ITHACA, N.Y. – The Bombers split their doubleheader with Utica, moving to 12-2 in Empire 8 play.
 
Ithaca dropped the first game 4-3, but rallied to win the second 6-5. Sophomores Vanessa Brown and Alex Wright led the Bomber offense with three hits apiece between the two games.
 
Game 1
Ithaca took the early lead, but the Pioneers scored four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to secure the 4-3 victory.
 
The Bombers got on the board early, taking a 3-0 lead over the Pioneers in the top of the first. Senior Jessie Fleck kicked off the inning with a one-out single up the middle, then stole second before sophomore Vanessa Brown walked, giving Ithaca two baserunners in the top of the first. Fleck came around to score on sophomore Alex Wright's RBI-single, putting Ithaca on top.
 
Freshman Shannon Grage kept the inning going with a single of her own through the left side, scoring Brown from third and Wright from second to put Ithaca up 3-0. Utica forced sophomore Hannah Anderson into a fielder's choice and classmate Alex Kimmel into a groundout to end the frame.
 
After issuing a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, sophomore Haley Congdon retired the following two Pioneers with a fly out and a groundout.
 
Sophomore Nikkey Skuraton singled to left field to start the top of the second inning and stole second before junior Allie Colleran was issued her first walk of the day. With no outs and two baserunners, the Bombers forced a Utica to make a pitching change. New pitcher Brittany Meka forced a pop out, fielder's choice and strikeout to end the Ithaca threat.
 
Ithaca retired the side in the bottom of the second inning, with Congdon picking up her second and third strikeouts of the day.
 
Sophomore Annie Cooney doubled to deep center field with one out in the bottom of the second inning that was followed up by a walk to Kimmel. During the next at bat, Skuraton hit into a double play to end the frame with Cooney stranded.
 
Congdon recorded three swinging strikeouts in the bottom of the third inning to bring her total to six on the day. She also allowed her first hit, a single to second base, but the Bombers held onto the 3-0 lead going into the fourth.
 
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Brown doubled to center field, but was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple, ending the frame.
 
Utica put together back-to-back singles with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Ithaca forced a fielder's choice and pop out to end the frame with no damage done by the Pioneers.
 
The Bombers recorded one baserunner in the top of the fifth, but the bottom of the frame is what saw the most offensive. Sabrina Stransky led off the inning with a walk then advanced to second on a single down the left field line by Kimberly Beattie. Stransky came around to score on Meka single and throwing error, giving Utica its first run of the day.
 
Nicole Rice kept the rally going, singling to third base and allowing Beattie to score. With two down, Hayley Fredericks singled to right field, scoring Meka from third and tying the game at 3-3. Congdon got the final batter of the inning to strike out with the bases loaded, limiting any further runs.
 
In the top of the sixth inning, the Pioneers retired the Bombers in order on a strikeout, fly out and foul out.
 
Freshman Emily Holden came in to relieve Congdon in the circle to start the bottom of the sixth inning and allowed a leadoff single to Stransky. She advanced to second on a passed ball and was joined on base by Beattie after she walked. Holden retired the next two Pioneers with a strike out and fielder's choice, but Utica pushed its final run of the game across home plate after a Rice double down the left field line.
 
Ithaca went three-and-out in the top of the seventh inning, breaking its 10 game win streak.
 
Six different Bombers recorded a hit in the game, while Grage and Cooney each pitched in a RBI. Congdon went five innings in the circle, striking out seven while allowing three runs, two of which were earned. Holden got the loss in relief, only her second of the season, by allowing one run on two hits.
 
Game 2
Utica went ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the first inning, but Ithaca stormed back in the top of the sixth to take the lead and earn the 6-5 win.
 
Colleran led off the second game in a big way, blasting a shot to left center field to put the Bombers up 1-0. This was the junior's second game of the season with a leadoff home run, with the first coming against Buffalo State on April 13. Utica retired the next three batters in order to keep the deficit at 1-0.
 
Utica scored four runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 4-1 lead over the Bombers. Jamie Miller walked to start the inning, then advanced on an infield single by Alyssa Samborin for runners on first and second. Kassidy Ogren walked, loading the bases for Fredericks who was hit by a pitch, giving her an RBI and Utica its first run of the game.
 
Stransky singled down the right field line with two outs to keep the inning going for the Pioneers, scoring both Fredericks and Orgen. Dominique Soto singled down the right field line, scoring Samantha Whitehouse from third. Stransky was thrown out trying to advance to third on the single, ending the inning.   
 
Ithaca garnered a baserunner after Holden reached on an error by the shortstop, but a fly out and a pop out ended the frame with the Pioneers still ahead.
 
Holden allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the second inning, but retired the next two Utica batters with a fielder's choice and pop out.
 
The Bombers got a two-out rally going in the top of the third inning, pushing two runs across in the frame. Fleck walked to start the rally and advanced to second on Brown's single to left field. During the next at bat, Meka walked Wright to load the bases and then freshman Abby Shields singled to left field to score both Fleck and Brown, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
 
Ithaca forced two groundouts and a fly out in the bottom of the third inning. Utica returned the favor in the top of the fourth, retiring the Bombers in order on two groundouts and a foul out.
 
Utica loaded the bases after a Soto double to left center, a Beattie single to third base and a walk to Madison Akots. Grage came into the game for Holden with the bases loaded and walked Samborin to give the Pioneers a 5-3 lead. After the walk, Grage retired the next two Pioneers with a strikeout and fly out to end the frame.
 
The Bombers had another two-out rally in the top of the fifth, starting with a double to right center field by Brown. The sophomore came around to score thanks to Wright's single to center field, bringing Ithaca within 5-4. During the next at bat, Shields reached on an error by the right fielder, but the frame ended when Wright was thrown out at home plate by right field.
 
Fredericks singled to left field to kick off the bottom of the fifth inning and advanced to second after Stransky walked with one out. Soto reached on a fielder's choice during the next at bat, with Ithaca forcing out Fredericks at third. Grage struck out Beattie to end the inning with two Pioneers stranded on base.
 
Grage kicked off the top of the sixth inning with a single to center field and advanced 60 feet on Cooney's sacrifice bunt. Skuraton singled to center field with one out, bringing Grage around to score and knot the game at 5-5. Colleran reached base on a fielding error by the third baseman, scoring Skuraton from second to give Ithaca its first lead since the top of the first inning.
 
Ithaca issued a one-out walk in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Grage forced back-to-back groundouts to end the frame with Ithaca still leading 6-5.
Wright singled to center field with one out in the top of the seventh and advanced to second after a two-out walk issued to Grage, but Utica forced Cooney to pop out to end the frame.
Utica garnered two baserunners in the bottom of the seventh after a two-out walk to Stransky and single by Soto to left field. Congdon came in to relieve Grage after Soto's single and forced Nicole Sciara to foul out to end the game.
 
Ithaca scored six runs on eight hits, securing its 23rd win of the season and 12th in conference play. Brown and Wright led the way with two hits apiece and Shields knocked in two RBI of her own. Grage got the win, her third of the season, going 3.1 innings and allowing no runs and striking out three.
 
The Bombers are back in action on Wednesday as they face Cornell in a non-conference doubleheader at Kostrinsky Field. Games are set for 3:30 and 5:30. Live stats and video can be found at athletics.ithaca.edu.