Cornell suffered a conference sweep at the hands of Penn last weekend, but bounced back to record a season-high 15 hits en route to splitting a doubleheader with Colgate on Tuesday.
Cornell (6-25, 2-7 Ivy) battled to hold its own against the Quakers (17-11, 8-4 Ivy) in the first of three games this weekend, but ultimately fell 12-7. The Quakers then shut the Red out 8-0 and 14-0 to sweep the series.
“It was obviously not the outcome we wanted,” said junior outfielder Erin Rockstroh. “But the first game we battled as long as we could, which I think is something we’ve gotten better at throughout the season.”
The Red rebounded from its conference loss to split a midweek doubleheader with the Raiders (17-18, 3-3 Patriot). Cornell got off to a hot start in the first game, tallying eight runs in the second inning. The team recorded a season-high 10 runs on 15 hits in the game — led by three hits each from junior Bridgette Rooney and sophomore infielder Brianna Straley. Junior pitcher Lisa Nelson came back from an injury that has sidelined her for a month to throw 2 2/3 perfect innings. The Red ultimately downed Colgate 10-7 in the first game, but was shutout 6-0 in the second game.
“We have a pretty small pitching staff,” Rockstroh said, “so the other teams have seen our pitchers multiple times and are able to make adjustments. That’s something that’s hard to get around.”
Riddled by injuries, Cornell has been forced to adapt to playing without many of their key players.
“We only have two [healthy] pitchers,” Rockstroh said. “For other positions, there’s been minor injuries and there’s been major injuries. We’ve been trying to work around that as much as we can and being able to pick each other up position-wise and also psychologically.”
Although the Red has faced many curveballs this season, it remains determined as it heads into the latter half.
“We’re trying to keep it as loose as possible,” Rockstroh said. “The season so far isn’t 100 percent what we wanted, but we’re working with what we have. Getting tight and focusing on what could go wrong isn’t going to help anything. We’re just trying to take it one day, one game, one pitch at a time — as simple as you can make it. Hopefully we can make it work from there.”
The Red will be back in action this weekend in New York City taking on the Columbia Lions (14-14, 6-3 Ivy) in a three-game series. Cornell will take the field at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and again at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Plagued By Injuries, Softball Falls To Penn, Splits Doubleheader With Colgate
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