ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell softball team will head south for Spring Break, beginning a stretch of 14 games in eight days, when it competes in the South Florida Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, March 16-17, in Tampa, Fla. The Big Red is looking to smooth out an uneasy start and build on its 3-5 record over its first two weekends.

Cornell will play single games against Robert Morris (1:15 p.m.) and Radford (4 p.m.) on Saturday, then three contests on Sunday – vs. Quinnipiac (9 a.m.), vs. Valparaiso (11:45 a.m.) and vs. Boston College (2:15 p.m.) – as part of the City of Clearwater Tournament. Cornelk will play four games against 30-win teams from a season ago and the regular season champions of the Northeast, Big South and Horizon League.

The Big Red has played its last two weekends at George Mason, going 3-5 in eight contests at a pair of tournaments. Cornell is coming off a 1-3 weekend in Fairfax, Va., with its lone win coming against the host Patriots, 3-0. It dropped a pair of contests to Longwood (8-0, 8-1) and a one-run game to Monmouth (2-1).

Cornell is hitting .296 as a team with four regulars hitting .364 or better. Sophomore Linda Laeufer Is leading the way the way at .400 with a double, a home run and three RBI to lead the offense, while Christina Villalon is batting .381 with a pair of doubles, a home run and a team-best four RBI. Kristen Towne (.364, three doubles, 3 RBI) and Erin Belles (.364) have also been early leaders at the plate. The Big Red was solid in the field for the first two weekends outside, committing just seven errors in the eight games for a .968 fielding average. Junior Alyson Onyon is 3-2 record with a 1.93 ERA in five starts for a pitching staff that has struggled with control issues. Cornell has walked 40 batters and hit six others in 52.0 innings of work. Onyon has three complete games, including a shutout, and is allowing opponents to hit just .204. The Big Red has struck out 35 in 29.0 innings in the circle.

Cornell doesn't have a long history with any of its foes at South Florida, with its eight meetings against Quinnipiac the most – though the last meeting came back in 2008. The Big Red holds a 7-0-1 advantage against the Bobcats, but trails both Radford (1-2) and Boston College (0-1). Cornell will be facing both Robert Morris and Valparaiso for the first time.

Robert Morris brought a 5-5 record into the Rebel Games this week and had lost three straight after a 5-2 start. The Colonials are hitting .215 as a team, with Haileigh Stocks leading the way with a .429 average that includes two home runs, six extra-base hits and a team-high eight RBI in just six games. An outstanding fielding team, RMU has committed six errors in 10 contests and sports a .978 fielding percentage. In the circle, Nichole Sleith is 3-3 with a 3.09 ERA and four complete games. She has 40 strikeouts in 34.0 innings and with six walks. The Colonials have won two straight Northeast Conference regular season championships under the direction of head coach Craig Coleman. He returns 11 letter winners and six starters from last season's 35-22 squad that went 15-5 in NEC play.

At 3-12, Radford will play midweek against Marshall before competing in the USG Under Armour Invitational. The Highlanders are batting just .189 as a team, while opponents are hitting .333 with 16 home runs in 15 games. Radford has struggled in the field as well in its first quarter of the season, committing more than two errors per game with a .924 fielding percentage. Becky Mantel is hitting a team-best .308 with six runs scored and paces the team in hits (12). Leading the way in the circle is Rachael Walters, with a 3-4 record and a 4.58 ERA. She leads the team in strikeouts (23) and appearances. First-year head coach Maggie Johnson, who spent three seasons as head coach at Georgia Southern, returns three starters from last season's 34-21 squad that won the Big South regular season championship with a 16-5 mark.

Quinnipiac brings a 2-12 record into its own Spring Break trip that starts with games against Maine, South Florida and Tennessee-Chattanooga prior to the Clearwater Invitational. The Bobcats are hitting .229 as a team, with Nikki Barba and Jordan Paolucci each hitting .324 with two home runs and five RBI each. Both of the wins have come from Hannah Lindsley, who is 2-3 with a 3.88 ERA and three complete games in his five starts.  Head coach Germaine Fairchild is in her 13th season as head coach and has directed the program to a 278-334-1 mark. Quinnipiac went 32-18 a season ago, including 13-7 in NEC play.

Valparaiso is 9-8 heading into midweek contests against Maine and Florida Gulf Coast and enters the week with two straight losses after having run off a 6-1 stretch in its previous seven games. The Crusaders' offense is batting .261, with four regulars hitting .300 or better. Leading the way is Brittany Duncan at .426 with two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored. Valparaiso is fielding at a .971 clip, while its opponents have committed 34 errors in just 16 games. In the circle, Taylor Weissenhofer is 5-3 with two saves in 12 appearances, striking out 72 in just 49.0 innings of work. She has posted a team-best 2.29 ERA and allowed opponents to hit just .139.Third-year head coach Jordan Stevens returns 12 letter winners and six starters from last seaosn's 42-19 squad that won the Horizon League regular season title with a 19-5 record.

Coming off a 23-30 season that including a 3-18 mark in ACC play, second-year head coach Ashley Obrest returns 12 letter winners and brings a 4-11 record into the week. The Eagles are hitting .249 as a team while surrendering a .344 batting average, but has hit 11 home runs already as a team. Andrea Filler is batting a team-high .382, with Megan Cooley not far behind at .370. In all, four regulars are hitting .325 or better. The pitching has struggled some early, allowing a 7.65 ERA and 98 walks in 89.2 innings, though the schedule has included three games against NC State, as well as contests against Michigan, Oregon, Syracuse, Notre Dame and Georgetown. The Eagles enter the weekend looking to snap a nine-game losing skid.