Softball Clubs Seven Home Runs in Saturday Split

Saturday, April 18

Ithaca, N.Y.

12:30 PM

Columbia

16-18, 8-6

Cornell

18-19, 7-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
COLUMBIA	2	0	0	0	4	0	3	0	9	11	2
Cornell	2	0	2	3	0	0	2	1	10	13	1

Photo by: Noah Van Dick

Softball Clubs Seven Home Runs in Saturday Split

4/18/2026 7:51:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Lions capture the series with an offensive explosion in game two.

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Columbia softball team nearly blasted its way to a series sweep over Cornell, crushing seven home runs on the day. In the end, the Lions settled for a split on Saturday to capture the series, winning the nightcap 13-2.

Over the two games, Columbia (17-18, 9-6 Ivy) scored 22 runs on 22 hits, which included 14 extra base hits and seven home runs. Sarah Mikami went 6-for-7 on the day with five runs scored and eight driven in, thanks to a three-home run performance in game one. Mikami tied an Ivy League record for home runs in a single game with her three home runs.

Savanna Messner went yard twice in the nightcap, as did Alicia Marzouca and Juju O'Brien. Mads Lawson earned her 11th win of the year as Columbia secured its fourth consecutive series.

GAME TWO RECAP
Mikami got the Lions on the board immediately, with a 2-run home run in the top of the first. It was the first of three home runs for the senior, who tied an Ivy League record for home runs in a single game. She became the eighth player in conference history to hit three home runs in a game; the last to do it was Harvard's Sophia Sun against Cornell on April 27, 2024.

Cornell (18-20, 7-11 Ivy) tied the game in the bottom of the first on a 2-run home run from Lauren Holt.

The Big Red scored two in the third inning and three in the fourth to take a 7-2 lead.

The Lions came back to life with a four-run fifth. Caylene Nguyen started the rally with a 2-out single to center. That brought up Mikami, who jumped all over the first pitch she saw for a 2-run blast. Juju O'Brien kept the rally going with a double to left center. She scored on the home run down the left field line from Marzouca, her sixth of the year.

Mikami's big game was not over. With the Lions trailing 7-6 in the sixth, she slugged a ball over the left field fence to give Columbia an 8-7 lead. The Lions added another run thanks to an error by the Big Red.

In the home half, Columbia could not close it out. Nguyen, who entered the game at the top of the third, ran out of gas. Charlotte Laidler entered the game and surrendered a tying run on an RBI single. The Big Red walked it off in the eighth on a ground-rule double from Ella Harrod that plated the winning run.

GAME TWO RECAP
Columbia scored three in the third, and a run in the fourth, which would have been enough run support for Lawson, but the Lions weren't finished. They capped off the day with a nine-run fifth to win the game in five innings.

Lawson (11-6) finished the weekend with another solid day, going 5.0 complete, scattering four hits and two runs with no walks; she struck out two.

Mikami got the Lions on the board with an RBI single in the third, and O'Brien followed with the first of her two home runs on the day.

In the fourth, Messner gave the Lions a 4-2 cushion with the first of her two home runs on the day. The Lions put the game away in the fifth, scoring nine runs on six hits. Mikami, Messner, Tatum Hubble, and Payton Shimansky all had RBIs in the frame.

Messner's two home runs give her nine on the year. She now has 21 in her career, moving her into sole possession of fourth place all-time. She is now three home runs shy of tying Taylor Troutt (2015-18) for third all-time in Columbia history.

Columbia returns to action on Saturday, April 25, for a doubleheader at Penn. Game one is scheduled for 12:30, with game two starting at 3 p.m.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS
Stay up to date on all things Columbia Softball by following the Lions on X (@CULionsSoftball), Instagram (@culionssoftball) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaSoftball).