Alfred, N.Y. -- The Bomber softball team (26-12) begins postseason play Friday morning, facing St. John Fisher in the first round of the Empire 8 Championship Tournament. The Bombers, who finished 13-1 in conference play, tied for the league's regular-season title (they've won or shared every one since softball became an Empire sport) with Alfred. The #25 Saxons won a coin toss that determined the top seed and host site for this weekend's four-team double-elimination tournament. The playoff event will be held at Alfred State College with the winner earning the Empire 8's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Live Stats will be available for every game of the tournament.
Ithaca Journal tournament preview
Ithaca, ranked third in the latest NCAA Northeast Region ranking, has won six straight against Division III competition. The Bombers have hit 23 home runs this spring – three short of the school record set by the 1999 team that reached the world series – led by junior Brittany Lillie (Honeoye Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls) and freshman Molly O'Donnell (Niskayuna/Niskayuna) with six each. Lillie, a .328 hitter with a .557 slugging percentage (second on the team) and a .388 on-base percentage, also tops the team with 40 hits, 10 doubles and 28 runs batted in. She's scored 25 runs and stolen four bases. O'Donnell's six home runs are the program's second-best total by a freshman. She's hitting .286 with 20 runs batted in, 12 extra-base hits and 10 walks while splitting time between third base and the outfield.
Junior catcher Kerry Barger (Carmel/Carmel) is hitting a team-best .390 with three home runs and 20 runs batted in. She leads Ithaca in slugging percentage (.560) and on-base percentage (.419) as well and has made just one error behind the plate. Junior second baseman Kait Dolan (Victor/Farmington) has scored 28 runs (tied for the team lead), driven in 22 and stolen a Bomber-best 12 bases. Dolan has a pair of home runs.
Freshman outfielder Jennifer Biondi (Morris Knolls/Denville, N.J.) has also scored 28 runs and hit two homers. She's a .298 hitter overall four steals. Junior third baseman Allison Greaney (John F. Kennedy/Iselin, N.J.) leads Ithaca with 12 walks and is hitting .302 with two home runs and 20 runs batted in. Senior first baseman Caitlin Ryan (Allentown/Clarksburg, N.J.) is hitting .295 with two home runs.
Three pitchers have combined to pitch all but 5.1 innings this spring. Senior Alyssa Brook (Monmouth Regional/Tinton Falls, N.J.) is 9-7 with a team-low 1.28 ERA. She's thrown three shutouts among her nine complete games and struck out 86 in 98 innings. Greaney is 11-1 with a 1.42 ERA, fanning 63 batters (against just 12 walks) in 74 innings. She's thrown five complete-game one-hit shutouts. Lillie is 6-3 with a pair of saves and a 2.00 ERA. She's struck out 62 (walking only 13) in 70 innings.
Ithaca has qualified for every Empire 8 Championship Tournament, winning six of the previous eight and posting a record of 23-5.
