CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Columbia softball team dropped a pair of contests at the USF Under Armour Invitational on Friday. The Lions fell to East Tennessee State in their season opener, 4-1, then were downed by the College of Charleston, 3-0, later on in the afternoon.
Senior Karen Tulig went 3-for-5 in the doubleheader with two doubles, two walks, an RBI and a stolen base. Tulig drove home Columbia's lone run of the day in the seventh inning against the Bucs. Classmate Anne Marie Skylis also had a nice day at the plate, going 3-for-6 with three singles.
GAME ONE -- EAST TENNESSEE STATE
ETSU got on the board in the first inning, as Nicole Fox tripled to right field off Columbia first-year Prophet Gaspard and scored on a groundout later in the inning. Following the triple, Gaspard regrouped in her first career start to retire six batters in a row.
In the top of the third, the Lions threatened to tie the contest as senior Anne Marie Skylis singled to left field and stole second base with one out. Caruthers advanced Skylis to third and reached base herself with a bunt single, putting runners on the corners. But Bucs pitcher Jessica Duncan was able to get out of the jam with a groundout and strikeout to keep her team in front.
A walk to Tara Hartnett and a double by Mikayla Treadway set East Tennessee State up with another scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third. Gaspard was nearly able to work out of trouble unscathed, as she forced a groundout to first base and struck out Marlina Delisa without allowing either runner to advance. But a wild pitch allowed both Hartnett and Treadway to come around to score and give the Bucs a 3-0 cushion.
Columbia responded by loading the bases in the top of the fourth inning, as senior Maggie Johnson singled up the middle to lead things off. Classmate Stephanie Yagi reached on an error to put two runners on, and after a flyout, first-year Emily Snodgrass beat out an infield single to pack the sacks full of Lions. But Duncan again worked out of the jam by getting a fielder's choice at third base.
An RBI single from Katie Wolff tacked on another run for the Bucs in the bottom half of the fourth inning, before Columbia again threatened to score in the top of the fifth. The Lions placed runners on second and third with two outs, as Tulig and Caruthers worked a double steal. But the duo was left stranded as Duncan enduced sophomore Christie Taylor to pop up to the shortstop.
The first two Columbia batters would go down in order in the top of the seventh, before Bergeron advanced all the way to second on an error by the shortstop. Tulig followed with an RBI double to left, but the Lions could get no closer as Duncan got Johnson to pop up to third to close the contest.
Gaspard suffered the loss for Columbia, working three innings while allowing three runs on two hits while striking out two. Johnson entered in relief of the first-year pitcher and struck out three in three innings of work. Duncan picked up the win for ETSU, striking out nine in a complete-game effort.
GAME TWO -- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
For the second consecutive contest, the opposition was able open the scoring in the first inning of play. A one-out single by Carly Corthell and an error put runners on first and second. A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position before a ground out scored Corthell to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. C of C would tack on an additional run in the frame on a double to center by Katie Nutaitis.
The two runs would be more than enough for Cougar pitcher Alexa Datko, who scattered four hits in seven full innings of work to record her first shutout of the year. The Lions best chance came in the bottom of the fourth, when senior Karen Tulig connected on her second double of the day with one down. Tulig would advance to third on a groundout, but would get no further as Datko enduced another ground ball to end the inning.
Nutaitis would do more damage in the top of the sixth, as her single down the left-field line scored pinch runner Kaitlyn White and made the score 3-0 in favor of the College of Charleston.
Senior Anne Marie Skylis gave the Lions one final chance in the bottom of the seventh, recording her third hit of the day with a single up the middle. But Columbia could not string together enough offense to make things interesting, and dropped its second straight.
The Lions will continue play at the USF Under Armour Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 5 with games against Central Michigan and Florida International. The contest against the Chippewas will begin at 1 p.m., and is followed by the Columbia-FIU game at 3 p.m.
