April 12, 2005

Last Week's Recap:
The Big Red ended up splitting last week's action, going 3-3. The week started off with a mid-week doubleheader against Canisius. Game one ended with a 5-4 Griffins victory, despite a late Big Red rally. Game two was a 9-1 Cornell win, due in large part to a first inning grand slam from senior co-captain Erin Kizer.

The weekend brought the Big Red's Ivy opener -- a Saturday double dip with Penn. Junior Caitlin Warren put the Big Red up early with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Kizer then had a bunt single that scored senior co-captain Lauren May to put the Big Red up for good, 3-2. Game two was a bit more lopsided, as May belted three home runs, the last of which gave the Big Red an 11-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, ending the game.

Sunday's opponent was Princeton, who had played 24 innings in its doubleheader with Columbia the night before. The Big Red looked to be in control, heading into the seventh inning with a three run lead, only to see Princeton's Calli Jo Varner hit a grand slam to steal the victory. Game two was a pitcher's duel in which the Tigers scratched out two runs to take the 2-0 win.

Based on her 11-for-18 (.611) performance, Lauren May was named the Ivy League Player of the Week. She hit five home runs, three doubles and drove in nine runs. Her slugging percentage was an impressive 1.611.

With four Ivy games in the books, May is leading or tied for the conference lead in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.583), runs scored (7), home runs (tied, 3), RBI (7), total bases (17), on base percentage (.643) and slugging percentage (1.417).

The Upcoming Week:
After splitting last week's games going 3-3, the Big Red will play its first road contest of the season, traveling to St. Bonaventure for a doubleheader on Wednesday. Cornell will return to Niemand•Robison Field for an Ivy weekend featuring doubleheaders with Brown and Yale.

St. Bonaventure (5-14):
When: Wednesday, April 13, 3 p.m. (doubleheader)
Series Began: 1994
Series Record: Cornell leads 23-7
Last Meeting: Cornell 4, St. Bonaventure 2; Cornell 6, St. Bonaventure 2 - April 14, 2004 (at Ithaca, N.Y.)
Last Cornell Win: Cornell 6, St. Bonaventure 2 (Game 2) - April 14, 2004
Last St. Bonaventure Win: St. Bonaventure 5, Cornell 0 (Game 2) - April 17, 2002
Streak: Cornell 4

The Bonnies enter this week's play with a record of 5-14, riding a five game winning streak. St. Bonaventure is coming off of consecutive doubleheader sweeps of Temple and Dayton. Prior to the wins against Temple, the Bonnies had dropped 14 of their first 15 games.

Laurie Stone leads the team in hitting with a .304 average. She is also tied for the team lead in RBI, knocking in eight runs. Kim Dodson and Kristin Brunetto are tied for the team lead in extra-base hits with four. All of Dodson's extra-base hits have been doubles, while Brunetto has one double, one triple and two home runs. Her two round-trippers are tops on the team.

Two Bonaventure pitchers have seen the bulk of the pitching duties this season. Christine Keleher (3-8) and Brianna Bricker (2-4) have combined 97.2 of the team's 120 innings pitched. Keleher sports a 4.01 ERA, starting in 10 of her 11 appearances and pitching seven complete games. Bricker has a 4.03 ERA on the year and has started six games. Each pitcher has struck out 31 batters.

Brown (4-11-1, 0-4 Ivy):
When: Saturday, April 16, 12 p.m. (doubleheader)
Series Began: 1994
Series Record: Cornell leads 14-11
Last Meeting: Cornell 2, Brown 0; Cornell 4, Brown 2 - May 8, 2004 (Ivy League playoff, at Providence, R.I.)
Last Cornell Win: Cornell 4, Brown 2 (Game 2, Ivy playoff) - May 8, 2004
Last Brown Win: Brown 8, Cornell 7 (Game 2) - April 10, 2004
Streak: Cornell 2

Brown had its first four games of the season at the Towson Tournament cancelled and has struggled to get things going with a 4-11-1 record this year. After winning three of four against Boston University and Central Connecticut, the Bears have lost four in a row heading into this week's action. A home doubleheader with Rhode Island is on the schedule before Brown heads to Ithaca for Saturday's twin bill.

Courtney Jenkins leads the team in batting average (.298) and slugging percentage (.468). Her 14 hits and five doubles are good for the team lead. She is tied with three other players with one home run. Rachel Fleitell leads the team in runs scored (7) and RBI (7).

Uchenna Omokaro (3-5) leads the pitching staff with a 1.98 ERA in 54.2 innings pitched. She has struck out 49 hitters and issued only 19 walks. She has gone the distance in each of the eight games she has started. Marissa Berkes (1-6) has seen the rest of the innings for Brown this season. In 47 innings pitched, Berkes has walked 10 and struck out 24, amassing a 5.17 ERA.

Yale (11-17, 2-2):
When: Sunday, April 17, 12 p.m. (doubleheader)
Series Began: 1994
Series Record: Yale leads 12-10
Last Meeting: Cornell 0, Yale 2; Cornell 4, Yale 1 - April 9, 2004 (at New Haven, Conn.)
Last Cornell Win: Cornell 4, Yale 1 (Game 2) - April 9, 2004
Last Yale Win: Yale 2, Cornell 0 - April 9, 2004
Streak: Cornell 1

The Bulldogs kicked off the year with a win, beating LaSalle in Osceola, Fla. and then dropped its next four games. Yale returned from Florida with a 3-9 record, hoping to gain momentum heading into the Ivy portion of the schedule. Split doubleheaders with Dartmouth and Harvard have put the Bulldogs' Ivy record at 2-2 heading into the weekend. Overall, Yale is 11-17 and will play doubleheaders at Fairfield and Columbia before taking on the Big Red.

Hitting .302, Kristy Kwiatkowski is doing the most damage to opposing pitching. She is second on the team in hits (26) and first on the team in doubles (7), triples (1) and RBI (10). She is also tied for the team lead in home runs with two. Chelsea Kanyer is leading the team with a .349 batting average. Her 30 hits is first on the team and her five doubles and nine RBI are second on the team.

Peggy Hunt has pitched 88 of the team's 191.1 innings this season. She has a 7-6 record and a 2.23 ERA. She has two shutouts to go along with her nine complete games. She has fanned 70 hitters and walked just 11. Ashley Linnenbank has seen significant action on the mound as well, pitching 63 innings for a 3-7 record. Her 2.00 ERA is tops on the team. Jessica Meyer has appeared in 10 games, going 1-4 in six starts. In her 40.1 innings, Meyer has a 2.26 ERA.