“We know that Cornell hits really well,” Brown said. “We’ve all seen their stats, so we know going in what their strengths are, and they’re definitely formidable opponents. But we’re hoping we can string together the runs we need and really rely on our defense, which has been a strength for us.”

The Crimson will also have to rely on Brown, who has continued to carry the majority of the pitching burden in the follow-up to her Ivy Rookie of the Year campaign. The sophomore is third in the conference with a 1.86 ERA and has leads all Ivy pitchers with 86 strikeouts.

“We’ll definitely need to play our game, but when we have all three aspects of our game going, from pitching to defense to offense, we can pretty much play with anyone,” Shaw said.

Today, after thousands of miles traveled and months of anticipation since the disappointing end to last year’s Ivy season—Harvard finished a game out of first place in its division and missed the chance to play in the Ivy League Championship Series—the Crimson women are ready to prove that they belong back at the top of Ancient Eight softball.

“Our first Ivy weekend is always big, regardless of who we’re playing, but knowing that we’re playing two really good teams is going to be beneficial,” Brown said. “We’re going to come out really pumped up, really hungry for the wins. Playing Princeton and Cornell, we’re going to be really fired up.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.