ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team will begin its season-ending 14-game road swing beginning this week with a doubleheader at Colgate on Thursday, April 19, followed by a four-game series against Penn on Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22. First pitch against the Central New York rival Raiders will be at 3:30 p.m., while Saturday's games with the Quakers start at 4 p.m. and Sunday kicks off at 12:30 p.m.

The Big Red enters the week with a two-game lead in the Ivy League South Division standings over Penn, who was alive for the division title to the final game last year before Cornell put away the Quakers. With eight conference games to play, Cornell is just a game behind North Division leader Harvard (11-1) for the league's best record.

Cornell's young offense has picked up the pace after getting off to a slow start batting .305 with 10 HR as a team over the last 10 games to raise its season average to .269. Four regulars are hitting 3.00 or better, led by rookie shortstop Clare Feely (.311). Junior Kristen Towne (.309, 11 2B, 11 RBI), senior Morgan Cawley (.309, 2 HR, 11 RBI) and freshman Linda Laeufer (.302, 9 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI) have also had strong seasons. Senior Erin Keene (.294, 6 HR, 20 RBI) and sophomore Lauren Bucolo (.274, 6 HR, 19 RBI) are a home run behind sophomore Jenny Edwards (.267, 7 HR, 22 RBI) for the team lead. Edwards stands tied atop the Ancient Eight standings in that category.

The Big Red has broken out the bats since the start of Ivy League play, hitting .321 in conference contests. Six different regulars are hitting better than .300 and are averaging better than seven runs per game in its 10-2 start. Cornell will close the regular season with eight road games against their top two competitors in the South Division in Penn and Princeton. The Big Red is off to a great start in league play away from home, sporting a perfect 4-0 mark entering the weekend.

The Cornell pitching corps has kept the Big Red in games this season, allowing the offense to win games. The group of seniors Lauren Marx (5-2, 4 SVs, 3.05 ERA) and Jenna Stoller (2-8, 4.29 ERA) and sophomores Alyson Onyon (9-3, 3.81 ERA, 82 Ks) and Sammy Roth (2-0, 5.25 ERA) have done a lion's share of the pitching.

The winner of three straight South division titles, the Big Red has gone 85-26 in league play since the league went to a 20-game Ivy League slate in 2007. After going 27-22-1 a season ago and claiming a third consecutive South Division title, Blood's squad is looking for its 16th consecutive season with at least 25 wins. Blood is the all-time winningest coach in Cornell athletics history for a single sport and enters the week with 561 triumphs (561-259-2) and five conference crowns.

Colgate is 15-19 overall, but is off to a 9-3 mark in Patriot League action to stand in second place. The Raiders were off to a 7-1 start in conference play before splitting a four-game series at Lafayette this past weekend. Colgate is batting .234 as a team, with Emma Dolfi leading the way at .323 with four home runs and 22 RBI. Tera Vaughn (.296, 13 RBI) is the only other player on the team hitting better than .260. Courtney O'Connell is 8-8 with a 2.33 ERA while pitching a team-high 117.0 innings. Rachel LeCoq (6-8, 3.63 ERA) and Michelle Hollebeke (1-3, 3.27 ERA) also form a pitching staff that sports a solid 2.92 ERA and limits foes to a .250 batting average. Jaime Grillo is the team's interim head coach and is in her second season overall in Hamilton. The Big Red leads the all-time series 15-7, including sweeping a doubleheader last year.

Penn won three-of-four games at Princeton last weekend to move to 8-4 in conference play and 23-14 overall. The Quakers are hitting .255 as a team behind Sydney Turchin (.313, 11 RBI) and Kayla Dahlerbruch (.306, 5 HR, 21 RBI). Alexis Borden (15-4, 1.30 ERA) and Mikenzie Voves (6-6, 2.57 ERA) lead the pitching staff, with Borden ranking second in the Ancient Eight with 135 strikeouts. She is limiting foes to a .211 batting average. Penn will play a single game against Drexel on Wednesday prior to hosting the Big Red for four games this weekend. Head coach Leslie King is in her ninth season directing the Penn program and has posted a 166-207-3 mark. Cornell holds a commanding 36-9 series lead, including a 1-0 victory over the Quakers last season to win all three contests between the teams last year. The Big Red has won 14 of the 15 meetings since the beginning of the 2008 campaign.