After being swept by Albany in a double-header, the softball team is looking to turn things around in its four-game series with Penn this weekend.
In the first game against the Great Danes Wednesday, junior Christina Villalon recorded the Red’s only hit.
Cornell’s hitters struggled to get on base all game, largely because of an excellent performance from Albany’s ace, junior Brittany MacFawn, who walked just two batters in her one-hit complete game, improving to 16-6 on the season.
“The first game was pretty tough,” said senior catcher Kristen Towne. “They had their top pitcher … she pretty much had our number hitting-wise.”
The Red’s own starting pitcher, junior Alyson Onyon, went six innings and gave up just three runs on six hits, but got the loss due to the Red’s weak offensive showing.
However, the bats picked up for the Red in the second game. After three innings of scoreless play, Cornell struck first with a pair of back-to-back homeruns — the first from sophomore outfielder Linda Laeufer to center and the second from freshman Taylor Goodin to right — giving the Red a 2-0 lead.
After pitching four shutout innings, Cornell freshman Meg Parker gave up a two-run homerun and a single in the bottom of the fifth. Onyon then came on to finish the inning, but not before allowing the inherited runner on first to advance on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly, and then score on a double.
The Red struck right back in the top of the sixth when Laeufer singled to center and junior infielder Jenny Edwards knocked a two-run homer to regain the lead, 4-3.
Onyon couldn’t contain the Great Dane’s hitters in the bottom of the sixth, however, and Albany took the lead on three hits — two singles and a double — for three runs. The Red failed to score in the top of the seventh, allowing the Great Danes to complete the sweep of the mid-week doubleheader.
“In the second game, it was a pretty back and forth game and a lot of things could have gone either way,” Towne said.
The Red (16-20, 6-6 Ivy League) will enter the series against Ivy-league leading Penn (21-5, 10-2), looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Cornell stands in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference with Princeton and Columbia right now.
According to Towne, the team needs to avoid playing tense if it wants to perform well this weekend.
“I’m really hoping we can just try to relax and take a deep breath and not play so uptight,” she said. “I’m hoping we play them tough and get some good games out of them.”
Original Author: Skyler Dale