NEW YORK -- Despite a sterling performance in the circle from first-year Prophet Gaspard, the Columbia softball team was dealt a 2-1 loss by Cornell at Baker Athletics Complex on Saturday. Game two of the regularly-scheduled doubleheader was postponed due to rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m., and a single game on Monday afternoon at a time yet to be determined.

Facing the reigning two-time Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in Elizabeth Dalrymple, Gaspard was up to the challenge through the first six innings. The right-hander limited the Big Red (17-16-1, 6-3 Ivy) to just two singles over six frames, while striking out six. The Louisiana native worked around base hits in the third and sixth innings, and allowed just two runners to advance into scoring position.

After Gaspard escaped a first-and-third jam, senior Maggie Johnson broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run over the left-center field wall to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The round-tripper was the third of the season for Johnson, extending her Columbia career-record total to 15.

The lead was short-lived, however, as an error by the Lions put a runner on for Ali Tomlinson in the top of the seventh. Tomlinson worked the count full, then hit a go-ahead, two-run shot over the right-field fence to give Cornell a 2-1 advantage.

Looking to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning, first-year Emily Snodgrass delivered a one-out double to give the Lions some hope. But Dalrymple bore down and got the final two batters to close out the game.

Sophomore Jennifer Bergeron tallied two hits in the defeat for Columbia, who fall to 9-23 overall and 1-8 in Ivy League play.