Rams off to 3-1 start at NTC Spring Games

Cornell's softball team improved to 3-1 at the NTC Spring Games after posting a pair of victories Sunday.

The Rams (8-2 overall) rode a one-hit shutout from junior Jill Trzaska in a 2-0 win over Buffalo State in Sunday's opener. Cornell followed up with a 5-2 triumph over Middlebury.

Cornell split two games Saturday during the first day of its Spring Break trip. The Rams rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Williams. 6-5. Cornell then fell 5-1 to UW-Superior.

Trzaska (4-0) notched her second victory on the trip with a seven-strikeout gem against Buffalo State, which managed an infield single in the third inning for its lone hit of the game. Trzaska allowed four walks and faced six batters over the minimum.

The Rams scored all the runs they would need in the bottom of the first. Sam Tonelli drew a bases-loaded walk and Chrissy Rasor singled home Nicole Duncan to give Cornell a 2-0 lead, which stood the rest of the way.

Cornell took advantage of five Middlebury errors in Game 2 Sunday. Freshman Amanda Engel (3-0) went the distance on the mound, allowing two earned runs and seven hits.

Duncan went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and a pair of RBIs against Middlebury. She had a run-scoring triple in the first as Cornell built a 2-0 lead. Brooke Griffin also drove in two runs and freshman leadoff hitter Rebekah Ozga scored three times.

Junior Chrissy Rasor provided the final heroics against Williams, driving in Simone Wright with the winning run on a bases-loaded fielder's choice grounder to second base. The Rams trailed 5-2 entering the final frame. Carly Goolsby started the comeback with an RBI triple. Trzaska then tied it at 5-5 with a two-run single to center field.

Trzaska tossed a complete-game victory, allowing two earned runs and overcoming five errors behind her. She struck out five and walked two. Trzaska helped her cause with two hits and two RBIs at the plate. Goolsby and Rasor also finished with two hits apiece.

UW-Superior broke open a 1-0 contest with three runs in the fifth inning to hand the Rams their lone loss on the trip. Goolsby went 2-for-3 to lead Cornell's six-hit attack. Rasor singled home Wright for the team's only run in the top of the sixth. Cornell starting pitcher Jackie Sernek gave up four runs on five hits over 4.1 innings.

Florida schedule altered - Cornell's scheduled games Monday against Buffalo State and Oberlin were postponed due to lightning and rain.

The Rams resume play Wednesday, March 30 with games against Middlebury (9:30 a.m.), Franklin (1:30 p.m.) and Buffalo State (4:30 p.m.). Cornell concludes its Florida swing with three more games Thursday, March 31 against Franklin (9:30 a.m.), Oberlin (11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.).