Softball’s Offense Goes Cold as Tigers Sweep Series

Sunday, March 29

New York, N.Y.

12:30 PM

Columbia

10-15, 2-3

Princeton

15-9, 5-0

Princeton

Columbia

Softball’s Offense Goes Cold as Tigers Sweep Series

3/29/2026 7:58:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Mads Lawson strikes out career-high 11 batters

NEW YORK – The Columbia softball team got a pair of stellar pitching performances, but the Lions' offense was kept in check as Princeton won both halves of a Sunday twin-billing to sweep the series. The Tigers came back to take game one, 2-1, before once again coming back to win the nightcap 4-2.

Columbia (10-16, 2-4 Ivy) finished the day with three runs on 14 hits. The key stat was runners left on base; the Lions stranded 13 runners on the day, eight in game one and five in the nightcap.

Caylene Nguyen was the Lions' catalyst offensively. She finished the day going 4-for-8 with a run scored and three driven in. In the nightcap, she was a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a double and a home run. The home run was her second of the year.

In the circle, Columbia's starters Mads Lawson and Lily McCord took tough losses after the duo tossed a pair of strong starts.

Lawson (5-6) took the ball for the Lions in the opener and went the distance, scattering nine hits, two runs, both earned, with two walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts. Lawson becomes just the third Lions player in the last 12 years to strike out 10 or more in a game. Jordan Hill was the last Lion to do it when she struck out 10 against Monmouth on April 13, 2022. Emily Kenyon did it eight years earlier against Rider on March 23, 2014.

In game one, Columbia struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the second. Alicia Marzouca started the rally with a one-out single to second base. After Sarah Mikami walked, Savanna Messner loaded the bags with a single down the right field line. Nguyen got the Lions on the board when she hit a rocket back at the pitcher that ricocheted away from everyone, allowing Marzouca to score.

Princeton (16-9, 6-0 Ivy) came to life offensively in the top of the seventh. Graciela Dominguez led off the inning with a double down the left field line. After a walk to Julia Dumais, Karis Ford singled through the left side to load the bases. Julieta Roa tied the game with a fielder's choice when Dominguez beat the throw to home.

After a crucial strikeout, Jessica Phelps knocked in the go-ahead run when she hit a ball to the outfield that scored Dumais.

Reece Uehara (7-1) attempted to go the distance, tossing 6.1 innings in the win. She scattered seven hits and a run, with a walk and a strikeout. Brielle Write closed the door, pitching a scoreless ⅔ of an inning in the seventh, striking out a pair.

In the nightcap, Columbia once again struck first. Scoring at the bottom of the first. Eleni Katsivalis led off with a double; Nguyen traded places with her, smoking a double to right-center.

That was all the offense Columbia would muster against Princeton's game two starter Cassidy Shaw (6-2), who tossed a seven-hit complete game. She kept the Lions off the board until Nguyen clubbed a home run in the fifth.

McCord took the loss in game two, going 6.0 plus, allowing nine hits, four runs, with three walks and a strikeout.

The Tigers scored three in the third, and an RBI double from Ford with two outs gave Princeton the lead for good. They added a run in the seventh.

Columbia returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Hanover, N.H., for a three-game series against Dartmouth. Game one of Saturday's twin billing is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. first pitch.

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