POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The No. 21 Ithaca College softball team defeated No. 6 St. John Fisher, 4-3, in eight innings on Friday afternoon in the first game of the best-of-three Super Regional series.
 
The Bombers, now 32-10, are just one win away from advancing to the 2018 Division III Softball Championship next weekend in Oklahoma City.
 
Ithaca wasted no time in getting on the board, taking a two-run lead in the top of the first inning.
 
With two outs, Vanessa Brown got things going with a single to centerfield before sophomore Abby Shields drilled a homerun to right center, giving IC a 2-0 advantage. The homer is Shields' second of the season and third of her career.
 
After two scoreless innings, Fisher tacked on two runs in the bottom of the third to tie things up, 2-2.
 
Julia Sortisio reached base on a fielder's choice and headed to second on a Katie Mazierski single to center. Both runs scored on a deep double to right center from Ashley Prince to even the score.
 
Although no runs scored again until extra innings, both teams had chances.
 
In the top of the fourth inning, Hannah Anderson singled to second before Hannah Peters laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Anderson forward. Emily Bloom then drew a walk and Anderson headed to third on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners. Bloom stole second on the next play, but both runners were left stranded.
 
In similar fashion, Fisher also left two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth. Emily Trotman reached base on a fielder's choice before Jessica Sardina reached on an error to put a runner in scoring position. IC's would get out of the inning unscathed, however, on a pop up to short.
 
The Bombers finally broke the deadlock in the top of the eighth inning to take a 4-2 lead.
 
Brown continued her solid day at the plate with a lead-off single to right center before being moved forward on an Abby Shields sacrifice bunt.
 
Alex Wright drove in Brown with a single to left field, and advanced to second on the throw to put herself in scoring position. The next play was similar, as Anderson drilled a single to center, allowing Wright to score and also heading to second on the throw.
 
Fisher would go on to score one more in the bottom of the eighth inning, starting with a Sammie Torlish single through the left side. Mary Claire Grosvenor then reached first on a throwing error which allowed Torlish to advance to third base.
 
Trotman followed that up with a sacrifice fly out to centerfield, which pushed Torlish to home and cut IC's lead to just one run with two outs. The Bombers forced a foul out for the last play of the game to earn the win.
 
Junior Haley Congdon earned the win in the circle for IC, pitching eight innings while scattering eight hits and striking out four batters.
 
Brown went 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored to pace the Bombers, while Anderson finished 2-for-4 with one RBI. Shields also finished 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run and a homerun.
 
Ithaca is back in action tomorrow against Fisher for a game scheduled to start at 1 p.m. With a win in game one, the Bombers would advance to the Division III Championships. A loss in the first game would force an if-necessary game, set to be played following the first game.