ITHACA, N.Y. – For the second straight day, the Bombers recorded 20+ hits in route to a sweep. This one came against non-conference opponent Buffalo State, with Ithaca taking the first game 7-0 and the second 10-4.
 
Ithaca's offense erupted for the back-to-back days, scoring 17 runs on 26 hits. Sophomores Vanessa Brown and Alex Wright led the offense with four hits apiece, while junior Allie Colleran and sophomore Annie Cooney and Emily Holden each registered a homerun.   
 
Game 1
The Bomber bats continued their hot streak as Ithaca took the first game from Buffalo State, 7-0.
 
After forcing a three-up, three-down top of the first for Buffalo State, Ithaca got on the board early with a homerun to left field by Colleran. The junior blasted her third homerun in the last two days to lead off the game for the Bombers.
 
Ithaca added another run in the frame after Brown made her way on base with a hard hit double down the left field line. Brown advanced 60 feet on Wright's groundout and scored on a RBI infield single by freshman Shannon Grage to give the Bombers a 2-0 advantage early.
 
The Bombers forced Buffalo State into another three-and-out inning in the bottom of the second and sophomore Haley Congdon registered her first strikeout of the day.
 
Ithaca strung together a two-out rally to push across four runs across in the bottom of the second inning. Colleran kicked off the rally with a walk and a stolen base, giving the Bombers a runner in a scoring position for senior Jessie Fleck. The senior singled to right center, allowing Colleran to score. Fleck, who advanced to second on the Colleran play at home, came around to score on an infield single by Brown, giving the Bombers a 4-0 lead.
 
Wright kept the rally going, earning her first RBI on a double to right center. Ithaca scored its final run of the inning on a Grage infield single that scored Wright from second.
 
Buffalo State earned its first baserunner of the game in the top of the third inning, after Nicole Adams was hit by a pitch. Adams was able to advance to sacrifice bunt, but Congdon forced a Laura Crooks line out to end the inning with no damage.
 
Sophomore Ellie Murray led off the bottom of the third with a single, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. The Bengals retired the following two batters to keep Ithaca's lead at 6-0.
 
Brown registered three consecutive putouts in the top of the fourth frame to retire Buffalo State in order.
 
The Bombers stranded two baserunners in the bottom of the fourth inning after Fleck and Brown reached base to kick off the frame. Fleck reached on an error by the third baseman and moved up to second on Brown's bloop single to right field. Grage flew out to center field, advancing Fleck to third, but the Bengals forced a line out by Cooney to end the inning.
 
Buffalo State's Adams reached base again on a hit by pitch with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, but the Bomber defense shut down the could-be rally, causing a Melissa Woods groundout to Brown at third.
 
Freshman Rebecca DiSerio walked with two down in the bottom of the fifth frame, advancing to third on Colleran single to left field. With runners on the corners, freshman Haley Gaffney lined out to deep center field to end the frame.
 
Emma Ruggiero led off the top of the sixth inning with the Bengals' second hit of the day, singling to second base. Ruggiero picked up a stolen base before Crooks walked, putting runners on first and second with no outs. The Bombers forced a pop out, fielder's choice and fly out to end the threat and keep the lead at 6-0.
 
The Bombers added a run to their total in the bottom of the sixth inning after Wright scored from first on Cooney's hard hit double down the left field line, giving Ithaca a 7-0 lead.
 
Congdon picked up two more strikeouts in the top of the seventh to clinch the victory and move to 15-6 on the year.
 
Ithaca collected 12 hits compared to Buffalo State's two in route to the 7-0 victory. Brown led the Bombers with three hits and a RBI, while Grage, Wright and Colleran each pitched in two of their own. Congdon went the distance for the
 
Game 2
The Bombers fell into an early 4-0 deficit, but put up a six-spot in the third inning to take the lead and the team would not look back from there.
 
Four hits and two Ithaca errors helped Buffalo State capitalize in the first frame after being shut out in the first game, pushing four runs across. Three consecutive singles loaded up the bases for the Bengals with no outs and Danielle Szymkowiak picked up her first RBI with a single through the right side, scoring the first Buffalo State run.
 
Cassandra O'Hern added another run for the Bengals with a RBI groundout and Emily Frajdofer reached first on an error by Ellie Murray, allowing Buffalo State's Allie Block to score from third. The final run came from a RBI groundout by Adams, giving the Bengals the early 4-0 lead.
 
Gaffney started the bottom of the first inning, receiving a one-out walk. She made her way to third base on two wild pitches, but a fly out and a groundout ended the inning with no damage done by the Bombers.
 
Ithaca forced Buffalo State to go three-and-out in the top of the second inning, keeping the game at 4-0.
 
Grage picked up a leadoff hit in the second inning, when she singled up the middle, but a fly out and double-play ended the frame with the Bombers still trailing 4-0. The Bomber defense forced three straight groundouts in the top of the third to shut out the Bengals.
 
The Bombers had a huge two-out rally in the bottom of the third inning, stringing together six hits to take a 6-4 lead. Colleran walked with two down in the inning and advanced to third on a Gaffney double to kick off the rally. Brown then stepped up to the plate, singling through the right side to score both Colleran and Gaffney, cutting the Bengal lead to two.
 
Wright kept it going, doubling to center and scoring Brown to make the score 4-3, Buffalo. Grage followed up with a double of her own, scoring Wright from second to tie the game at 4-4. Anderson continued the hot streak with Ithaca's fifth consecutive hit, advancing Grage to third. With runners on the corners, Murray hit the Bombers' third double of the inning, scoring both Anderson and Grage to give Ithaca its first lead of the game. Adams got Emily Bloom swinging to end the frame.
 
Ithaca once against forced Buffalo State into a three-and-out in the top of the fourth frame to hold its lead at 6-4.
 
The Bombers had two runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff single by Cooney, but could not stretch their lead after the Bengals forced two groundouts and a fielder's choice to end the frame.
 
Buffalo State tried for a two-out rally of its own with back-to-back singles up the middle, but Grage forced an inning-ending groundout.
 
The Bombers added three more runs to its total after Cooney blasted a three-run homerun to left center field, giving Ithaca a 9-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Grage started the inning with a single up the middle, but was forced out at second on Anderson's fielder's choice.
 
The Bengals forced Murray to fly out to get the second out of the inning, but freshman Abby Shields singled to center to keep the inning alive. With runners on first and second, Cooney stepped up to the plate, hammering the ball to left center to stretch the Bomber lead.
 
Ithaca allowed a leadoff single by Buffalo State's O'Hern in the top of the sixth inning, but Grage retired the final three batters with two strikeouts and a groundout.  
 
Freshman Emily Holden pinch hit to start the bottom of the seventh and it proved to be a wise decision as she blasted a homerun over the right field fence to give Ithaca a 10-4 lead. Wright singled through the right side, but two consecutive pop outs ended the frame.
 
Buffalo State threatened to strike in the top of the seventh inning after a two-out single and walk, but the Bombers forced a groundout to end the game and get their 17th win.
 
The Bombers recorded 14 hits in the game, led by Grage who recorded three hits and one RBI in the game. Wright and Cooney each pitched in two hits and Cooney finished with three RBI. Grage went the distance for Ithaca, pitching a complete game and allowing eight hits and striking out three.
 
Ithaca is back in action on Saturday when the team travels to Hoboken, N.J. to take on Empire 8 opponent Stevens. Game times are slated for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and live stats can be found at sidearmstats.com/stevens/softball.