PRINCETON, N.J. -- It all came down to the final day of the season, but the 2015 Ivy League Softball Championship Series is set.
Penn and Dartmouth are set to square-off in Hanover, N.H. on May 2 and 3 (if needed) after each team got key wins over the final weekend. The Quakers took two from Columbia on Sunday to clinch the South division, and the Big Green defeated Harvard in the first game of a four game set to lock up the north on Saturday.
This is the third-straight season these two teams will matchup in the Championship Series, with Dartmouth winning in three games last year and Penn taking the crown in three in 2013.
Other series this weekend included Cornell playing spoiler by taking two from Princeton and knocking the Tigers out of playoff contention. The games were also head coach Dick Bloods’ final Ivy League contests with Cornell, and the Big Red’s all-time leader in any sport will wrap up his historic career with a double-header against Binghamton on Tuesday.
The final matchup of the 2015 Ivy League softball slate had Brown and Yale splitting four games.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Harvard senior Andrea Del Conte finished her senior campaign by hitting .529 and stealing four bases in games against Bryant and Ivy rival Dartmouth. The speedster’s 22 steals this season ranks as fourth-most in a single season in Harvard history, and her 59 swipes is good for fifth in program history. The senior also drove in four runs and scored two more on the week.
Del Conte’s Statistics for the Week
.529 Avg., 2 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Penn senior Alexis Borden stepped up when her team needed her most, going 2-1 as the Quakers fought of the South division. She finished with a 1.94 ERA, 13 strikeouts and two complete games, including one shutout. She paced the Ivy League this season with 140 whiffs.
Borden's Statistics for the Week
3 GS, 2 CG (1 CG shutout), 2-1, 18.0 IP, 13 K, 1.93 ERA
ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Brown freshman Katie Orona finished her stellar rookie campaign on a high note, going 1-1 against Yale, with the one loss coming in a game in which she went the distance and did not give up an earned run. Orona’s 2.23 ERA is second best in the League, and she posted a 1.50 ERA in the last weekend of the season.
Orona's Statistics for the Week
2 GS, 2 CG, 1-1, 14.0 IP, 4 K, 1.50 ERA
HONOR ROLL
Francesca Casalino, Yale (Fr., P – Dix Hills, N.Y.)
4 GP, 2 GS, 1-2, 1 CG, 18.2 IP, 9 K, 2.25 ERA
Shanna Christian, Princeton (Jr., P – Parker, Colo.)
3 GS, 2-1, 2 CG, 17.1 IP, 16 K, 2.42 ERA
Maddie Orcutt, Cornell (Fr., P – Lexington, Mass.)
3 GS, 2-1, 1 Sv., 3 CG, 23.1 IP, 19 K, 2.40 ERA
Laura Ricciardone, Harvard (Sr., P – Slidell, La.)
5 GP, 2 GS, 1-1, 1 Sv., 2 CG, 17.1 IP, 10 K, 1.21 ERA
Annie McGregor, Brown (Fr., 1B – Carlsbad, Calif.)
4 GP, .385 Avg., 4 2B, 4 RBI
Allison Skinner, Yale (Fr., INF – Katy, Texas)
5 GP, .400 Avg., 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Tori Togashi, Cornell (Fr., C/INF – Redlands, Calif.)
6 GP, .308 Avg., 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB
Alysaa Schmidt, Princeton (Sr., INF – Rocklin, Calif.)
5 GP, .389 Avg., 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Janet Leung, Brown (Jr., 2B/SS – Mississauga, Ont.)
4 GP, .500 Avg., 3 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB
Rachel Paris, Yale (Fr., OF – Venice, Calif.)
5 GP, .333 Avg., 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB
Shelby Unger, Columbia (So., 1B/OF – Yorba Linda, Calif.)
4 GP, .400 Avg., 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Leah Allen, Penn (So., OF – )
4 GP, .429 Avg., 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
Meg Parker, Cornell (Jr., P/OF – Miami)
6 GP, .474 Avg., 5 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 2
Game 1 - Penn at Dartmouth, 1 pm [ILDN]
Game 2 - Penn at Dartmouth, 3 pm [ILDN]
Sunday, May 3
Game 3 (if necessary) - Penn at Dartmouth, 1 pm [ILDN]
KEY
ILDN-Streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network