Game 1 Box Score (Cornell 7, Rider 0)
Game 2 Box Score (George Mason 2, Cornell 1)

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The Cornell softball team split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon at George Mason, clubbing Rider 7-0 in its 2011 opener before Mason rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 2-1 win in the nightcap. The Big Red is 1-1 overall on the season.

The Big Red pitching staff did its job on day one, as Ali Tomlinson, Lauren Marx and Alyson Onyon combined on a three-hit shutout in the opener and two-time Ivy Pitcher of the Year Elizabeth Dalrymple took the hard-luck loss in game two despite allowing just one earned run in 6.2 innings of work.

The new-look offense had an up-and-down day, as Morgan Cawley, Katie Watts and freshman Lauren Bucolo each had two hits on the afternoon, while rookie Christina Villalon hit a solo home run in the second game for Cornell's only run.

In game one, the Big Red exploded for five runs in the second inning with a three-run double by Bucolo highlighting the frame. The rookie ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBI, while both Watts and Cawley were 2-for-3.

The Big Red scraped together five hits in game two, but Dalrymple lost a pitcher's dual when xxx Davies hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to snap a 10-game losing streak to Cornell.

Cornell will play both teams again on Sunday to complete its first weekend of 2011.