CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball is back on the road this weekend, as the Crimson head to Ithaca, New York for a three-game Ivy League series against Cornell on Friday, Apr. 3 and Saturday Apr. 4 at Niemand-Robinson Field.

Friday's doubleheader between the Crimson and the Big Red is scheduled for a noon start, while the series finale is slated for a noon first pitch as well. All three games from the Empire State will air live on ESPN+ this weekend.

CRIMSON UPDATES

• Harvard is 11-14-1 entering the weekend, as the Crimson is tied with three other teams at 3-3 for second place in the Ivy League standings.
• Last week saw Harvard open its 2026 home schedule at Soldiers Field with a three-game set against Dartmouth. After dropping the first two games of the series by one-run decisions, a walk off solo home run in the eighth inning from senior infielder Finley Payne completed a four-run crimson comeback in a 13-12 victory.
• Harvard's 13 runs in the series finale against the Big Green represents a new season-high for runs scored in a game, as the Crimson tallied 18 hits as well, the most in a game since the 2024 campaign.
• A native of Liberty Township, Ohio, Payne hit three home runs between both games of Sunday's doubleheader against Dartmouth, as Payne now leads the Crimson with six home runs this season.
• The 2025 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, sophomore utility Alexa Muller was stellar at the plate in the Dartmouth series. A native of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Muller led all Crimson in the Dartmouth series with seven hits and eight RBIs.
• An All-Ivy League First Team selection last year, Muller leads the Crimson with a .382 batting average this season, as 12 of Muller's 16 RBIs this season have arrived during Ivy League action.
• Harvard leads the Ivy League in team earned run average (3.35), shutouts (3), strikeouts per seven innings (5.98). The Crimson's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.39 also leads the Ancient Eight and ranks 23^rd nationally this season.
• Harvard's team captains this season are senior pitcher Ryan Grace, junior outfielder Audrey Szollosi and junior utility Megan Davies.
• Head coach Jenny Rohn is in her third season at the helm of the Crimson softball program, leading Harvard to the Ivy League Tournament in back-to-back seasons and an Ivy League regular season title in 2024. Rohn is 99-91-1 in her coaching career and 64-44-1 in her tenure at Harvard.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED

• Cornell is 12-13 this season, as the Big Red owns a 4-5 mark in Ivy League play after three series in conference action.
• 3-1 in its last four outings, Cornell topped Le Moyne, 14-5, in its midweek clash with the Dolphins. In its last Ivy League series, the Big Red recovered from a series opening defeat against Penn and won back-to-back games to end its time in the Keystone State.
• Cornell leads the Ivy League with a .346 batting average and 157 runs scored. Senior catcher Lauren Holt currently leads the Ivy League with a .507 batting average, as that mark also ranks 10^th nationally this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Harvard leads the all-time series against Cornell, 59-31, as the series first started during the 1982 campaign.
• Last year saw the Crimson sweep the Big Red at Soldiers Field to conclude the 2025 regular season. Across three games in Cambridge, Harvard outscored Cornell, 15-2.
• Across the last 10 contests between the Crimson and Big Red, Harvard owns a 6-4 record, currently maintaining a five-game winning streak against the Big Red.

LIGHTS OUT

• Once again, Harvard boasts one of the best pitching staffs in the Ivy League, as the Crimson is defined by its skill and depth in the circle.
• After 26 contests, Harvard leads the Ivy League with a 3.35 team ERA, as the Crimson is only one of two teams in the Ancient Eight with a team ERA below 4.00.
• Junior pitcher Nicolette Hunter, who won Ivy League Pitcher of the Week in back-to-back weeks earlier this season, ranks third in both ERA (2.37) and strikeouts (62) this season. An All-Ivy League Second Team selection last season, Hunter has tossed three complete games this season, a team high.
• Grace's 1.80 ERA across 35.0 innings pitched currently ranks first in the Ivy League, as the Sammamish, Washington native's .252 opposing batting average also ranks fourth in the conference.
• Harvard is the only school in the Ivy League to have two pitchers with an ERA below 3.00 this season.

R.O.Y FACTORY

• The last three Ivy League Rookies of the Year are all products of the Crimson, as Harvard is the first school in Ivy League history to produce three consecutive Rookie of the Year honorees.
• In 2025, Muller won Ivy League Rookie of the Year after shining at the plate, especially in conference play.
• Muller led all first-years last season in the Ancient Eight in batting average (.368) and hits (28). A native of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Muller ranked third in batting average (.436) and second in on-base percentage (.515) in Ivy League contests last season.
• The 2024 season saw junior infielder Sophie Sun orchestrate one of the greatest rookie seasons in recent memory, leading all first-years in the NCAA in slugging percentage (.797) and ranked third among all first-years in the nation in batting average (.421).
• Senior pitcher Riley Flynn was the 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year after setting a new program record for saves in a season with six, as the Phoenix, Arizona native was the 2023 Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player after tallying 11 innings in all three wins for the Crimson.
• To start the 2026 campaign, first-years Sheila Forbes and Hannah Ziecik have both earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. Last week saw Forbes post a team-best .667 batting average in the Dartmouth series with six hits.

HERE COMES THE SUN

• Now in her third season with the Crimson, Sun is one of the most explosive and exciting offensive talents in the Ivy League.
• Starting in all 26 games at shortstop this year, Sun leads Harvard in OPS (1.048), RBIs (26), total bases (49) and slugging percentage (.598) this season. Sun's 26 RBIs ranks second in the Ivy League this season.
• The first student-athlete in conference history to win Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season, Sun ranked in the top five in the Ivy League in batting average (.411), on-base percentage (.469), runs scored (33), hits (53) and total bases (81) during the 2025 season.
• A 2024 Top 10 Finalist for the Tucci/NFCA Freshman of the Year award, Sun is the current all-time program leader in slugging percentage (.686) and ranks second all-time in batting average (.401).
• Sun ranked No. 98 in D1Softball's D100 Top 100 Mid-Major players, only one of three Ivy League student-athletes to receive the honor to start the season.

IVY LEAGUE EXCELLENCE

• Over the last five full seasons, Harvard is one of the top softball programs in the Ivy League, owning a league-best 90-36 record in conference play from 2018 to 2025.
• In that time span, Harvard is the only team in the Ancient Eight to not drop double-digit conference games in a single season.
• Harvard won back-to-back Ivy League regular season titles in 2023 and 2024, as it won the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in Princeton in 2023.

CRIMSON ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY

• Harvard softball is rolling with a roster that pulls talent from across the nation this season.
• 11 different states are included on the Crimson's roster this season including Arizona, New Jersey, Hawaii, Washington, California, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina.

UP NEXT

Harvard returns to New England next weekend, as the Crimson head to Providence, Rhode Island for a three-game set at Brown on Saturday, Apr. 11 and Sunday, Apr. 12.

For complete coverage of Harvard Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@HarvardSB) and Instagram (@harvardsb).