ITHACA, N.Y. — After winning its last two games at the Spring Games in Florida last weekend, the Cornell softball team (2-3) will hit the road for a pair of doubleheaders against Atlantic 10 opponents. The Big Red faces George Washington on Saturday (1 and 3:30 p.m.) and George Mason on Sunday (noon and 2:30 p.m.). The latter will be broadcast live on ESPN+. 

Holt Starts Season On a Tear 

Lauren Holt won Ivy League Player of the Week for the first time in her collegiate career after driving in runs in bunches at the Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida. Over five games, the sophomore slugger had two doubles, three homers, nine total hits in 17 at-bats and 14 of Cornell's 32 RBI. She hit a two-run homer and a grand slam in the Big Red's 10-9 loss to Middle Tennessee last Friday. 

Through one week, Holt leads the Ivy League in slugging percentage (1.176), RBI, home runs and total bases (20). 

Of course, Holt's hot start doesn't come as a surprise. The 2023 second-team All-Ivy performer led the Ivy League with nine homers and finished tied for third in RBI (28) as a freshman last season. Only six other players in Cornell history have led the Big Red in those categories as freshmen. 

Cornell HR and RBI leaders as freshmen: 

• Stephanie Riggins (4 HR, 17 RBI in 1995)

• Allison Batten (8 HR, 44 RBI in 1998)

• Lauren May (16 HR, 52 RBI in 2002)

• Meg Risica (8 HR, 30 RBI in 2006)

• Alyson Inhitar (11 HR and 41 RBI in 2007)

• Bridgette Rooney (10 HR, 30 RBI in 2017)

• Lauren Holt (9 HR, 29 RBI in 2023)

Stapf Also Off To A Strong Start 

Sophomore Sydney Stapf also had a strong weekend at the plate, producing for the Big Red at the bottom of the order. She batted .412 (7 for 17) and drove in six runs, including three on a bases-clearing double in Cornell's 8-3 win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday. 

Stapf had at least one hit in all five games and drove in at least one run in four games. 

Covelli Finished Weekend Strong at Spring Games 

Cornell sophomore pitcher Madalyn Covelli finished strong at the Spring Games, allowing just six runs combined in wins over Siena and St. Bonaventure. 

Covelli (2-1), who got credit for both victories, allowed no runs, one hit and struck out two batters in 3.2 innings against Siena. She gave up one run on five hits in four innings against the Bonnies. 

Covelli's win against Siena was the first of her collegiate career. 

Other Team Notes

• Freshman Hailey Pirkey drove in her first collegiate runs with a three-run double in the seventh inning against St. Bonaventure. 

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

• Holt, Stapf and Antich drove 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). 

• Cornell, which just missed qualifying for the Ivy League tournament last year, was picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League preseason poll. 

Series Notes: Cornell vs. George Washington and George Mason 

• Cornell is 3-4-1 all-time against George Washington. 

• The Big Red swept the doubleheader between the teams in March 2016. George Washington had won four in a row in the series before that. 

• George Mason has a 16-20 edge over Cornell in the series, which began in 1994. The Big Red is 14-20 on the road against the Patriots. 

• George Mason has won eight of the last nine games in the series. Cornell's most recent win came in 2018 in Fairfax. 

Up Next 

Cornell will play five games at the Penn State Tournament from March 15-17 in State College, Pa.