Laudenslager Breaks Program No-Hitter Record as Softball Team Sweeps Columbia

Sunday, April 9

Princeton, N.J.

12:30 PM

Princeton University

17-14, 10-2

Columbia

10-18, 6-6

Columbia

Princeton

Alexis Laudenslager holding no-hitter ball with hand splayed signifying five career no-hitters

Alexis Laudenslager threw her fifth career solo no-hitter Sunday, a Princeton softball record.

Laudenslager Breaks Program No-Hitter Record as Softball Team Sweeps Columbia

April 09, 2023 | Softball

Box Score

It's five so far in a career and three in a season for Princeton senior Alexis Laudenslager, who no-hit Columbia Sunday in an 8-0, five-inning win to become the first pitcher in program history with five career solo no-hitters and first pitcher in program history with three no-hitters in a season.

Laudenslager also no-hit Yale in a five-inning game on March 18 and no-hit Brown in a seven-inning game on March 24. Her two previous no-hitters were last season, also against Yale and Brown.

Only Maureen Davies '97, who later coached the program as Maureen Barron from 2001-07, has been a part of five career no-hitters, with three of those as combined efforts. It is only the second time in program history that Princeton has had three no-hitters in a season, with 1995 as the other occurrence. Davies and Alyssa Smith '98 each had one solo that season and combined on a third.

The weekend sweep lifted Princeton to 10-2 on the Ivy League season, still a game up on Harvard for first place, now with nine league games to play. Princeton will head to Cornell next weekend to continue the league slate.

In the series finale against the Lions, Princeton scored in four of its five at-bats on the way to the run-rule win. The first inning saw Princeton pick up a pair of runs with Serena Starks leading off with a double, Grace Jackson getting on with an error and Allison Ha doubling both home.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the second inning when Lauren Sablone and Sophia Marsalo reached on an error and a walk, and Starks dropped a bunt single that squeezed Sablone home.

Two more runs came home in the third to push the lead to 5-0. A walk to Adrienne Chang, an unsuccessful fielder's choice that allowed Cate Bade to reach, and a Sablone single loaded the bases for Marsalo, who lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home one run before pinch hitter Abby Hornberger singled another home.

Following a scoreless fourth inning, Princeton ended it in the fifth. Lauren Murphy, Sablone and Marsalo reached on two hits around a walk, and pinch hitter Lauren Pappert drove two home with a single before a Jackson walk re-loaded the bases. Once Ha added a base hit, the eighth run came home, ending the game.

Starks and Ha each had two hits, with Ha driving in three runs and Pappert two as the two Tigers with multi-RBI games. Laudenslager, who struck out eight, allowed just a walk and two hit batters with another Columbia runner reaching on a third-strike wild pitch as only two Lions reached scoring position, both stopping at second.