HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- First-year Prophet Gaspard won her fourth consecutive start and classmate Tristin Moone came through with a pinch-hit two-run home run as the Columbia softball team took home a 4-2 victory over the University of Connecticut on the first day of the Hyatt Place Invitational, hosted by Hofstra.
The Lions also received key contributions from sophomore Jennifer Bergeron, who went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the second inning, and senior Stephanie Yagi, who made an unbelievable catch to thwart a potential scoring inning for the Huskies in the fourth.
In the first game of the day, Columbia fell to the host Pride, 11-2, as senior Anne Marie Skylis drove home both Lions' runs with a two-run double in the sixth.
UConn Recap
Columbia took an early lead in the first inning against the University of Connecticut, as sophomore Jennifer Bergeron was hit by a pitch to leadoff the game. First-year Morgan Cook moved Bergeron into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and Bergeron hustled over to third base on a passed ball. Senior Anne Marie Skylis worked an eight-pitch walk in the next at-bat, setting the Lions up with runners on the corners and one out. The next batter, senior Karen Tulig, executed a squeeze play to perfection to score Bergeron and put the Lions ahead, 1-0.
After Gaspard set UConn down in order in the bottom half of the inning, Columbia added to its lead in the top of the second. With two down, Bergeron ripped a 1-2 offering by Huskies pitcher Ali Adelman over the left-field wall for her first home run of the season to give the Lions a 2-0 cushion.
The third inning saw UConn halve its deficit, and come close to further damage if not for a great defensive play by Columbia. Jennifer Ward singled with one out, stole second and scored on a double by UConn leadoff batter, Julianne Towers. Brittany Duclos came to the plate with her Huskies trailing by a run, and bounced one to Bergeron at short.
Bergeron fielded and tossed to Cook at first for the second out of the inning, while Towers broke for third. Cook stepped on the bag at first and fired across the diamond to classmate Emily Snodgrass, who slapped the tag on Towers for the final out of the inning.
Another web-gem defensively denied UConn of a potential run-scoring play in the fourth. Amy DeLuca led off the frame with a single, and was joined on base by catcher Andrea Huelensbeck, who reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt in which the Lions were unsuccessful in getting the lead runner. With two on and nobody out, Amy Vaughan scorched a line drive into deep right field.
Senior Stephanie Yagi broke for the ball over her head and made a great over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track. DeLuca was already rounding third and heading home, and was easily doubled off of second. Gaspard did the rest from there, inducing a pop up to Skylis for the final out of the inning.
Each team had chances to score in the fifth but failed to do so, before first-year Tristin Moone came through in a big way in the top of the sixth. With two down and a runner on second, Moone shot one over the left-field wall for her first collegiate home run to extend Columbia's lead to 4-1.
The insurance runs proved to be important in the seventh, as back-to-back doubles by Audrey Grinnell and Ward pulled UConn to within 4-2. But Gaspard completed her fourth straight win with a pair of lineouts to end the game.
Hofstra Recap
Pride pitcher Erin Wade registered a career-high 14 strikeouts and held Columbia bats silent for the first five innings of the game on Saturday. Senior Maggie Johnson nearly matched Wade through four frames, but Hofstra scored four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to break open a one-run game en route to an 11-2 win.
In the top of the second, an error on Columbia proved costly. Sara Michalowski reached on the Lions' miscue with one out and, after Johnson struck out the next batter, Jess Zielman walked to put a pair on with two down. Krista Thorn stepped to the plate and bounced a base hit up the middle to give the Pride a 1-0 cushion.
A single from first-year Emily Snodgrass gave Columbia its first base runner in the bottom of the third, but Wade was up to the task and retired the next two batters to get out of the inning. Wade set down 15 of the Lions' first 16 batters to step in the batter box, 13 by way of strikeout.
In the fifth, Thorn started things off with a base hit for Hofstra and a double by D.J. Slugh gave the home team a pair of runners in scoring position. Johnson induced a comebacker by leadoff batter Rachael Senatore for the first out of the inning, but an RBI single by Trisha Dreslinski, a perfectly-executed double-steal and two more run-scoring base hits by Jess Hirschbuhl and Michalowski pushed the Pride ahead by a 5-0 margin.
Slugh would give the Pride a 7-0 cushion with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, before Columbia got on the board in the bottom half. First-year Emily Caruthers legged out an infield single, and classmate Morgan Cook worked a two-out walk to put two on for senior Anne Marie Skylis. Skylis drilled a two-run double to center to bring the Lions to within 7-2.
But Hofstra would put four more runs up in the top of the seventh, and Wade worked around a two-out walk to record her fourth win of the year. Johnson suffered the loss in the circle for Columbia, allowing 11 hits and five earned runs in 6.2 innings of work.
The Lions will square off against the same two teams on the final day of the Hyatt Place Invitational on Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m.
