With nine interleague games remaining and coming off a series sweep, Cornell softball (15-15, 6-9 Ivy) needed a rebound series to make a push for the Ivy League tournament.
That series came this weekend at home against the University of Pennsylvania, as Cornell took two games out of three. Most notably, after scoring only four runs in their previous series, Cornell completely turned the tide, scoring 23 runs in its three games against Penn.
Game one on Friday was an 8-0 victory for the Red. In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore outfielder Hailey Pirkey opened the scoring with a one-run blast to left field. Cornell built onto the lead with a three-run first inning, featuring RBI singles from junior infielder Ella Harrod, freshman outfielder Charlize Cai and freshman infielder Emma Harshberger.
The offense exploded, gaining in the fifth inning, as a three-run homer from junior catcher Lauren Holt and a wild pitch scoring Pirkey sealed the deal in an 8-0 win for Cornell. The winning pitcher was junior Kyrie Denny, who completed the shutout, allowing only two hits.
Game two, the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, was a 13-5 win for Cornell. Penn opened the scoring in the top of the first with an electric RBI triple, and Cornell responded at the first opportunity with an RBI single from Harshberger in the bottom of the second.
Through the next three innings, Cornell went on to score nine unanswered, headlined by three RBIs for Harrod by way of a single in the second inning and a double in the third. Penn scored two runs in the top of the fourth, but Cornell once again quickly closed the door with a four-run fourth inning, including a three-run homer from senior infielder Emma Antich.
Senior pitcher Maxine McCraw closed out game two, securing the series win and Cornell’s second straight victory. The winning pitcher was freshman Mila Fiordalisi, who gave up two runs in four innings and struck out two.
In game three, Cornell fell just short of the series sweep. Penn jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and held Cornell scoreless until the third inning, when freshman outfielder Addison Pressley hit an RBI single. In the fourth inning, Penn extended the lead to 5-1 on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the fifth, Pressley notched her second RBI of the game with a single up the middle, but Cornell ultimately lost by a score of 5-2.
Cornell has a crucial stretch of eight games, including six games against Ivy League competition, before the end of the season. Next up for the Red is a doubleheader at Binghamton University on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., followed by a three-game series at Columbia University beginning on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Fans can find live coverage on ESPN+.
