ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell softball team will start its second season when Ivy League play begins this coming weekend against Ivy League contenders Dartmouth and Harvard. The Big Green won the South Division a year ago with a 15-5 record in league play, while Harvard finished second after winning the previous two Ivy titles.

Cornell opens Ivy League play with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 at 12:30 p.m. against Dartmouth at Niemand*Robison Field, then plays host to Harvard for two games on Sunday, March 30 at 12:30 p.m.

At 7-10, Cornell is coming off a tough 1-3 weekend at the Sean Savage Memorial Tournament for Epilepsy Awareness at Delaware State. The Big Red is looking to break out its offense, which is hitting just .243 through its first 17 contests. Leading the way is senior All-Ivy League selection Christina Villalon (.351), who paces the team with four doubles. Freshman Chloe Pendergast (.316, home run, six RBI) and sophomores Leanne Iannucci (.308) and Meg Parker (.298, four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI) have led the offense all season long.

The Big Red pitching has been outstanding the last two weekends, going 4-4 with a 1.53 ERA in 53 innings of work. Senior All-Ivy hurler Alyson Onyon is 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA while holding opponents to a .183 batting average. She struck out 12 while picking up three complete games in her four appearances over the two weekends, while Parker (1-2, 2.50 ERA) and senior Sammy Roth (1-1, 2.70 ERA) have also been outstanding the last two weeks. For the season, Onyon leads the three-person staff with a 2-3 record and a 2.17 ERA, a mark that ranks fourth in the Ancient Eight.

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 595-307-2 career record, including a 192-91 mark in Ivy play.

The reigning Ivy league South Division champion Dartmouth Big Green enters the weekend with a 10-13 record and will be attempting to snap a three-game skid when it visits Ithaca for a two-game set this weekend. A year ago, head coach Ali Hart's squad went 26-20 (15-5 Ivy League) before dropping a three-game Ivy League Championship series to Penn for the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Dartmouth returns five starters from that team. Sophomore Kelsey Miller (.429, two home runs, 12 RBI) leads an offense that is hitting .277 as a unit. Junior Kristen Rumley has been outstanding with the bat (.333, six doubles, eight RBI), but even better in the circle (7-6, 2.51 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 83.2 IP). Cornell leads the all-time series between the teams 38-9, including splitting with the Big Green a season ago. The Big Red won the last matchup, 10-9, in 10 innings last season in Hanover, N.H.

Harvard will enter its Friday league opener at Princeton with an 11-11 record and a two-game win streak after victories over Cal-Bakersfield and Pacific. The Crimson also holds wins over Texas Tech and LSU, among others. Senior Kasey Lange continues to climb up the league hitting charts and is off to a fine start, batting .347 with three home runs and 18 RBI, while classmate Shelbi Olson is hitting .342 with 12 runs scored. As a team, Harvard is hitting .258 with a strong .970 fielding percentage. In the circle, Laura Ricciardone was 5-5 with a 2.42 ERA in a team-leading 66.2 innings of work. She paces a pitching staff that has posted a strong 2.38 ERA and a group that has held opponents to a .252 batting average on the year. Head coach Jenny Allard is in her 20th season guiding the Crimson and has six Ivy titles and 495 wins under her belt. One of the league's top rivalries, the Crimson has a narrow 27-24 edge in the all-time series, including splitting last year's doubleheader in Cambridge, Mass.