NEW YORK – Columbia (4-11, 1-1) opened the Ivy League schedule by splitting a doubleheader with Brown (3-10, 1-1) Saturday afternoon at the Columbia Softball Stadium.
The Lions were run-ruled, 8-0 by Brown in the first game of the doubleheader. Columbia answered back with a 2-1 win in the second game as
Caroline Palys and
Jaden Hill blasted home runs to power the Lions past the Bears. Junior right-hander
Raquel Reyes (1-2) earned her first win of the season as she tossed her first complete game of the season.
"I thought in the first game we were tight all the way around, defensively, on the mound and at the plate," Columbia Head Coach
Jennifer Teague said. "We loosened up a little bit in the second game and were able to add some to our power numbers, which is great. I am super happy. I thought Rocky (Reyes) threw a great game in the second game."
GAME 1 VS. BROWN
Brown took the lead in the top of the second inning as the Bears plated one run. Brown added four runs in the third, two runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth to finish off the 8-0 run-rule win over Columbia.
Senior
Megan Ryono, senior
Bubba Gleaves and first-year
Georgia Corey recorded hits in the game. The Lions were plagued by three errors in the first game of the afternoon.
Sophomore right-hander
Jordan Hill got the start in the circle as she fired 3.1 innings. She allowed seven runs total, only four were earned. First-year right-hander
Sarah Mikami tossed 1.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits.
GAME 2 VS. BROWN
Coming off of the loss, the Lions responded with some fireworks in the second game of the afternoon. Palys and
Jaden Hill launched the second and third home runs of the season for the Lions as Columbia earned a 2-1 win over Brown to even the series heading into the rubber match Sunday.
With the count full in the bottom of the second, Palys took the payoff pitch and sent it over the left field wall to give the Lions the early 1-0 lead.
Jaden Hill then homered to left center in the bottom of the third inning as the Lions hit home runs in back-to-back innings to grab a 2-0 lead.
Reyes (1-2) had her best performance of the season in the circle as she helped guide the Lions to the win. Reyes finished off her first complete game of the season as she allowed one run on four hits. She struck out four in the outing.
Reyes gave up a home run in the top of the fifth, but didn't let that phase her as she worked through the last two innings and slammed the door on any potential comeback by Brown. The Bears left six stranded on base throughout the game as Reyes shut down any momentum Brown would get started.
"I told the team after the second game, every game is going to be a grind this year," Teague said. We have to decide how tough we are going to be. I thought they showed some grit in that second game. The first one is always the hardest, so we are looking to build on some momentum going into tomorrow."
UP NEXT
Columbia wraps up its first Ivy League series of the season Sunday in the rubber match against Brown. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Columbia Softball Stadium. The game will air live on
ESPN+ and
live stats will be provided through GoColumbiaLions.com.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Softball by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsSoftball), Instagram (@culionssoftball) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaSoftball).
