KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Columbia softball team pounded out a season-high 11 hits en route to a 6-1 victory over Lafayette on Sunday afternoon, earning a split on day three of the Rebel Spring Games. Senior Anne Marie Skylis came up with a clutch two-run, bases-loaded single while sophomore Jennifer Bergeron and first-years Tristin Moone and Emily Caruthers tallied two hits apiece. In the first game of the day, the Lions were blanked by Eastern Illinois, 5-0.
Lafayette Recap
The Lions opened the scoring in the top of the second, with senior Maggie Johnson starting the rally with a one-out walk. A sac bunt by classmate Stephanie Yagi moved Johnson into scoring position and a wild pitch allowed the Danville, Calif. native to move to third. After fouling off five consecutive full-count pitches, first-year Tristin Moone lined a shot off the glove of the Lafayette first baseman to score Johnson and give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Moone would move to second on the play as the first baseman threw wide of her teammate trying to cover. First-year Morgan Cook stepped in with her classmate in scoring position and ripped the first pitch she saw to center for a base hit. Moone rounded third and had thoughts of trying to score, but strayed too far from the base and got caught in a rundown. The Leopards executed the rundown perfectly and stopped the Columbia rally.
Staked with a one-run cushion, first-year Prophet Gaspard got into and out of trouble in the bottom of the second. Lafayette put runners on first and second with just one out, but Gaspard induced a groundout and pop out to keep the Leopards off the board.
Columbia extended its lead in the next inning, as sophomore Jennifer Bergeron buzzed a line drive into the left-center field gap to score sophomore Alison Lam who had reached on a fielder's choice. Bergeron has five hits over her last 10 at bats, spanning three games.
With the score 2-0, Lafayette mounted a two-out rally in the third. A pair of walks sandwiched a base hit by Leopard catcher Stacey Dorn, and loaded the bases before Gaspard struck out Kerry Griffin on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
The score remained at a two-run margin until the fifth, when the Lions added a pair of insurance runs. With two outs, Bergeron legged out an infield single to shortstop and senior Anne Marie Skylis followed suit with a base hit of her own to put runners on the corners. Skylis stole second base, then advanced to third after a wild pitch by Lafayette pitcher Ali Henry allowed Bergeron to score the third run of the contest. Skylis would come around to score on another infield single by classmate Karen Tulig.
Columbia broke the game open in the sixth, after an intentional walk to Bergeron loaded the bases for Skylis. The Michigan native made the Leopards pay for their choice to pitch to her, ripping the first pitch she saw over the second baseman's head to plate two runs and make the score 6-0.
Lafayette got a run back on an RBI single by Amy Gebhardt in the sixth and put two runners on in the seventh, but Gaspard shut the door to earn her first collegiate victory. The right-hander registered five strikeouts over seven innings while allowing nine hits and one run, which was unearned. Henry suffered the loss for the Leopards, going the full seven innings.
Eastern Illinois Recap
Despite out-hitting Eastern Illinois, the Lions could not string together enough offense to break through and dropped a 5-0 decision. The Panthers scored a single run in the first, as Kiley Holtz drove in Melise Brown with an RBI single. Holtz was a thorn in the side all game long for Columbia, as she went 3-for-3 with a home run and reached base all four times she stepped to the plate.
The Lions got back-to-back singles from Skylis and Tulig in the bottom of the first but EIU pitcher Stephanie Maday induced a ground out to end the inning.
Eastern Illinois scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning to increase its lead to 3-0, then got back-to-back home runs from Holtz and Melinda Jackson to push the Panther cushion to 5-0.
Columbia recorded a hit in every inning but the second, and threatened again in the sixth to score. Johnson and Yagi had consecutive singles but back-to-back fielder's choices ended the chance. The Lions would put two more runners on in the seventh but again had trouble getting that run-scoring hit.
Maday, who has not allowed an earned run all season, scattered eight hits and struck out four in a complete-game shutout. Johnson suffered the loss in the circle for the Lions, going 5.2 innings and allowing five hits and three earned runs while striking out five.
The Lions will take a day off on Monday from the Rebel Spring Games, before resuming their trip on Tuesday with games against Bucknell and Siena.
