ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College softball team defeated crosstown Division I opponent Cornell, 8-4, on Wednesday afternoon at Niemand-Robinson Field.
 
The Bombers had originally been scheduled to travel to Oneonta, but the games were canceled, leading to the faceoff with the Big Red.
 
Ithaca started things off in exciting fashion, as senior Allie Colleran led off the first inning with a homerun to left field, giving IC an early 1-0 lead.
 
Cornell followed that up with three quick runs in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 3-1 lead.
 
Megan Murray led off with a double to centerfield and made her way to third on a Rebecca Kubena ground out before scoring on an Erin Rockstroh single to right field. Kate Jencarelli gave Cornell its first lead of the game with a two-run homerun to centerfield.
 
In the top of the second inning, IC push across another run to cut Cornell's lead to 3-2.
 
Alex Wright sent a single to left field which Hannah Peters followed up with a double to left center. Wright scored on an Ellie Murray sacrifice bunt to bring IC within one run.
 
After a scoreless third inning for both teams, IC went on to tie things up, 3-3, in the top of the fourth.
 
Hannah Anderson led off the inning with a double to left center to put herself in scoring position and Wright drove her in with a triple to right centerfield.
 
The back-and-forth scoring continued, as Cornell added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brianna Straley led off with a single down the right field line and advanced to second on a Sarah Murray sacrifice bunt. Megan Murray followed with a single up the middle, scoring Straley.
 
The top of the fifth inning proved to be offensively productive for the Bombers, who pushed across three runs on one hit following smart base running.
 
Freshman Gabby Laccona led off with a single to the left side and advanced to second when Vanessa Brown was hit by a pitch. Abby Shields moved both runners forward and Anderson loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch.
 
The first run of the inning crossed the plate following a Wright fielders' choice play, which allowed Brown to score and tie the game, 4-4.
 
On the following play, Peters struck out swinging, but made it to first on a passed ball, which also gave Anderson time to score and give IC a 5-4 lead.
 
Peters then stole second and due to a throwing error by Cornell's short stop, Wright made it home for the 6-4 IC lead.
 
Cornell recorded a hit and had a batter reach on an error in the bottom of the sixth inning, which could have been the tying runs, but both runners were left stranded.
 
Ithaca added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning.
 
Shields hit a one-out double to right center to start things off for the Bombers. Anderson followed that up with a single, advancing to second on the throw and allowing Shields to score and give the Bombers a 7-4 edge.
 
After moving to third base on a wild pitch, Anderson was driven in by Wright for the final run of the game.
 
Cornell's Rockstroh led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the left field line before Olivia Lam drew a walk. That would be the farthest the Big Red would come in their rally as the Bombers forced a pop up and two strike outs to end the inning.
 
Anderson finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI, while Wright went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs. Laccona also finished 2-for-4 on the day.
 
Beth Fleming earned the win in the circle after pitching six innings with four strike outs and just one run.
 
Ithaca is back in action tomorrow afternoon as it hosts Alfred University for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.