If you only look at the league record column, Cornell softball is off to a great start.
In its first league matchup of the year, Cornell (3-14, 2-1 Ivy) took down Brown (6-10, 1-2 Ivy) in two out of three games at Niemand-Robison Field in Providence, R.I.
“We had a poor overall record going into the series but we’re 2-1 right now and that’s a good place to be,” head coach Julie Farlow ’97 said. “It certainly gives them confidence for league play.”
The series began with a doubleheader on Sunday. The Bears won the first game 10-8 in extra innings, but the Red took the second 4-3.
Cornell shot off to a hot start in the first game, with junior Bridgette Rooney hitting a grand slam in the first inning. The Red added two more runs to take a commanding lead in the second inning as freshman Emily McKinney doubled to bat in classmates Miranda Lawson and Allison Kerce.
But eight Brown runs throughout innings four, five and six gave the Bears the lead. Cornell responded in the seventh with two more runs, as Rooney hit a second homer to tie the game forcing it into extras.
Brown was better in the eighth inning, earning two more runs to Cornell’s zero, and taking the win for its only victory in the series.
In game two, Cornell tied up the series, winning 4-3.
This time, Brown took the early lead with a run in each of the first three innings. Cornell responded with a bang — though not until the seventh inning — with a solo home run by freshman Hanna Crist, then a three-run home run by Kerce, who batted in herself along with fellow freshmen classmates Emily Muniz and Ashley Delany.
“Our hitters are starting to get comfortable at the plate,” Farlow said. Notably, all nine game-two hits for the Red came from freshmen.
In Monday’s game, Cornell once again beat The Bears by a single run — this time 5-4 — and took the series.
Neither team earned a run until the third inning, when Brown scored two. Cornell responded with one run as Kerce batted in Delany.
The Red took the lead in the fifth inning. Brown brought one run home in the top of the inning, but the Red answered with a three-run homer by Kerce.
Both teams scored a run in the sixth. A Crist single to center batted in junior Erin Rockstroh. Keeping Brown off the board in the seventh, the Red took both the game and the series win.
The team will play 17 games over the next 19 days. The Red hopes the packed schedule will be a source of energy rather than fatigue.
“If you’re a competitor, you love games,” Farlow said.