Saturday, April 8
Princeton, N.J.
12:30 PM
Princeton University
15-14, 8-2
7
vs
1
Columbia
10-16, 6-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Columbia
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
3
3
Princeton
2
1
1
0
3
0
X
7
12
1
Julia Dumais hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth inning of game two.
Tigers Sweep Pair from Columbia, Stand Atop Ivy
April 08, 2023 | Softball
Two very different games ended up with the same result Saturday afternoon at Princeton Softball Stadium at Strubing Field as the Princeton softball team defeated Columbia 7-1 and 5-4 to stand atop the Ivy League as the conference schedule passed the midway point.
The wins lifted Princeton to 9-2 on the Ivy season, and after Harvard split with Dartmouth Saturday, the Tigers stand a game up on the Crimson, still with 10 games to go in league play. The first of those will bring the Tigers and Lions back to Princeton Softball Stadium for Sunday's 12:30 p.m. series finale. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available here. Admission is free.
The opener saw Princeton score four runs over each of its first three at-bats. An error and a walk put two on for Allison Ha, who drove in the game's first run with a single, and two batters later, Cate Bade drove in a run with a double to make it 2-0.
Princeton started the second inning with a walk to Lauren Sablone and an Ashley McDonald base hit, and Serena Starks made it 3-0 with a single. The third inning saw Princeton get a Sablone two-out double and then a McDonald base hit to drive home Sablone and make it 4-0.
Princeton scored its last three runs of the game in the fifth, starting the inning with a Bade base hit, a Sophia Marsalo base hit, and Sablone getting hit by a pitch. Pinch hitter Abby Hornberger took advantage, singling home a pair to make it 6-0, and a Caitlin Bish sacrifice fly later in the inning made it 7-0.
Alexis Laudenslager left after the fifth inning, allowing just two hits and a walk, striking out five in her shutout outing. Molly Chambers closed it out, allowing a run on a hit and two walks as Columbia spoiled the shutout bid in the sixth.
Bade finished with a three-hit game in the opener while Ha and McDonald had two apiece, with six Tigers driving in runs and Hornberger driving in two.
In game two, Princeton again scored early, but unlike game one, a first-inning run was the only one the Tigers got over the first four frames. A Grace Jackson single preceded a walk to Ha, and two batters later, Julia Dumais had a base hit to get Princeton on the board.
Columbia pulled even in the third on a walk, a two-base throwing error and a base hit, and the Lions went up 3-1 on a walk and two hits in the fifth.
After falling behind for the first time all day, Princeton struck right back in a big way, first with Sablone leading off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer, and after hits by Jackson and Ha, Dumais hit a three-run homer off the foul pole in right to put Princeton up 5-3.
Columbia threatened in the seventh after an error, a hit batter and a double scored a run to make it 5-4 and put two on base, but Meghan Harrington, who entered the circle in relief of Brielle Wright during Columbia's go-ahead fifth inning, closed it out, allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk, striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
The wins lifted Princeton to 9-2 on the Ivy season, and after Harvard split with Dartmouth Saturday, the Tigers stand a game up on the Crimson, still with 10 games to go in league play. The first of those will bring the Tigers and Lions back to Princeton Softball Stadium for Sunday's 12:30 p.m. series finale. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available here. Admission is free.
The opener saw Princeton score four runs over each of its first three at-bats. An error and a walk put two on for Allison Ha, who drove in the game's first run with a single, and two batters later, Cate Bade drove in a run with a double to make it 2-0.
Princeton started the second inning with a walk to Lauren Sablone and an Ashley McDonald base hit, and Serena Starks made it 3-0 with a single. The third inning saw Princeton get a Sablone two-out double and then a McDonald base hit to drive home Sablone and make it 4-0.
Princeton scored its last three runs of the game in the fifth, starting the inning with a Bade base hit, a Sophia Marsalo base hit, and Sablone getting hit by a pitch. Pinch hitter Abby Hornberger took advantage, singling home a pair to make it 6-0, and a Caitlin Bish sacrifice fly later in the inning made it 7-0.
Alexis Laudenslager left after the fifth inning, allowing just two hits and a walk, striking out five in her shutout outing. Molly Chambers closed it out, allowing a run on a hit and two walks as Columbia spoiled the shutout bid in the sixth.
Bade finished with a three-hit game in the opener while Ha and McDonald had two apiece, with six Tigers driving in runs and Hornberger driving in two.
In game two, Princeton again scored early, but unlike game one, a first-inning run was the only one the Tigers got over the first four frames. A Grace Jackson single preceded a walk to Ha, and two batters later, Julia Dumais had a base hit to get Princeton on the board.
Columbia pulled even in the third on a walk, a two-base throwing error and a base hit, and the Lions went up 3-1 on a walk and two hits in the fifth.
After falling behind for the first time all day, Princeton struck right back in a big way, first with Sablone leading off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer, and after hits by Jackson and Ha, Dumais hit a three-run homer off the foul pole in right to put Princeton up 5-3.
Columbia threatened in the seventh after an error, a hit batter and a double scored a run to make it 5-4 and put two on base, but Meghan Harrington, who entered the circle in relief of Brielle Wright during Columbia's go-ahead fifth inning, closed it out, allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk, striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Laudenslager, Alexis (7-8)
L: Hill, Jordan (5-9)
Batting:
2B: Hill, Jaden 1
RBI: Mikami, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neal, Cami 1
CS: Hill, Jaden 1
HBP: Ryono, Megan 1 ; Neal, Cami 1 ; Mikami, Sarah 1
Batting:
2B: Bade, Cate 1 ; Sablone, Lauren 1
RBI: Starks, Serena 1 ; Bish, Caitlin 1 ; Ha, Allison 1 ; Bade, Cate 1 ; McDonald, Ashley 1 ; Hornberger, Abby 2
SF: Bish, Caitlin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Starks, Serena 1 ; Ha, Allison 1 ; Bade, Cate 1 ; Marsalo, Sophia 1 ; Sablone, Lauren 3
SB: Ha, Allison 1 ; Sablone, Lauren 1 ; Hornberger, Abby 1
HBP: Sablone, Lauren 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF/C
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF/UT
/ SoftballC/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballReflections from the Princeton Athletics Class of 2025
Tuesday, May 27
Softball Highlights vs. Columbia & Brown, Ivy League Tournament, 5-10-25
Saturday, May 10
Softball Highlights vs. Harvard, Ivy League Tournament, 5-9-25
Friday, May 09
Beyond The Stripes -- Princeton Softball's Legacy Of #2
Thursday, May 08