ITHACA, N.Y –  The Bombers split their doubleheader against No. 7 St. John Fisher on Sunday, winning the first game in a 1-0 pitching duel and dropping the second 8-0.
 
Fleck led the Bomber offense on the day, finishing with three hits, while Brown finished with Ithaca's lone RBI in both games.
 
Game 1
Ithaca struck first in the opening game of the doubleheader, scoring a run in the bottom of the first. That one run proved to be enough though as Ithaca won 1-0, after the Bomber defense shut down the Cardinals' bats.
 
The Bombers forced St. John Fisher into a fly out, foul out and groundout to go three-and-out in the first inning.
 
Junior Allie Colleran led off the bottom of the inning with a nine-pitch walk, then stole second to give Ithaca its first runner in scoring position of the game. Senior Jessie Fleck then delivered an infield bunt single to give the Bombers runners on the corners with no outs.
 
Sophomore Vanessa Brown got Ithaca on the board first, recording a sacrifice fly to right field to score Colleran from third. St. John Fisher pitcher Lindsey Thayer struck out the final two Ithaca batters to end the frame.
 
The Cardinals' Sarah Kubik lead off the top of the second inning with an infield single to shortstop and made it to second on a sac bunt from Karlie Neale, but was stranded as sophomore pitcher Haley Congdon recorded a strikeout and a pop out to end the threat.
 
The bottom of the second and the top of the third inning were three-and-outs for both squads, with Thayer recording three strikeouts for St. John Fisher.
 
Fleck recorded a two-out single to center field in the bottom of the third inning, but Brown hit a deep fly ball to right field that ended the frame.
 
St. John Fisher once again recorded a leadoff single in the top of the fourth, this time by Ashley Prince. The sophomore advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kubik, but would be stranded after a groundout and Congdon's second strikeout.
 
Thayer struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Bombers held onto their 1-0 lead.
 
The Bombers shut down St. John Fisher's momentum in the top of the fifth, leaving two Cardinals stranded on second and third. After a leadoff walk, Ithaca was able to retire the next two batters on a pop out and a strikeout, but Fisher responded with a Julia Sortisio double to deep left field. With runners on second and third, Congdon forced a pop out to Nikkey Skuraton at second to end the frame with no damage.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Thayer shut down Ithaca's bats, striking out the side.
 
For the third consecutive inning, St. John Fisher got its leadoff hitter on base, but the Bomber defense battled back to keep a zero on the board for the Cardinals. Prince walked to start the inning and advanced to second base after a Kubik bunt. What should have been a runner on second with one out turned into runners on first and second with no outs due to an Ithaca error that allowed Kubik to cross first base safely. Ithaca saw a battery change after the error, with freshman Emily Holden coming in to pitch and classmate Frankie-Ann McCauley coming in behind the plate.  
 
The Bombers were able to get Prince at third on a fielder's choice, but runners were still on first and second with one down. Holden forced a pop out to pick up that second out, but the next Cardinal was issued a walk, loading up the bases. Emma Savas stepped up to the plate for St. John Fisher, but grounded out to end the threat.
 
Colleran smoked a double down the left field line to kick off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Bombers, but St. John Fisher retired the next three batters to keep Ithaca's lead at 1-0.
 
St. John Fisher threatened to score in the top of the seventh inning, but the Bombers were able to hold on to secure the victory. Kristina Balsano led off the frame with a five-pitch walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
 
Ithaca once again changed up its pitcher, this time with Shannon Grage in the circle. Back-to-back bunts helped the Bombers secure two outs, but Balsano sat at third, threating to score. Grage walked Prince to put runners on the corners, but caused Kubik to ground out to end the game and help the Bombers remain undefeated in conference play.
 
Fleck led the way for the Bombers' offense, recording two hits, while Brown added the lone RBI of the game. Congdon earned the win in the circle, going five innings and striking out two. Grage earned the save, pitching an inning and allowing no hits and no runs.
 
Game 2
 
The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the first inning with a Kubik three-run homerun over the right field fence. Katie Mazierski walked with one down in the inning and advanced to third on a single from Prince. St. John Fisher had both its runners in scoring position after a Prince stolen base. Kubik came up to the plate and with a 1-1 count, blasted a three-run shot to give the Cardinals a 3-0 early lead.
 
Ithaca was forced to go three-and-out in the bottom of the first, with Thayer picking up her first strikeout of the game.
 
St. John Fisher had another opportunity to plate a run after Savas reached first on an infield single and advanced two bases on a Sortisio single to right center field, but the Bombers were able to escape the jam with a groundout to Skuraton to end the second.
 
Sophomore Alex Wright singled to right field with two outs in the bottom of the second, but Ithaca could not keep the rally going, flying out on the next play.
 
Once again, Ithaca's defense was able to get out of an inning with two Cardinal runners in scoring position, keeping the score 3-0, Fisher. Prince singled to start the top of the third, advancing to second after Kubik was hit by an inside pitch. The Bombers were able to retire the next two batters, but both runners advanced on Genevieve Paeglow's groundout. With St. John Fisher threatening, Grage forced Danielle Ventrone to ground out to short.   
 
Ithaca picked up another two-out hit in the bottom of the third thanks to a Fleck double to right center, but Thayer forced a Colleran foul out to end the frame.
 
The top of the fourth looked very similar to the top of the third for St. John Fisher, with the Cardinals stranding two runners on second and third. Savas smoked a double down the left field line to kick off the frame and after a foul out, Sortisio singled to third. With one down and runners on the corners, Sortisio stole second, giving Fisher two runners in scoring position. Grage fired back with a strikeout and groundout to end the frame with no runs pushed across, keeping Ithaca's deficit at three.
 
Thayer struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth inning, picking up her eighth strikeout of the game.
 
Ithaca saw two pitching changes in the top of the fifth inning, with Holden and Shields making their way into the circle. Kubik started the frame off with a single to right field, but the Bombers were able to retire the next two Cardinals to keep Kubik at first. Back-to-back walks to Ventrone and Savas loaded the bases for St. John Fisher. Balsano earned her first RBI of the game when she was issued a walk on the next play, giving the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
 
The Bombers switched pitchers after the walk and Shields forced Sortisio into a groundout to end the inning with no further damage.
 
Ithaca could not get any runs across in the bottom of the fifth, with Thayer striking out the side.
 
St. John Fisher added another run to its total in the top of the sixth inning, thanks in part to a bases loaded walk. Mazierski started off the inning with a single to shortstop and advanced to second on a passed ball during the next at bat. Prince singled to left and moved 60 feet to second on the throw, allowing Mazierski to advance to third. With runners on second and third and no outs, Shields intentionally walked Kubik to load them up. Neale pushed across Fisher's fifth run, reaching base on a fielder's choice.
 
Congdon found herself in the circle for the Bombers after a pitching change and she was able to strike out two and force a foul out to get Ithaca out of the jam.
 
Skuraton singled to start the bottom of the sixth inning, but was forced out on a Colleran fielder's choice. With two down in the inning, Brown came up with a clutch single to advance Colleran to third, but Fisher's new pitcher Monica Moses struck out Gaffney to end the frame.
 
Grage came in to pitch for the Bombers in the top of the seventh and St. John Fisher added three more runs to bring its lead to 8-0. Balsano doubled right center, then advanced to third on a Sortisio groundout. Mazierski singled through the right side, scoring Balsano and giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. Mazierski stole second and scored on a Prince double to right center field. St. John Fisher scored its final run of the game on Neale single that scored Prince from third.  
 
Fleck, Brown, Wright and Skuraton each picked up one hit in the game for Ithaca.
 
The Bombers are back in action on Wednesday, April 12, when they travel to Alfred for a mid-week conference doubleheader with the Saxons. Start time for the doubleheader is 3 p.m.