HANOVER, N.H. — Columbia fell behind by three runs in the second and was never able to completely turn it around, falling to Dartmouth, 9-1, in six innings on Sunday at Dartmouth Softball Park.
 
Trailing, 5-0, entering the sixth, Columbia (12-23, 8-10 Ivy) got a leadoff walk by Megan Ryono, followed by a single from Jaden Hill. Maria Pagane was then hit by the very next pitch to load the bases with nobody out. It brought senior Abby Stuart to the plate, who hit a ball to third that was mishandled by Maria Angelino. The error helped plate Columbia's first run and brought Bubba Gleaves to bat representing the tying run.
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Starting pitcher Brooke Plonka got Gleaves and Cami Neal to pop up to shallow left-center on back-to-back pitches, forcing Hill to freeze at third both times. Dani Mandichak then stepped up to pinch hit with two down, but her fly ball to center was caught to end the scoring threat.
 
Dartmouth (14-21, 8-4 Ivy) followed with four runs in the bottom half to end the ball game. Three straight singles scored the first run before Angelino beat out a fielder's choice at third to make it a 7-1 game. Three batters later, Mary Beth Calahan hit a deep fly ball to left that Jaden Hill was tracking. Unfortunately, it popped out of Hill's glove, scoring Lipsett and Angelino to bring the eight-run rule into effect.
 
First year Jordan Hill (6-10) took the loss for Columbia. She was pulled in favor of Kaia McCaul after an inning and a third, surrendering three runs, two earned, on three hits. McCaul went the final 4 1/3 innings and kept the Big Green at bay for the most part. Her final line included six runs, only two of which were earned, on eight hits, a walk and two strikeouts.
 
Plonka went the distance for Dartmouth. After two-hitting the Lions in game one on Saturday, the senior from Marilla, New York turned in another two-hitter on Sunday. She walked two and allowed just one unearned run on 81 pitches.
 
Columbia's two hits came from Jaden Hill and Cami Neal, both of whom ended the game 1-for-3. Neal singled to left for the Lions' first hit in the second. Hill's single helped Columbia load the bases with nobody out in the sixth.
 
Dartmouth took the early lead with a three-run second, sparked by back-to-back doubles from Kate Farren and Alaana Panu. That's when head coach Jennifer Teague went to the bullpen for Kaia McCaul. One of Columbia's four errors in the game brought home a third run.
 
The Big Green extended their lead to 5-0 with two more unearned runs in the third. Both runs scored on the craziest play of the weekend. Billie McFadyen singled to short on a diving stop made by Pagane, and got herself purposefully caught in a rundown with a teammate on third. Once the runner was far enough from the bag at third, Lauren Apollaro tried to throw behind her, but sailed her throw into left field. It allowed Katona and the hitter, McFadyen, to come all the way home on the play.
 
Columbia will host league-leading Princeton (22-13-1, 14-4 Ivy) next weekend. The Lions will honor their seniors from the COVID-impacted seasons on Saturday. The Class of 2022 will be honored prior to the start of Sunday's season finale.

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