. In the nightcap, the Lions fell to Indiana State, 5-0.

Bryant Recap
Columbia had runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, but failed to convert on any of its opportunities in the early going. In the first frame, sophomore Jennifer Bergeron reached on an infield single and after senior Anne Marie Skylis moved her over on a sacrifice, senior Karen Tulig put runners on the corners with a base hit through the left side. With two down, senior Maggie Johnson stepped to the plate but grounded out to the third baseman to end the threat.

A one-out double by sophomore Christie Taylor got things going in the second, but she would get only as far as third base as another pair of groundouts closed the frame.

Although the Lion bats couldn't get much going, Johnson was more than up to the task in the circle against the Bulldogs. The senior righthander did not allow a hit through the first four innings and allowed just two base runners over the span.

In the top of the fifth, Johnson was given some support thanks to the Bryant defense. First-year Emily Snodgrass reached second on a throwing error to lead off, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a sac fly from Bergeron that looked destined for extra bases before a nice grab by the Bulldogs center fielder.

Bryant came back with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning, as Regina Burdo smacked a one-out RBI single up the middle to knot the contest at 1-1. Further damage was avoided thanks in large part to Columbia's defense, which was stellar all game. Bergeron fielded a one-out grounder in the hole to her right and fired a strike to Skylis at the plate to cut down the potential go-ahead run. Another assist by Bergeron, this time a conventional 6-3 putout, ended the inning.

In the top of the sixth, the Lions broke through with a pair of two-out runs. Yagi started things off with a two-out single through the right side, and Taylor followed with a single of her own up the middle. First-year Morgan Cook joined the party by reaching on an error, loading the bases for Snodgrass.

With a 2-2 count, Snodgrass drilled a base hit up the middle to score two and give Columbia a 3-1 lead.

After a scoreless bottom of the sixth, the Lions tacked on two more in the top of the seventh. Skylis singled with one away and moved to second on a sacrifice by Tulig. On the play, Tulig reached base on an error by the third baseman, putting a pair on with one out.

Johnson grounded out to shortstop to put two on with two outs for Yagi. The Sacramento, Calif. native went the other way with an outside pitch and bounced a grounder right between the first and second baseman for a two-out, two-run single to put the score at 5-1.

A double by Burdo and a triple by leadoff batter Laura Bowen pulled the Bulldogs to within 5-2, but Johnson got Aubrey Mable to fly out to Yagi in right to end the game.

Johnson picked up the win in the circle for the Lions, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out two. Samantha Houseal suffered the loss for Bryant, giving up 10 hits but allowing no earned runs in seven innings of work.

Indiana State Recap
The Lions had the first real scoring chance in the bottom of the second inning, as they placed two runners on with only one out. Tulig led off with a single and stole second base, and after a strikeout, Taylor was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Indiana State pitcher Kristen Felker bore down and got a foul out and strike out to end the threat.

First-year Prophet Gaspard got the start in the circle for Columbia, and set down five of the first eight Sycamores she faced via strikeout. In the third inning, she ran into some trouble, whoever, as Hailey Tinsman reached on an infield single with one out. After a hit by pitch put two on, Steph Robinson bunted to move the two runners over but the Lions committed their first error of the day to allow one run to score.

With runners now on the corners, Indiana State executed a double steal perfectly to make the score 2-0. A double by Kim Pierce put two in scoring position for Bailey Wittenauer, who knocked a two-run single up the middle to double ISU's lead to 4-0.

Columbia went down in order in each of the next two innings before an error by the Lions with two outs in the top of the fifth allowed the Sycamores to increase their lead to 5-0.

Taylor led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk to start a potential rally, and Yagi followed with a single through the left side to put a pair on with nobody out. Felker struck out the next Lion hitter and induced a comebacker before a sophomore Alison Lam nearly beat out an infield single to put Columbia on the board.

But the umpire ruled Lam to be out by a hair to close the inning. From there, the Lions would manage only one base runner against Felker, who allowed just two hits and struck out seven in the complete-game shutout.

Gaspard pitched well in defeat, allowing just five hits and one earned run while striking out a career-high eight.

The Lions return to action on Saturday, March 12 as they take on Temple and South Dakota, beginning at 9 a.m.