ITHACA, N.Y. -- After winning the Empire regular-season title for the ninth year in a row, the Bomber softball team will host this weekend's Empire 8 Championship Tournament at Kostrinsky Field. Ithaca, the top seed in the four-team double-elimination tournament, takes on fourth-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology at noon in Friday's second game. The tournament opens with second-seeded St. John Fisher meeting third-seeded Alfred at 10 a.m. Fans can follow every game of the tournament through Live Stats.

Ithaca has hosted eight of the nine Empire 8 Championship Tournaments and has also won eight of the nine events.

The Bombers, who are ranked eighth in the latest NCAA East Region poll. are batting .330 with 75 extra-base hits and averaging six runs per game. Sophomore Brittany Lillie is hitting a team-best .449 and leads the Bombers in slugging percentage (.735), on-base percentage (.476) and runs (33). Freshman shortstop Annmarie Forenza, a .417 hitter, tops the team with 60 hits, 32 runs batted in and 12 doubles, setting Bomber freshman records in each category. She and Lillie have each hit five home runs. Sophomore first baseman Courtney Noster is a .375 hitter and sophomore catcher Kerry Barger (.344) and freshman center fielder Julianna Van Meter (.336) have driven in 22 and 20 runs, respectively. Lillie is 8-3 with a 3.35 ERA. Junior Alyssa Brook owns a 14-10 record with a 2.69 ERA.

Friday, May 1
Game 1: #2 St. John Fisher vs. #3 Alfred, 10 a.m.
Game 2: #1 Ithaca vs. #4 Rochester Institute of Technology, noon
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 2
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game  Loser (if necessary), 3 p.m.