ITHACA, N.Y. — After falling two wins short of the Ivy League tournament in 2023, the Cornell softball team will look to take the next step this season with a promising young core that expects to contend for the league's postseason. 

Julie Farlow, the Jan Rock Zubrow '77 Head Coach of Softball, enters her ninth year in charge of the program. The Big Red went 16-26 overall and came in fifth in the Ivy with a 9-12 mark last season, finishing just behind Columbia (11-10 Ivy) for the final spot in the conference tournament. Cornell was picked fifth in the 2024 Ivy League preseason poll. 

Cornell Returns Plenty of Power, Offensive Production 

Cornell drove in 142 runs as a team last season — good for fourth in the Ivy League. It returns 71% of that production, with 57% coming from Lauren Holt (sophomore), Sydney Stapf (sophomore) and Emma Antich (junior). 

Holt and Stapf, both sophomores, and Antich, a junior, combined to drive in 81 runs during the 2023 season. Holt led the team with 28 runs batted in (tied for third in the Ivy), Stapf had 27 RBI (tied for fourth), and Antich plated 26 (tied for fifth). 

All three players also finished at or near the top of the Ivy in other offensive categories, including home runs. Holt, a second-team All-Ivy selection, led the league with nine homers and finished fifth with 65 total bases. A first-team All-Ivy selection, Antich finished the season tied for third in the Ivy with seven homers, while Stapf had five long balls, tied for fourth in the league. 

Stapf and departed senior Celia Macari led the team with 10 doubles (fourth in the Ivy). Sophomore lefty slap hitter Kate Callaway had three triples, tied for the most in the league. Antich had two. 

Other offensive notes:

• Stapf led the Big Red and finished fourth in the Ivy League with 20 walks. Callaway took 18 walks. 

• Holt was third in the Ivy with a .607 slugging percentage and fifth with a .940 OPS. 

• Callaway led the Big Red with six stolen bases in 11 attempts. 

Young Pitchers Primed For Larger Roles, Defense Expected To be Solid

The Big Red will rely on junior Maxine McCraw and sophomores Kyrie Denny and Madalyn Covelli in the circle after losing its top two pitchers from last season — Mia Burd and Gabrielle Maday — to graduation. Burd and Maday accounted for 14 wins (seven apiece), 102 strikeouts and 171.2 innings pitched in 2023. Both had earned run averages under 4.00. 

Denny pitched 47.1 innings over 13 appearances as a freshman. She struck out 28 batters and earned two victories, the first against Merrimack and the other against Harvard. 

Covelli, who made 14 appearances, pitched 39.1 innings, struck out 24 and recorded her first collegiate save in Cornell's win over Penn State. McCraw logged 20.1 innings in 13 appearances and had one save. 

Defensively, Cornell led the Ivy League in double plays turned (12) in 2023. Sophomore Ella Harrod, who has moved to shortstop after playing second base as a freshman, had a .942 fielding percentage and fielded six of those double plays (tied for third in the Ivy). She was third in the league in assists with 92. 

Antich, who played first and second base in 2023, helped turn seven double plays (second in the league) and had 191 putouts (sixth in the league). Stapf played first base and left field and had 171 putouts. 

Callaway, Cornell's center fielder, had 70 putouts over 38 games as a freshman. 

Other defensive notes:

• Senior infielder Lilly Travieso played in 19 games with 17 starts last season, mostly at third base, recording 33 assists. 

• Senior outfielder Marisa Zorrilla played in 30 games with 23 starts. She had 27 putouts and three assists.

Cornell Starts Season at The Spring Games 

The Big Red opens the 2024 season at the Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida. It faces Middle Tenessee State and Butler on Friday, Feb. 23, with the first game scheduled for 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, Cornell faces Bellarmine at 11 a.m. and Siena at 4 p.m. It finishes the event against St. Bonaventure at 10 a.m. Sunday. 

• Cornell is 1-1 all-time against Middle Tennessee, 27-8 against Siena and 26-11 against St. Bonaventure. 

• The Big Red will be facing Butler and Bellarmine for the first time.