HANOVER, N.H. - The Cornell softball team defeated the Dartmouth Big Green in a pair of games during its doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Dartmouth Softball Park. The Big Red claimed a 9-8 victory in the opening game, and closed the doubleheader with a 14-9 win in eight innings.

Charlize Cai led Cornell offensively across the doubleheader, highlighted by a dominant game two performance in which she went 4-for-5 with five RBIs, while adding another hit and run production in the first game. She was complemented by Tarisa Frans, who totaled five hits on the day, including a four-hit, three-RBI effort in Game 2, helping power Cornell to 28 total runs across the two games.

Cornell's pitching staff showed resilience across both contests. Emma Harshberger earned the win in game two with five innings and four runs allowed before Madalyn Covelli and Laney Freiband combined in relief to close it out, while Mila Fiordalisi led the effort in game one with 6.1 innings and four runs allowed to earn the win.

Game One
The Big Green jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on a bases-loaded walk, an error, another walk, and an RBI single. Cornell responded in the second inning when Sofia Hernandez homered to cut the deficit to 4-1, and continued to chip away in the third inning as Harshberger doubled to drive in a run and make it 4-2.

Dartmouth extended its lead in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Wilson, pushing the score to 5-2. Cornell answered in the fifth inning with a four-run frame to take its first lead of the game. A sacrifice fly from Ella Harrod and an RBI single from Hailey Pirkey tied the game at 5-5 before Hernandez delivered a two-run home run to give the Big Red a 6-5 advantage.

The back-and-forth battle continued in the fifth inning as Dartmouth regained the lead on a two-run home run from Schramm, making it 7-6. Cornell responded again in the sixth inning when Avery Wolfe homered to tie the game at 7-7. The Big Red took the lead for good in the seventh inning as Hernandez launched her second home run of the game to make it 8-7, and Susanna Pate added an RBI bunt single to extend the lead to 9-7.

Dartmouth added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 9-8, but Cornell held on to secure the victory.

Game Two
The Big Green opened the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead, and added two more runs in the third inning on an RBI double and a fielder's choice to extend the advantage to 3-0. Dartmouth built its lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning on a three-run home run from Malone, creating early separation.

Cornell began to chip away in the middle innings, starting in the fourth when Wolfe singled to drive in a run and cut the deficit to 3-1. The Big Red put together a four-run fifth inning to get back into the game, highlighted by Wolfe's two-RBI single and a two-run double from Cai, trimming the deficit to 6-5. Dartmouth responded with an RBI double in the bottom half to extend the lead to 7-5.

The Big Red rallied again in the seventh inning to take control. Cai delivered a two-RBI single to tie the game at 7-7 before Harrod doubled to give Cornell an 8-7 lead. Frans followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-7, but Dartmouth answered with a two-run home run in the bottom half to tie the game at 9-9 and force extra innings.

Cornell broke the game open in the eighth inning with a five-run frame. A bases-loaded walk to Maddie Ullensvang gave Cornell a 10-9 lead before Cai added an RBI on a fielder's choice to make it 11-9. Harrod drove in another run on a groundout, and Frans capped the scoring with a two-run single to extend the lead to 14-9. Cornell held Dartmouth scoreless in the bottom half to secure the win.

Next Up
The Cornell softball team will return to the diamond tomorrow for the series finale against Dartmouth. The Big Red and the Big Green will meet at 12:30 p.m. at Dartmouth Softball Park. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.