ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College softball team swept SUNY Cortland on Wednesday afternoon at Kostrinsky Field.
 
The first game proved to be a close one between the two rivals, but the Bombers came out on top, 3-1. Ithaca broke the gap open more in the second game, eventually winning, 8-1.
 
The wins now push Ithaca to 17-7 on the season while Cortland drops to 13-14. The wins also keep the Bombers' winning streak alive and extends it to eight straight games.
 
Game 1 | IC 3, Cortland 1
 
Although Ithaca was able to get some office going right away, the Bombers left a total of four runners stranded in the first three innings of play.
 
It was not until the bottom of the fourth inning when Ithaca put two runs of the board, the first of the game for either team.
 
Alex Wright reached on an error by second base and Nikkey Skuraton, who came in to run for Wright, was moved forward by Frankie-Ann McCauley.
 
Second baseman Ellie Murray drove in Skuraton with a double to left field and Annie Cooney followed that up with a double to right center, bringing in Murray and giving Ithaca a 2-1 edge.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, Cortland produced a run of its own, starting with Ericka Sadowski reaching first on an error. Cailey Cuttita then drew a walk before Andrea Schoonmaker reached on an error which allowed Sadowski to score.
 
The Bombers added another run in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 3-1 after McCauley drilled a homerun to right center.
 
Ithaca forced three quick outs in the top of the seventh to end the game and secure a win.
 
As a team, the Bombers collected seven hits.
 
Murray finished the day 2-for-2 with one RBI and a run scored while Gabby Laccona went 2-for-3 on the day. McCauley went 1-for-2 with one RBI and a run score as well.
 
Haley Congdon earned the win in the circle for IC, pitching a complete game with four strike outs, one hit and one run.
 
Game 2 | IC 8, Cortland 1
 
The Bombers came out firing on all cylinders in the bottom of the first inning of game two.
 
Allie Colleran led off with a single up the middle before stealing second. Vanessa Brown followed that up with a single up of the middle, advancing Colleran to third base. Brown then stole second before Abby Shields drew a walk to load the bases.
 
That set up short stop Hannah Anderson to send a grand slam to left field and give the Bombers an early 4-0 lead.
 
In the top of the second inning, Cortland's Hannah Feldman led off with a homerun to right field to put the Red Dragons on the board.
 
After several scoreless innings, the Bombers added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead to 5-1.
 
Catcher Alex Kimmel doubled to centerfield to put herself in scoring position and was driven in by Anny Cooney, who singled to first base.
 
The bottom of the fifth inning proved to be another offensively productive inning for the Bombers, as they scored three more runs.
 
Brown led off with a single before stealing second base. Shields then drew a walk before Anderson singled up the middle, scoring Brown.
 
Shields added IC's seventh run of the game on an Alex Wright shot to short before Murray drove in Anderson to push the Bombers advantage to 8-1.
 
Cortland's final chance in the top of the seventh inning was short-lived. Sadowski singled to second but was left stranded following two quick outs from the Bombers.
 
Anderson went 2-for-3 with five RBI and two runs scored while Brown also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
 
Freshman Beth Fleming picked up her seventh win of the season in the circle, pitching a complete game with eight strike outs and just one earned run.
 
The Bombers are back in action this weekend when they hit the road for two Liberty League contests. On Saturday afternoon, IC takes on the University of Rochester before facing Union College on Sunday. Both games are slated to begin at 1 p.m.