ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell softball team will play its longest stretch of home games this season when it begins and ends its six-game week at Niemand*Robison Field. The Big Red will open the week with a non-league doubleheader against Albany before closing it with Senior Weekend vs. Columbia.

The Big Red will play host to Albany for two games on Wednesday, April 16 at 3 p.m., then will welcome Columbia for four contests. The Big Red and the Lions will square off on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, with first pitch both days coming at 12:30 p.m.

Cornell will honor its nine seniors, the most in the same year during head coach Dick Blood's 21 seasons, prior to the Easter Sunday contests against Columbia. The players have been a part of two Ivy League South Division champions and have posted a 86 wins over their four years, including a 40-29 conference record.

The Big Red enters the week with a 13-19 record and is in third place in the Ivy League's South Division, 1.5 games behind leader Penn and one game behind Princeton. With its 5-5 conference record, the Big Red is also just a game ahead of the Lions.

The Big Red is looking to break out its offense, which is hitting.265 through its first 32 contests. Sophomore Michiko McGivney, who missed the first 17 games of the season, has exploded since her return, hitting a team-best .392 with three doubles, three home runs and 14 runs scored in her 15 contests. She is slugging .667 with a .466 on-base percentage. Also hitting over .300 is freshman Jessica Bigbie (.330, team-best 19 RBI) and sophomore Leanne Iannucci (.314). Sophomore Meg Parker is batting .299 with a team-best five home runs to go along with 17 RBI. Senior Christina Villalon is hitting .298 with 14 runs driven in, while junior Sophie Giaquinto is at .290 with 17 RBI. Cornell is hitting .321 as a team in its last five games despite going just 1-4 over that span.

Cornell's pitching has been solid. Senior All-Ivy hurler Alyson Onyon is 6-8 with a 3.50 ERA and is allowing opponents to hit just .263. Onyon enters the week with 351 strikeouts, good for fifth all-time at Cornell. Both Meg Parker (5-7, 4.88 ERA) and Sammy Roth (2-4, 4.67 ERA) have also seen significant time in the circle. Together, the three hurlers have combined for 155 strikeouts and 99 walks in 207.2 innings of work.

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 601-316-2 career record, including a 197-96 mark in Ivy play and recorded his 600th victory earlier this season. With every win he builds on his record of all-time winningest coach in a single sport at Cornell.

With a 19-9 overall record and an 8-3 America East mark prior to a Tuesday scheduled doubleheader at Colgate, the Great Danes are 7-1 in their last eight contests. A year ago, Albany went 36-14 and placed second in the conference (13-5). Chris Canatta's team has relied on its pitching throughout the season, as Brittany MacFawn leads the way with her 10-5 record and 2.24 ERA. She has struck out 121 with just 10 walks in 108.1 innings of work and has limited opponents to a .213 batting average. Mackenzie Thompson (5-1, 2.77 ERA) is also seeing significant time in the circle. Albany is hitting .276 as a team, with Maggie Cocks pacing the team with her .364 batting average. Charlise Castro is at .317 with a team-best four home runs and 17 RBI, while Vicky McFarland is batting .325 with three home runs. The Great Danes lead the all-time series 10-5 and swept last season's doubleheader with 3-0 and 6-4 triumphs.

Columbia brings a 16-18 record into a midweek doubleheader at Saint Peter's. The Lions are 14-5 at home, but just 2-13 on the road. Columbia is hitting .274 as a team, with five regulars hitting .304 or better. Alix Cook (.315), Kayla Shimoda (.315, three home runs, 18 RBI) and Shelby Unger (.313, three home runs, 17 RBI) lead the way, while Liz Caggiano is at .304 with a team-best six home runs, a mark that ranks second in the Ivy League. Emily Kenyon is the Lions' leader in the circle with a 5-4 record and a 2.82 ERA, while Brooke Darling is 7-8 with a 4.64 ERA. The two have combined for 13 complete games and four shutouts. Head coach Kayla Noonan is in her 12th season with the Lions and sports a 192-271-1 record. Cornell holds a 30-12 lead in the all-time series, though the two teams split last year's four-game set.