ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team will meet Ithaca College in a continuation of their longtime crosstown rivalry when the two teams square off on Wednesday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m. at Niemand-Robison Field. The game will be broadcast live on the Ivy League Network.

As Big Red softball continues to climb the conference ladder, surpassing last season's league win total was the first checkmark. Now, with six games to play in league play, the Big Red need to go 4-2 to clinch a winning Ivy record for the first time since 2012. But before it gets back to that, Cornell will have a challenge in Division III rival Ithaca.

Hall of Fame coach Deb Pallozzi has the Bombers off to a 20-8 start, including 9-3 in league play. She guided Ithaca to the 2002 NCAA championship. Vanessa Brown leads the team with a .451 batting average and four home runs for a Bomber team hitting .330 as a group. Three different pitchers have at least five wins, with Haley Congdon leading the way at 7-2 with a save and a 2.08 ERA in 64.0 innings of work in the circle.
 
Cornell's hitters had a breakout game in Sunday's win at Penn, scoring eight runs in an 8-4 victory. The eight runs was more than the Big Red had posted in its previous five games - combined. In all, five regulars are hitting better than .320 led by sophomore Erin Rockstroh (.424, 14 RBI). Senior Megan Murray has been steady throughout her career and ranks second on the team with a .393 batting average. She enters Senior Weekend with a career .345 batting average (No. 10 all-time at Cornell) and also ranks among the school leaders in doubles (No. 8, 38), hits (No. 10, 165) and on-base percentage (18th, .393). Sophomores Rebecca Kubena (.356) and Kate Jencarelli (.323), as well as senior Tori Togashi (.324, three home runs, 18 RBI) are also above that mark. Sophomore Bridgette Rooney has a team-best six home runs and is tied for the lead with 18 RBI.
 
Sophomore Lisa Nelson has established herself as one of the top hurlers in the Ancient Eight and is 7-6 with a 3.74 ERA while ranking among the conference leaders with her 76 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .277 against her, well below the .316 batting average the Big Red has allowed on the year. Nelson's sophomore classmate, Katie Lew, is 5-9 in a team-high 87.0 innings of work. She has pitched nine complete games in 13 starts. Both Maddie Orcutt and Cora Geunes have earned important innings in the circle as well.

Cornell leads the all-time series 30-10 dating back to the very first meeting in 1994. The Bombers won the first six contests between the programs, but the Big Red is 13-2 in the last 15 matchups. Ithaca won the last time the two teams met, 2-1 at IC's Kostrinsky Field last spring as the teams split a doubleheader.