Softball Readies for Non-Ivy Matchup With Siena College

Less than 24 hours after concluding a rescheduled doubleheader against Yale, the softball team will return to the field today at 3 p.m. to take on Siena College in a non-conference two-game series. Cornell (23-5, 4-0 Ivy) is riding a 12-game winning streak after a commanding sweep of the Bulldogs yesterday afternoon, and will look to keep up the momentum against the visiting Saints. Siena currently stands at 4-11, and is coming off a twinbill sweep of Binghamton at home –– its longest win streak of the season. The Saints have yet to secure a victory on an opponent’s turf this year, and the Red will be looking to continue that trend.
In Game 1 of yesterday’s Siena-Binghamton matchup, senior Renee Clavette, who splits her time between second base and patrolling the outfield, went 1-for-2 and drove in the Saints’ only two runs. Freshman Amanda Filippazzo pitched a complete game shutout, surrendering just one hit while striking out five. The young pitcher has also established herself as a force to be reckoned with at the plate, batting .353 with a double, triple and RBI.
Game 2 featured a stellar offensive performance by junior infielder Lauren Weingart, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. Sophomore Courtney Brinkman pitched seven innings and gave up three runs, only one of which was earned; she also backed her effort on the mound by contributing an RBI.
Although the Saints’ record may not appear all that imposing, Cornell is not underestimating the team from Loudonville, N.Y..
“Even though these are non-conference games, we take them very seriously,” said junior second baseman Devon March. “Last year, our games against [Siena] were canceled, so it’s been two years since we’ve played them.”[img_assist|nid=36440|title=Patience is a virtue|desc=Junior second baseman Devon March is coming off of a 3-for-6 performance against Yale yesterday, in which she scored two runs and contributed an RBI.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
In evaluating the reasons behind Cornell’s recent success on the field, March credited the team camaraderie.
“Our chemistry is really great this year, and it’s really carrying over onto the field. … We obviously have been hitting very well, so we hope to just keep up our lineup, make sure that we all get quality at-bats and play hard.”
The Red has seen contributions from players up-and-down its lineup, particularly at the top of the order. The Nos. 1-4 combination of juniors Alyson Intihar, Elise Menaker and Ashley Garvey and senior Jessy Berkey has been nothing short of dominant, with all four players hitting well-above .300. Leadoff hitter Intihar’s .377 batting average is tops for the Red, and Garvey and Berkey are both tied for the home run lead with six apiece. Garvey’s transition to being more of a power hitter has evidently proved a success, as she has already more than doubled her home run total from last season.
On the mound, the pitching unit has been all but lights-out, with freshman Lauren Marx and sophomore Elizabeth Dalrymple both boasting ERAs below 1.00 to anchor the starting rotation.
Summing up the team goal for this afternoon’s matchup, March said, “As with any game … we want to play hard, do the best we can, obviously come out with a win. … [We want to ensure] that we don’t take any team lightly, and [keep] our momentum. We had some big wins against Brown, but we don’t want to stop there. We want to keep doing well and winning games.”