MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Slugger Lauren Holt continued her offensive tear, while pitcher Madalyn Covelli picked up her first collegiate win as the Cornell softball team (1-3) split its two games on Saturday afternoon at the Spring Games at the Madeira Beach Softball Complex.
The Big Red lost 7-3 to Bellarmine to start the day before beating Siena 5-3 for its first victory of the young season.
GAME TWO RECAP: Cornell 5, Siena 3
Holt, who drove in 10 runs and homered twice on Friday, kept crushing opposing pitching on Saturday.
The 2023 second-team All-Ivy selection put Cornell ahead 1-0 in the first with a single to centerfield. Two innings later, she sent a two-run homer over the left-field fence to put Cornell ahead 4-2.
Holt, the Ivy League's leader in homers as a freshman last season, has 13 of Cornell's 24 RBI through four games. She has eight hits, including two doubles and three homers, in 15 at-bats.
Sophomore infielder Ella Harrod added a key insurance run in the sixth inning, driving in sophomore outfielder Kate Callaway with a one-out double to give Cornell a 5-3 lead. Harrod had two hits in four at-bats and scored on freshman Maddue Ullensvang's sacrifice fly in the first inning.
Covelli, a sophomore, earned the win in the circle with an impressive performance in relief. She allowed no runs, one hit and struck out two batters in 3.2 innings of work. McCraw started the game and struck out two batters in 3.1 innings in the circle.
Cornell faces St. Bonaventure at 10 a.m. Sunday.
GAME ONE RECAP: Bellarmine 7, Cornell 3
A big fourth inning lifted Bellarmine University to a 7-3 win over the Cornell softball team on Saturday afternoon at the Madeira Beach Softball Complex.
Cornell sophomore pitcher Madalyn Covelli worked out of trouble in the top of the first inning, striking out two consecutive batters to escape after allowing a run on two hits and a walk.
After Covelli tossed a pair of clean frames, the Big Red tied the game in the bottom half of the third when junior Emma Antich scored on sophomore Sydney Stapf's fielder's choice. But the Knights took control in the next half-inning.
Bellarmine sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth and pushed across six runs. Clean-up hitter Serenity Shemwell's two-run single of junior pitcher Maxine McCraw, who came on in relief, gave the Knights a 7-1 lead.
McCraw kept the Big Red in the game, as she retired Bellarmine in order in the fifth and got through the sixth after Harlie Bickett's one-out double. Senior Marisa Zorrilla drove in freshman Maddie Ullensvang with a single in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Big Red's deficit to five (7-2).
McCraw worked a clean seventh, and the Big Red loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning with the heart of its order looming. Bellarmine pitcher Selena Zuniga got out of the jam, though, recording three straight outs after walking home a run.
