ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell softball team will attempt to finish the 2013 campaign strong and move up in the final Division standings as well as honor its two seniors when the Big Red play Division III power Ithaca College and South Division rival Princeton this week at Niemand*Robison Field.

After having its run of four consecutive division titles come to an end this weekend, Cornell will have a chance to move up in the Division standings when it meets the Tigers in a four-game set on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28. First pitch on both days will be 12:30 p.m. The Big Red has finished either first or second in the South ever since the Ivy League was split into divisions in 2007. On Sunday, seniors Erin Belles and Kristen Towne will be recognized for their outstanding four-year careers.

Belles enters the week as a career .302 hitter with 17 home runs and 49 RBI in 115 games played, including 79 starts. She ranks in the top 10 at Cornell in career slugging percentage (.530) and on-base percentage (.399) and her on-base percentage this season ranks fourth on the Big Red charts. Towne is a three-time All-Ivy pick and two-time first-team selection who ranks among the school's all-time leaders in doubles (fourth, 42), fielding percentage (seventh, .987), total bases (eighth, 269), home runs (eighth, 19) and hits (10th, 162). Towne has posted a .316 average in 169 games played (162 starts).

Before the Big Red gets to the weekend will be a two-game set against crosstown rival Ithaca College. The Bombers won the lone matchup between the teams a season ago, 4-3. That snapped a 10-game skid against the Big Red where Cornell outscored IC 70-14.

The Big Red is hitting .298 as a team with six regulars hitting .310 or better. Belles has been on a tear all season, batting.376 with a team-high seven home runs. Christina Villalon is batting .359 wih 13 doubles, six home runs and a team-high 32 RBI. Returning first-team All-Ivy selection Lauren Bucolo is batting .320 and freshman Emily Weinberg is batting .336. Also hitting better than .300 are freshmen Meg Parker (.333, 12 doubles, five home runs, 26 RBI) and Michiko McGivney (.310, five home runs, 16 RBI). Towne (.296, 11 doubles, 13 RBI) and Linda Laeufer (.288,two home runs, 12 RBI) are a hot stretch away from breaking the .300 mark as well.

In the circle, junior Alyson Onyon is 12-14 with a save and a 3.98 ERA in 24 starts. Onyon has 16 complete games, including a shutout. The Big Red hurler has struck out 122 in 163.2 innings of work. Sammy Roth (3-3, 6.02 ERA) and Meg Parker (2-6, 6.05 ERA) have also seen significant time pitching for Cornell. The Big Red is fielding at a solid .960 clip, including a .965 field percentage in the team's 16 Ivy League games.

The Big Red is coming off its fourth straight Ivy League South Division title, sharing the crown with Penn, en route to a 25-23 season. It was the 16th consecutive year the Big Red won at least 25 games, and its 15-5 conference mark was the fourth time in six years the program has finished at .750 or better in Ivy play. Head coach Dick Blood is the all-time winningest coach in Cornell athletics history for a single sport and enters the week with 584 triumphs (584-289-2) and five conference crowns.