ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell softball team concludes its 17-game road swing to begin the season when it travels to Dover, Del. this weekend for doubleheaders against Central Connecticut State and the host school as part of the Sean Savage Memorial Tournament for Epilepsy Awareness.

The Big Red will play two games against the Blue Devils on Saturday, March 22 beginning at noon, then meets the Hornets on Sunday, March 23 at 11 a.m. All four games will be played at the Hornets Nest.

At 6-7, Cornell is playing its best softball over the last two weekends after starting out slow. The Big Red has won four of five, including three of four last weekend. The Big Red is hitting .258 as a team with 46 runs scored in its 13 games with four regulars hitting .300 or better led by senior Christina Villalon (.370). Sophomore Meg parker is hitting .353 with four doubles, a home run and five RBI and leads the team with her 11 runs scored. Freshmen Chloe Pendergast (.345, home run, six RBI) and Jessica Bigbie (.306, seven RBI) are also over .300.

The Big Red pitching came around last weekend, going 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 15 strikeouts with just four walks in 28 innings of work to lower its team ERA nearly three full runs per game to 4.32. Senior Alyson Onyon is 1-2 with a 3.50 ERA and 15 strikeouts to just seven talks in 24.0 innings. Both Parker (3-3, 4.20 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 35.0 innings) and Sammy Roth (2-2, 4.80 ERA, six strikeouts in 23.1 innings) join Onyon to form a three-person staff that has carried the load through 13 contests.

In his 19th year at the helm of the Cornell softball program, head coach Dick Blood has set an impressive standard of excellence. The Big Red has won five Ivy League titles (1999, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2010) and has captured four of the last five Ivy League South Division crowns. Cornell has finished first or second in the Ivy League in 13 of the last 16 seasons. Blood has accumulated an impressive 594-304-2 career record, including a 192-91 mark in Ivy play.

Central Connecticut State has a 9-4 record entering the week and is 7-1 in the team's last eight games. Included among its wins this season are games against Stanford, Providence and Penn State. The Blue Devils are hitting .297 as a team with four regular starters hitting .310 or better. Tessa Brown leads the way at .364, while Alexis Debrosse is batting .364 with three of the team's five home runs. Laura Messina is an impressive 8-2 with a 1.12 ERA and has struck out 74 with just nine walks in 56 innings while starting 10 of the team's 13 games for fourth-year head coach Jeff Franquet. Cornell holds a 19-6 edge in the all-time series, with the last meeting coming in 2009 (a 9-0 win in five innings for the Big Red).

Delaware State is off to a 10-6 start in large part due to its strong pitching. The Hornets' pitching staff has posted a 2.16 ERA, with Vanessa Ciocatto (4-3, 1.92 ERA, two saves) and Tara Tursellino (5-2, 1.46 ERA, one save) leading the way. DSU is holding teams to just .242 hitting and has walked just 27 batters in 107 innings of work. Offensively, the Hornets have five hitters batting better than .300, with Nicole Gazzola leading the way (.367). Seven players have started all 16 games and another has opened all 15 games, giving them an iron lineup. Both Rochelle Sablay (.327) and Jordan Stamps (.304) have hit three home runs with 17 RBI to lead the team. Delaware State went 22-35 a season ago under second-year head coach Janice Savage. The Hornets finished fourth in the MEAC North Division with a 12-6 conference record a year ago and are a perfect 2-0 against the Big Red after sweeping a doubleheader in 2012.