PRINCETON, N.J. — Princeton put up runs in five of its six trips to the plate scored five unearned runs to defeat the Columbia softball team, 11-5, in the first of a three-game series Friday afternoon at Class of 1895 Field.
The loss is Columbia's first of the league season, falling to 10-12 overall with a 3-1 mark in Ivy games. Princeton (6-13, 3-1 Ivy) moved into a tie for first place with the Lions.
Maria Pagane went 3-for-4 at the dish to account for three of Columbia's seven hits in the game. She homered to lead off the seventh and also scored a run in the fifth. Seniors Alexandra Yule and Jordan Townsend each went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Yule drove in a pair.
Madison Canby started the game and was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits. She fell to 5-5 on the season. Erin Gallo and Monique Benjamin pitched in relief, combining to allow the other six runs, only three of which were earned.
Allie Reynolds (4-6) picked up the win for Princeton, going 6.2 innings and surrendering five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. Only one of the runs she allowed was earned. Riley Wilkinson came on for the final out in the seventh.
Columbia used a two-out rally to jump ahead in the first. Max Ortega sent an 0-2 pitch to right center off Reynolds and first-year Abby Stuart came back from 0-2 down to work a walk. With two on, Yule stepped up and hit a grounder to third that deflected off the third baseman and into left, bringing home Ortega from second with the first run.
The inning-extending error proved even more costly for Princeton as senior Jordan Townsend drove a 2-2 pitch all the way to the wall in left center. Stuart scored from second and Yule held up at third to make it 2-0 and put two in scoring position. Reynolds finally escaped the inning by striking out Nishihira.
Princeton cut the lead in half on a two-out homer by Mackenzie Meyer in the second before scoring a pair of unearned runs in the third to take the lead. Alex Viscusi reached on an error to lead off the third and came around to score on a pair of sacrifices. Canby jammed Ali Blanchard on a two-strike pitch with two down but it had just enough on it to fall over the head of Stuart at first, plating Donahey from second with the go-ahead run.
The Tigers opened up their lead with a three-run fourth. Back-to-back one-out hits off Canby ended her day in favor of Erin Gallo. The first batter she faced, Viscusi, dropped down a bunt with runners on second and third. Gallo fielded it and came home but Meyer slid in under to tag of Amanda Nishihira to increase the lead to 4-2. A sac fly in the next at-bat brought home another Tiger run before Kaylee Grant singled in Viscusi to complete the three-run inning.
The Lions got two of those runs back in their next turn at-bat. Columbia loaded the bases on an error, a single and a walk with one out. Stuart struck out swinging to bring Yule to the plate with two out, who drove a 2-2 pitch to left to plate both Amber Swinarski and Pagane and cut the lead to 6-4.
Unfortunately, Princeton struck for three more in the bottom half to pull away. A leadoff single and Columbia's second error of the game brought Waslawski to the plate with runners at the corners and one out. Waslawski got ahead in the count 2-0 and hit the next pitch she saw over deep and gone to center to make it a 9-4 game.
Monique Benjamin came on in relief of Gallo and retired the next two Tigers to get out of the inning. She went on to allow two more unearned runs on just one hit in the sixth, putting the home side up, 11-4.
Pagane led off the seventh with her first home run of the season on a ball hit deep to center. Reynolds struck out two in the inning before she was relieved by Wilkinson, who retired Yule to end the ball game.
The final two games of the weekend are scheduled for Saturday. First pitch from Class of 1895 Field is set for 12:30 p.m.
