ITHACA, N.Y. — Alyson Intihar's home run total dropped from 11 as a freshman softball player at Cornell University last year to three as a sophomore.

Big deal.

The collegiate softball career of the 2006 Seneca Valley graduate is progressing just fine, thank you. Intihar's power shortage was not a power outage.

"What Aly did at the plate in terms of home runs last year wasn't a fluke,"said Cornell assistant coach Julie Platt. "The difference this year was more her making adjustments at the plate than pitchers making adjustments on the mound, I think.

"We played our first 16 games in Florida and there were stiff winds blowing in. Fly balls were being held up and Aly changed her swing to hit more line drives and hard ground balls. That's the way she hit all year."

Not that anyone's complaining. Intihar hit .393 — up from her .351 average of last year — and led the Ivy League with a school-record 17 doubles. Her 68 hits fell one short of the school record and she was the only Cornell player to start all 50 games.

The Big Red wound up winning 40 of 50 games this season, including a school-record 16 Ivy League triumphs. But a pair of one-run losses to Princeton in a doubleheader closing the league season doomed Cornell to a fourth successive second-place finish in the conference.

"Frustrating — that's all I can say,"Intihar said. "We're more hungry than ever."

While she started every game, Intihar played through pain during much of the campaign. She pulled a hip flexor early in the season, popped a knee after that, then tore ligaments in a thumb late in the season.

On her coach's advice, she won't play softball this summer.

"I definitely need a break right now,"Intihar admitted. "I'm going to Ecuador this summer to do some volunteer work and some traveling."

A second-team ESPNregional academic all-American, Intihar is majoring in applied economics and management and carries a 3.58 grade point average.

"My plan was to get into a school that was academically challenging to me, and sports helped me accomplish that,"Intihar said. "I doubt I'd be here without softball."

And Cornell wouldn't be an Ivy League contender without Intihar. The league's Utility Player of the Year her freshman season, she was inserted at shortstop just before league play this year.

"Our regular shortstop was struggling defensively in Florida,"Platt said. "We moved her to the outfield, where she settled in and had a great year. Aly more than plugged the hole at shortstop. She had a phenomenal year there."

While former shortstop Sam Hare went on to hit .343 with eight home runs as an outfielder, Intihar was named Cornell's Defensive Player of the Year.

Along the way, Intihar led the Ivy League with 47 runs scored and in batting average with runners in scoring position.

Cornell's .351 team batting average was among the top three in the country. Intihar struck out only seven times in 173 at-bats, making her one of the three toughest softball hitters to strike out in the nation.

"It's been no surprise what she's doing here,"Platt said. "Her demeanor is ideal and she's the hardest worker on the team. Her numbers are a result of her hard work.

"Aly is constantly evaluating herself, asking us what she can do to get better. And she's only going to get better."