ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell softball team (2-7) will look to get back on track when it plays five games over three days at the Penn State Tournament in University Park, Pa., from March 15-17. The Big Red, which has lost four straight games, faces Canisius (4-7) at 1:30 p.m. and Penn State (15-6) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Nittany Lion Softball Park. It plays Lehigh (7-10) at 1:30 p.m. and Binghamton at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Cornell plays Binghamton (11-7) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday to close the tournament. All games will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus. 

Holt Near or At The Top of Ivy, Nation In Multiple Offensive Categories 

Lauren Holt has been dominant at the plate through nine games, as she enters the Penn State Tournament batting .500 (tied for first in the Ivy League) with a 1.071 slugging percentage (first in the Ivy). In 28 at-bats, Holt has 14 total hits, four doubles (second in the Ivy) and four home runs (tied for first in the Ivy). 

Cornell has driven in 45 runs as a team, and Holt accounts for 21 (or 46%) of those, the most RBI in the Ivy League by nine. Holt has recorded at least one hit in eight games and driven in at least one run in seven games. 

Nationally, Holt ranks first in RBI per game (2.33), third in slugging percentage, seventh in home runs and 18th in on-base percentage (0.562). 

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, 28 RBI in 2023)

Other Cornell Team, Individual Notes

• Junior Emma Antich and sophomores Sydney Stapf and Ella Harrod enter the PSU Tournament with batting averages over .300. 

• Stapf has driven in seven runs, the second-most on the team. 

• Antich, batting .346 with a .538 slugging percentage, hit her first homer of the season against George Mason. 

• Harrod has four doubles, tied for the most on the team. 

• Sophomore Kate Callaway leads the Big Red with eight walks. 

• Holt leads Cornell with two stolen bases on two attempts. 

• Cornell has turned three double plays through nine games. 

• Holt won Ivy League Player of the Week after an impressive performance to start the season at the Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Fla. She had 14 of Cornell's 32 RBI and nine hits in 17 at-bats over five games. She had three homers and two doubles. 

• 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 Antich. Those three drove in 81 runs. 

Last Time at the Penn State Tournament 

Cornell went 2-1 at the Penn State Tournament with wins over Penn State and the University of Maryland Baltimore County last season. 

The Big Red beat Penn State 4-3 for the program's first win over a Big Ten team since its 1-0 win over Iowa in 2008. Stapf drove in three runs with a triple, and Antich plated the game-winning run with a triple of her own. Sophomore pitcher Madalyn Covelli earned the save in the circle. 

Cornell beat UMBC 10-2 in six innings. Stapf drove in two of the Big Red's runs in that win. 

Series Notes: Canisius, Penn State, Lehigh, Binghamton 

• Cornell owns a 14-10 lead against Canisius. The Big Red has lost the last two meetings. 

• Cornell earned its first victory over Penn State last year. The Nittany Lions have a 3-1 lead in the series. 

• Cornell is 2-2 all-time against Lehigh. The teams have not played each other since the 2000 season. 

• The Big Red has a 16-12 lead in its series against Binghamton. The Bearcats have won 11 of the last 14 meetings. 

• Cornell last beat Binghamton in 2022.