ITHACA, N.Y. — Sometime within the next couple of weeks, Seneca Valley graduate Alyson Intihar will swing a bat and field a grounder for the last time at Cornell University.

The senior shortstop and two-time Ivy League Player of the Year is leading the Big Red into the 64-team NCAA Women's Softball Tournament this weekend.

Cornell takes on No. 10 Arizona in its first game Friday in Tucson, Ariz. Oklahoma State plays Hofstra in the other game of that double-elimination regional.

"Arizona's coach is the U.S. Olympic coach and they're really going to be tough," Intihar said. "We're going to play hard, do our best and see what happens."

That's been Intihar's motto throughout her career at Cornell — and she's made plenty of stuff happen.

• She is graduating May 30 with a degree in applied economics and management, sporting a 3.72 grade point average as a three-time ESPN Regional Academic All-American.

• She is graduating as the Ivy League's all-time leader in hits and runs scored.

• She ranks among Cornell's all-time top 10 in nearly every offensive category.

• She led the Big Red to consecutive Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.

"Winning the conference back-to-back is what I'm most proud of," Intihar said. "Team achievements are so much more rewarding than anything you do individually."

Intihar is a four-year starter at Cornell. The Big Red are 154-50 overall, 63-17 in Ivy League play during that time.

After hitting 11 home runs and batting .351 as Cornell's No. 3 hitter her freshman year, Intihar moved into the leadoff spot in the lineup for the remainder of her career.

"She just adjusts her game and moves on," Cornell assistant coach Julie Platt said. "Alyson has strived to get better every day she's been here.

"What the team needs, she provides. She has such an ability to get on base, we decided to make full use of that skill."

Intihar struck out only twice in 182 at-bats this season. She walked nine times, was hit by a pitch four times and led the team with 68 hits while batting .374.

Despite being hit by a pitch 29 times in her career, she never missed a game or a start in four seasons.

"That's not to say she was never hurt," Cornell coach Dick Blood said. "Alyson's always playing with some type of bruise or scrape. She dives into bases hard, dives after ground balls hard.

"She's just a mentally tough player who got bigger and stronger each year."

Intihar played on despite a broken thumb with torn ligaments, sprained ankles and muscle pulls.

"You just put it out of your mind and go play," she said. "I'm going to dearly miss playing this game. My body won't."

When Cornell's postseason comes to an end, so will Intihar's playing career. After graduation, she plans to seek employment in Colorado.

"I've been focused on schoolwork and softball up to now, not job seeking," she said. "I've always wanted to live in the mountains and this is my chance to go do that."

Blood said he figured he had recruited a standout player in Intihar four years ago.

"But you never know for sure," he said. "It's hard to gauge a high school kid's work ethic or how well she'll adapt to the college game.

"From Day 1, Alyson's been a leader."

Intihar was named Cornell's Female Athlete of the Year. She's been nominated for NCAA Athlete of the Year as well.

She is only the fifth player in Ivy League history to earn Softball Player of the Year in consecutive seasons.

"Staying positive through slumps and limiting how long they last is the biggest challenge of this game because everybody goes through them," Intihar said.