ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team will get a midweek non-conference series in before hitting the road for its first Ivy League weekend away from home looking to continue its hot play. The Big Red will play host to Albany on Tuesday, April 3 at 3 p.m. at Niemand*Robison Field, then visits Brown on Friday, April 6 at 2 p.m. and Yale on Saturday, April 7 at 12 p.m.

The Big Red has won three straight conference games and jumped over the .500 mark for the first time since the second weekend of the season with a doubleheader sweep of Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon. At 12-11, the Big Red is a game behind Penn (4-0) at the top of the South Division standings.

Cornell's young offense has picked up the pace after getting off to a slow start batting .321 with 15 HR as a team over the last nine games to raise its season average to .259. Senior Morgan Cawley (.350) and junior Kristen Towne (.324, 8 2B, HR) are each hitting better than .300, while freshman Clare Feely is batting .297 with a HR. Sophomore Jenny Edwards is batting .254 with five home runs and leads the team in RBI (15) and runs scored (12) and classmate Lauren Bucolo is hitting .273 with four HR and 11 RBI.

Coming into the season, the big question was how the Big Red pitching would respond after the loss of two-time Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Elizabeth Dalrymple to graduation. The group of seniors Lauren Marx (5-1, SV, 2.08 ERA) and Jenna Stoller (1-6, 3.00 ERA), sophomore Alyson Onyon (5-2, 3.56 ERA) and freshman Brittany Sutton (1-2, 5.32 ERA) have done a nice job in the circle, keeping the Big Red in every game. Opponents are hitting .258 and are slugging just .337 with just 32 extra base hits in 23 contests.

The winner of three straight South division titles, the Big Red has gone 78-25 in league play since the league went to a 20-game Ivy League slate in 2007. It will look to improve on those marks this weekend.

After going 27-22-1 a season ago and claiming a third consecutive South Division title, Blood's squad will be 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 554 triumphs (554-254-2) and five conference crowns.

The Big Red will open the week attempting to defend one of the largest home field advantages of any team in the country over the last four seasons. Cornell has posted a 59-13 mark overall and a 38-8 record against Ivy League opponents during that span. The Big Red is 17-4 at home in its last 21 games, outscoring opponents 129-68.

Standing in its way of improving those numbers is Albany, who already has a 1-0 victory over the Big Red this season at the Mason Cherry Blossom Classic in mid-March. The Great Danes bring an impressive 18-7 overall record and a 5-1 mark in America East play into the Tuesday doubleheader. Charlise Castro is batting .406 with seven home runs and 22 RBI, while Alexa Toole (.393) and Vicky McFarland (.350) have also been dangerous at the plate. As a team, Albany is hitting .284. In the circle, Brittany MacFawn is 9-3 with a 1.75 ERA and has 103 strikeouts in 77.1 innings, while Brittany Schwieger is 8-2 with a 2.62 ERA. The Great Danes also field at an impressive .974 clip. Four-time America East Conference coach of the year Chris Cannata is in her 18th season leading the program and has won more than 500 games.

Brown is 5-13 overall and 2-2 in Ivy League play heading into Friday's contests against the Big Red. After the Bears were swept by Penn to extend its losing streak to five games, Brown swept Columbia on Sunday by scores of 8-0 and 6-5. Stephanie Thompson (.544, 5 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI) and Kat Srobel (.385, 5 2B, 5 HR, 15 RBI) have been tough outs all season long for an offense that is hitting .274 as a unit. The pitching has struggled some early, allowing opponents to hit .343. Denise van der Goot (1-3, 4.56 ERA), Jessica Cherness (4-5, 6.57 ERA) and Sam Brady (0-5, 7.13 ERA) have shared innings in the circle. As a team, Brown is fielding .949. Head coach DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji has won nearly 600 games in a career that spans stops at Bridgewater State and San Jose State before her current four-year run at Brown.

Yale brings a 7-15 overall record into the week and is 1-3 in Ivy League play after splitting a series with Columbia before being swept by Penn. The Bulldogs are scheduled to head to Rhode Island on Wednesday for a doubleheader before returning home for Friday's doubleheader with Princeton. Leading the way at the plate is Jennifer Ong at .324 with 12 RBI, with Sarah Onorato batting an even .300. As a team, Yale is hitting .240 with just one home run in its 22 contests. In the circle, Chelsey Dunham is 5-5 with a 3.52 ERA as the Bulldogs have allowed opponents to bat .313. Yale is fielding .948 as a team. Barbara Reinalda is in her eighth year directing the Bulldogs' program.