NEW YORK — The Columbia softball senior class played its final home game on Sunday afternoon, but the defending Ivy League champion Princeton Tigers were able to avoid a series sweep, 9-0, in five innings.

Columbia (19-18, 11-7 Ivy) honored its five seniors – Olivia Parker, Taylor Troutt, Nina Mandracchia, Maura Lynch and Madison Gott – in a ceremony prior to first pitch. The senior class has turned the program into an Ivy League contender and broken numerous team and individual offensive records. The class guaranteed the softball program's first ever winning Ivy League season by taking the first two games of the series, 9-1 (6) and 9-0 (5), on Saturday.

However, Sunday's game belonged to Princeton (9-24, 7-8 Ivy). The Tigers scored in each of the first four innings, including a three-run first and three-run fourth. Mackenzie Meyer went 3 for 4 with three runs while Alex Colon with 2 for 3 with two RBIs, including a solo home run to lead off the second. Starting pitcher Allie Reynolds allowed just two hits on her way to a five-inning shutout, walking one and striking out two.

Columbia's two hits came from sophomores Amber Swinarski and Sommer Grzybek. Grzybek led off the second inning by beating out a slow roller to second base, and Swinarski hit a two-out single in the third to put runners on the corners. Reynolds, who improved to 6-12, got out of the inning by getting Gott to fly out to right. Mandracchia, who earned her second career start, walked to start the third and was pinch-run for by sophomore Genny Soltesz.

Lynch started in the circle on her Senior Day for the Lions but was unable to get out of the first inning. A one-out double by Keeley Walsh plated the first run before a Kylee Pierce doubled in two more on a well-hit ball to left, putting the Tigers ahead 3-0

Sophomore Madison Canby entered and got out of the inning with just the three runs allowed, but the Tigers added to the lead on Colon's home run in the second before pushing across two more in the third. Sophomore Erin Gallo came on to relieve Canby with two out in the third, but was tagged for three runs in the fourth.

Columbia travels to Cornell (7-8 Ivy) for the final weekend of the regular season. The Lions sit two games behind Dartmouth (10-5 Ivy) in the loss column for the second and final spot in the Ivy League Championship Series (May 12-13). Dartmouth has six league games remaining on its schedule.