ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College softball team finished with a win and a tie on Wednesday afternoon against Oneonta. The Bombers defeated the Red Dragons, 4-3, in game one before playing to a 3-3 tie in game two. The second game was called after seven innings due to darkness.
 
Game 1 | Ithaca 4, Oneonta 3
 
The Bombers won the first game in walk-off fashion as senior Vanessa Brown drilled a two-out solo home run to left center in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ithaca and Oneonta had been tied at three runs apiece since the top of the fifth inning.
 
It was Oneonta that got on the board first, pushing across a run in the top of the first inning.
 
Dana Del Genio led off with a double to left field and advanced to third on a Selena Ruiz bunt. A Caroline Koch sacrifice fly pushed Del Genio home for the first run of the game.
 
Oneonta added another run to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. With two outs, Brooke Corbett sent a single to right center field and scored on an Amanda Sexton double to center.
 
Ithaca answered right back in the bottom of the inning, starting with a lead-off home run to left center from senior Annie Cooney, cutting the deficit to one run.
 
Vanessa Brown then singled up the middle and advanced to second on a Nikkey Skuraton single. Both Brown and Skuraton stole a base and then scored on an errant throw, taking the 3-2 lead.
 
The Red Dragons came back to tie the game, 3-3, in the top of the fifth inning. Ruiz led off with a single to third base and advanced to second on a Koch ground out. Ruiz then stole third and eventually scored on a Corbett sacrifice fly. Haley Congdon struck out the final batter of the inning to prevent any further damage.
 
The game remained tied until Brown hit the game winner in the seventh.
 
Brown finished the day 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI while Skuraton went 2-for-2 with a run scored.
 
Emily Holden picked up the win in the circle after coming on to pitch two innings of relief. She is now 3-2 on the season while Oneonta pitcher Alyssa Bluethgen falls to 2-3.
 
Game 2 | Ithaca 3, Oneonta 3
 
After one and one-half innings of scoreless play, the Bombers took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Abby Shields led off with a home run to left field.
 
The Bombers added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead over the Red Dragons.
 
Alex Wright got things going with a single up the middle and then stole second to put herself in scoring position. Wright advanced to third on a Shields grounder and scored on a throwing error.
 
Oneonta did not back down, tying the game, 2-2, in the top of the fifth inning.
 
Megan Palmatier drilled a double to centerfield before Olivia Murray singled up the middle. Bailey Schwark then drew a walk to load the bases for Oneonta before Del Genio ripped a single up the middle to bring in both Palmatier and Murray.
 
The Red Dragons took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning when Koch led off with a home run to left center.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Bombers tied things up, 3-3, starting with a walk from Skuraton to lead off. She moved forward on a Gabby Laccona sacrifice bunt before Shields drew a walk to put runners on the corners.
 
Hannah Anderson drove in the game-tying run with a single to center field, bringing in Skuraton.
 
Although Ithaca had a chance to bring in the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh, the Bombers could not push across another run.
 
With two outs, Brown singled to third base and advanced on a Skuraton single to left field. Both runners were left stranded, however. Following that, the game was called due to darkness.