NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Columbia softball team split the first two games of its series at Yale on Sunday, scoring three runs in the eighth to win the first, 4-2, before falling in game two, 5-2.
Columbia (18-17, 10-4 Ivy) took the eighth-inning lead in the opener on a two-out RBI infield single from first-year Hailey Wetherill. The rookie just beat out the throw to first, scoring Max Ortega from third who had tripled the at-bat prior. The Lions poured on two more runs thanks to a wild pitch from Yale starter Terra Jerpbak and an RBI knock from Alexandra Yule.
Madison Canby (7-7) polished it off in the eighth and became the fourth pitcher in program history to win 30 career games. The junior from Pembroke Pines, Florida allowed just two earned runs and spread eight hits and four walks across 8.0 innings for her Ivy League-leading ninth complete game of the season. She also struck out a pair.
Columbia jumped in front 2-0 in game two when Max Ortega drove a first-inning, two-run homer just over the fence in left. Yale (15-24, 9-8 Ivy) was silenced by starter Alexa Pinarski over three innings before scoring three unearned runs in the fourth. A misplay in left led to two more runs in the fifth and the Bulldogs held off Columbia's seventh-inning rally to take a split.
Ortega finished the day 3-for-6 with a triple, a homer and three RBIs. She leads the Ivy League with 33 runs driven in on the season. Sophomore shortstop Maria Pagane was 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles.
The Lions are now a half-game behind Harvard (11-4) for first place in the Ivy League standings. They have a chance to make that up on Tuesday in the final game of the series, which was postponed on Saturday. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
Game 1 Recap: Columbia 4 – Yale 2 (F/8)
Columbia's Madison Canby and Yale's Terra Jerpbak took a pitcher's duel into extras, where the Lions were able to put together a two-out rally and defeat the Bulldogs, 4-2.
Madison Canby allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings. After walking the first batter she faced to start the day, the junior retired the next three batters to get out of the first. The Columbia infield turned a 4-6-3 double play to erase a one-out single in the second before Canby retired the side in order in the third.
Columbia played some small ball to get on the board in the third. Maria Pagane started the threat by hitting the first pitch of the inning down the left field line. Genny Soltesz successfully laid down a sac bunt to move her to third and Max Ortega brought her home on a sac fly to center.
Yale leveled things up in the fourth. Singles by Annie Tarte and Olivia Vinyard followed by a one-out single to right off the bat of Carlin Hagmaier loaded the bases for Jerpbak. The senior pitcher got enough of a pitch down to left that was caught by Soltesz but scored Tarte with the tying run. Canby still had to work her way out of the inning with two in scoring position and did so by striking out Kortney Ponce.
The Bulldogs threatened to take the lead in both the fifth and sixth innings but Canby was up to the task to keep it a tie game. She stranded two on in the fifth and got herself out of another two-on, two-out jam in the sixth by snagging a comebacker to send the game to the seventh, 1-1.
After both sides failed to score in the seventh the game went to extras. That's where Columbia took over, using a two-out triple by Ortega to seize momentum before Wetherill beat out an infield single to short to put the Lions on top. Abby Stuart made it three consecutive singles to place runners at the corners. Jerpbak then threw a wild pitch during Yule's at-bat to make it 3-1. The Columbia senior tacked on a third run with an RBI single to left that brought Stuart around to score.
Yale rallied for a run in the seventh and had the tying run on base with two out. Canby got Katie Tews to ground to Ortega to end the ball game.
Game 2 Recap: Yale 5 – Columbia 2
Columbia took an early lead on Max Ortega's first-inning homer but Yale held the Lions off the scoreboard the rest of the way and scored five times through the middle innings to salvage a split, 5-2.
Alexa Pinarski (10-7) started for the Lions and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, retiring nine straight after walking her first batter of the day. She went the distance and allowed five runs, only two of which were earned, as Yale took advantage of two errors in the fourth to plate three runs before more defensive miscues led to two runs in the fifth.
Maria Pagane went 2-for-3 for the Lions and doubled down the left field line on the very first pitch of the game from Yale Starter Nic Conway. Ortega stepped up with one out, got ahead 2-0 and hit a high home run to left for the opening tally. However, Conway allowed just three hits the rest of the way and picked up the complete-game victory.
After Pinarski's dominant first three innings, Yale's Olivia Vinyard was granted a second chance during her fourth-inning at-bat on a dropped foul ball and the Bulldogs broke through. They scored their first run on Columbia's second error of the inning on a force play at second. Kortney Ponce added to the damage with a two-run double to left center to put the home team on top, 3-2.
Two more Yale runs came across in the fifth. Shelby Kennedy reached on a fielder's choice with one down and stole second with Annie Tarte at-bat. Tarte then hit a ball to left that dropped in front and Soltesz and bounced by her, rolling all the way to the wall to easily score Kennedy. Tarte hustled around the bases and came around to score on the play to make it a 5-2 game.
Columbia had a quiet sixth but put together a seventh-inning rally to make things interesting. Yule walked and Townsend singled to lead things off and bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Conway got Nishihira and Swinarski out but then hit Pagane to load the bases. Wetherill came up to pinch hit but was retired on a foul pop out down the third base line.
