ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team has eight games on tap, including six Ivy League contests, as it attempts to make a late run at the Ivy League South Division title. The Big Red will meet North Division leader Harvard for a doubleheader on Tuesday at home, then hits the road for a twinbill on Thursday at Siena and a four-game set at Princeton beginning on Saturday.

Cornell will play its rescheduled doubleheader against Harvard on Tuesday, April 22 at 1:30 p.m. at Niemand*Robison Field, then begins its eight-game season-ending road trip with a doubleheader at Siena on Thursday, April 24 at 3 p.m. The Big Red closes out Ivy play at Princeton with doubleheaders on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 with first pitch both days coming at 12:30 p.m.

The Big Red has its work cut out for it and will need some help, but enters its final week of conference play mathematically in the race. At 6-8 in league play, the Big Red is a game out of second and 3.5 out of first with six Ivy contests remaining for Cornell. First place Penn and second place Columbia will square off this weekend and the best case scenario for the Big Red is a split.

Cornell dropped three of four at home this past weekend to a surging Columbia team that moved into second place in the division. Only a 6-3 Big Red victory in game one on Sunday after Senior Day ceremonies saved the Big Red from the weekend sweep. With just 10 scheduled games remaining in the regular season, Cornell needs to split the remaining games to reach the 20-win plateau for the 17th consecutive season under head coach Dick Blood.

The Big Red offense has been up and down this season, but has lifted its team average to .267. Sophomore Michiko McGivney, who missed the first 17 games of the season, has exploded since her return, hitting a team-best .371 with seven doubles, three home runs and 18 runs scored in her 21 contests. She is slugging .629 with a .450 on-base percentage. Also hitting over .300 is freshman Jessica Bigbie (.330, 19 RBI) and sophomore Meg Parker (.325, seven doubles, six home runs, 19 RBI). Not far off is senior Christina Villalon (.292, 15 RBI) and the catching tandem of junior Sophie Giaquinto (.288, three home runs, 20 RBI) and sophomore Leanne Iannucci (.286). Cornell is hitting .300 as a team in its last 11 games despite going just 3-8 over that span.

Senior All-Ivy hurler Alyson Onyon is 8-9 with a 3.53 ERA and with 98 strikeouts, is looking to surpass the 100-K milestone for the third straight campaign. Onyon enters the week with 351 strikeouts, good for fifth all-time at Cornell. Both Meg Parker (5-9, 5.67 ERA) and Sammy Roth (2-5, 5.18 ERA) have also seen significant time in the circle. Together, the three hurlers have combined for 189 strikeouts and 110 walks in 247.2 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 603-320-2 career record, including a 198-99 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 an undefeated record in the South Division (13-0) and an 18-game win streak overall in tow, Harvard has long battled Cornell for Ivy League supremacy. The Crimson is 27-11 overall thanks in large part to its outstanding pitching. Harvard has posted a 1.94 ERA with a better than 2:1 strikeout:walk ratio. Opponents are batting just .244 as a team with Laura Ricciardone (17-5, 1.48 ERA, 92 strikeouts) and Taylor Cabe (7-6, 2.35 ERA, 62 strikeouts) leading the way. The Crimson are fielding at a crisp .970 with just 36 errors in the team's 38 contests. At the plate, four regulars are hitting better than .300, with Kasey Lange (.387, six home runs, 29 RBI) pacing the squad. Harvard is collectively batting .286. Head coach Jenny Allard is in her 20th season directing the Crimson and has led the team to a 511-375-2 mark and an impressive 238-86 mark in Ancient Eight play. Harvard holds the slim 27-24 edge in the all-time series between the teams after last season's doubleheader split in Cambridge.

Siena was set to play host to Sacred Heart on Tuesday before Thursday's scheduled doubleheader and brought a 20-17 overall record and an 8-2 Metro Atlantic record into the week. Winner of six of the team's last seven games, the Saints are 4-0 at home so far this season. Siena is hitting .275 as a team with three regulars hitting .333 or better. Alyssa Lancaster (.359, five doubles, 19 RBI), Abby Carpenter (.354, six doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI) and Stephanie Viggiano (.333, seven doubles, 14 RBI) have led Siena at the plate this season. The Saints have relied upon Jessika Sandrini for much of the team's pitching, and she has delivered a 14-7 record with a 3.48 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 116.1 innings of work. Fourth-year head coach Bill Lajeunesse was the 2013 MAAC Coach of the Year after leading the team to its first regular season conference title last spring. Cornell leads the all-time series 2103, though the squads haven't met on the diamond since 2009.

Cornell and Princeton have long jostled at the top of the South Division standings, but both teams will likely need a four-game sweep of the other to have a chance at the division title. The last time Cornell needed a sweep at Princeton it got it – behind the rubber arm of Alyson Onyon, the Big Red swept a four-game set in 2012 on the road to force a one-game playoff for the division title. The Tigers enter the weekend with a 15-24 record and a 7-9 mark in Ivy play after dropping three of four last weekend at home vs. Penn. Princeton has been solid in the circle, with Erica Nori (8-6, 2.21 ERA) leading the way. The Tigers are hitting .238 as a team and doesn't have a player batting better than .287, though Cara Worden (.263, three home runs, 15 RBI) has flashed power and Haley Hineman (.287, six doubles, 14 RBI) has also been a presence. Head coach Lisa Sweeney is in her second season directing the Tigers' program and has guided her teams to a 42-43 record so far. Princeton holds a narrow 28-26 edge in the all-time series after taking three of four games a season ago in Ithaca. In the last two years, four of the eight games played between the teams have gone at least 10 innings and two have gone at least 14. Onyon has been on the mound for three of those contests, including 15- and 14-inning wins.