Rochester, N.Y. -- The Ithaca softball team extended its lead in the Empire 8 with two more conference victories and is off to a perfect 8-0 start in league play following a doubleheader sweep of Nazareth (7-21, 1-7 Empire 8) on Sunday. The Bombers won 7-1 in the first game and 5-1 in the second game, as Ithaca is 15-10 overall. Ithaca continues a stretch of road games this week with doubleheaders Tuesday at Oneonta and Thursday at King's.

ITHACA 7, Nazareth 1 | Box Score

The Bombers took the lead with two runs in the first inning and never trailed. Starting pitcher Sam Bender threw five innings and allowed just three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. She earned her sixth win of the season.

Sophomore left fielder Rachel Dell'Orto was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. She drove in two runs and scored twice. Sophomore first baseman Sydney Folk was 2-for-4 with a homer, she also scored twice and drove in two runs. Molly O'Donnell, Jennifer Biondi, Julianne Vincent and Adrienne Walters all doubled in the game as eight of Ithaca's nine hits went for extra bases.

ITHACA 5, Nazareth 1 | Box Score

The Bombers trailed 1-0 after the third inning but scored the last five runs of the game to complete the sweep. Ithaca tied the score with a run in the top of the fourth and went ahead with three runs in the sixth. Jillian Olmstead earned the victory in relief of Bender (3 IP). Olmstead allowed two hits and no runs over the last four innings with five strikeouts and one walk.

Five Ithaca hitters had two hits each including Dell'Orto and Folk. Folk homered for the second straight game and leads the team with five HRs on the season. Lindsey Johnson had two hits, including a double, and Francesca Busa and Julianne Vincent also had multi-hit games.