ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell softball team will play its final home game this weekend while celebrating its lone senior, and also plays its last non-conference road doubleheader as part of a five-game schedule this week. The Big Red will visit crosstown rival Ithaca College on Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader at Kostrinsky Field, then returns home for a three-game set with Ivy rival Princeton beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27 at 12:30 p.m. at Niemand-Robison Field.

Senior Olivia Lam, who was an All-Ivy League catcher as a sophomore and has been limited due to injuries since, has a pair of .300 batting seasons under her belt. She has five home runs and 23 RBI in 74 career games (65 starts) entering the week. Lam will be honored prior to the start of Sunday's 12:30 p.m. contest with Princeton.
 
The Big Red is 7-30 on the season while fielding one of the youngest teams in college softball, with seven of the squad's nine position players and one of the squad's two starting pitchers in their freshmen seasons. Despite their youth, head coach Julie Farlow's squad leads the league in home runs (22) and is second in doubles (52). Cornell's batting average (.280) in league play is better than its overall total (.259), and the team is 4-11 in its last 15 contests after going 3-19 to begin the year.
 
Freshman Allison Kerce (.330, six home runs, 25 RBI) is batting .429 with a league-high five home runs in its 12 conference contests. Seven of the team's top eight hitters in Ivy play this season have been freshmen, with junior Bridgette Rooney batting a team-high .340 with six home runs and 24 RBI overall. In fact, seniors have only accounted for six of the team's 923 at bats offensively (99.3 percent), with freshmen accounting for 603 (65.3 percent).
 
Freshman Ashley Delany (3-8, 7.97 ERA) and junior Katie Lew (4-16, 9.49 ERA) have combined for all seven victories in the circle, with Lew striking out 53 in 87 innings of work. Junior Lisa Nelson missed several weeks due to injury, but has been solid in her return over 7.0 innings, scattering six hits and six runs while striking out six. Backing them is a team that sports a .952 fielding percentage.
 
Ithaca College, under longtime head coach Deb Pallozzi who will retire at the conclusion of the season, enters the week with a 21-5-1 record and a perfect 10-0 mark in Liberty League play. The Bombers have won 11 straight and are 10-1-1 at home at Kostrinsky Field. Ithaca is ranked No. 14 in Division III thanks to a pitching staff allowing opponents to hit just .228 while sporting a 1.57 team ERA. Beth Fleming is 9-1 with a 0.92 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work, while Emily Holden (6-2, 1.01 ERA) and Haley Congdon (5-2, 2.53 ERA) have also combined for 11 wins and 63 strikeouts in 97 innings of work. IC is hitting .327 with a pair of hitters (Vanessa Brown and Alex Wright) batting better than .400. Brown is hitting .467 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI and Wright is batting .438 with 10 doubles and 23 RBI. Ithaca is fielding at a .969 clip as a team with just 23 errors in 27 contests. Pallozzi sports an 879-408-2 record in 31 seasons on South Hill and is a seven-time conference coach of the year.
 
Princeton is still squarely in the mix for the Ivy League playoffs with six games remaining and a 9-6 conference record. The Tigers, who snapped a five-game skid by salvaging a win in the series final with Harvard on Sunday, will visit Monmouth on Tuesday for a single game before heading to Ithaca. Kaylee Grant ranks among the league leaders with her .421 batting average and has driven in 17 runs and Megan Donahey is hitting .361 with 24 runs scored. Allie Reynolds is 8-13 with a 4.39 ERA and has a team-best 53 strikeouts in 119.2 innings of work with nine complete games. She has started 21 of the team's 34 games and has pitched 57 percent of the team's innings so far this year. Two-time Ivy League Coach of the Year Lisa Van Ackeren is in her seventh season at the helm of the Tiger program and has a 133-167 record.