ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 14 Ithaca College softball team swept Rochester on Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated in Liberty League play. The Bombers are now 17-5-1 overall with 6-0 mark in conference.
 
Game 1 | Ithaca 4, Rochester 2
 
Ithaca's bats were hot from the start which resulted in a four-run bottom of the second inning.
 
First-year Daniella Mulvey started IC's run with a single up the middle and moved over to second on a Kira Flegenheimer sacrifice bunt. An Annie Cooney single through the left side drove in Mulvey for the first run of the game, giving IC a 1-0 edge.
 
Vanessa Brown followed that up with a single up the middle before Nikkey Skuraton drilled a single to right center, advancing on the throw, and scoring bow Cooney and Brown. Skuraton then scored the final run of the inning when Alex Wright singled up the middle.
 
Rochester wasted no time in putting up its own runs in the top of the third inning.
 
Marissa Russo drew a walk to get things going for the Yellowjackets before Sammi Re singled to third base. Alexis Pope then drew a walk to load the bases for Rochester.
 
Following a pitching change, both Alizah Ayon and Toni Anne Hahn both drew walks, bringing it two runs and cutting IC's lead in half, 4-2. Emily Holden held off any further damage, striking out Jessica Conforti for the final out of the inning.
 
Rochester looked like it may add more runs in the top of the fourth inning, but two runners were left stranded. Gianna Melillo led off with a double to center field, before Addy Szczerba moved over Anne Marie Cortes, who was running for Melillo, with a grounder to short.
 
Russo then reached on an error and stole second to put two runners in scoring position, Re then sent a shot to second, which Skuraton hurled home to get the lead runner and prevent the Yellowjackets from adding any more runs. Holden then struck out Kaczegowicz for the final out of the inning.
 
Skuraton when 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored while Wright, Anderson, Mulvey and Cooney each finished 1-for-3 on the day.
 
Holden picked up the win in the circle, pitching the final 4.1 innings, striking out eight while scattering three hits.
 
Game 2 | Ithaca 6, Rochester 1
 
It was Rochester that struck first in the second game of the doubleheader, putting up a run in the top of the first inning.
 
Re got things going with a single to left center before Ayon singled up the middle to put a runner in scoring position. With two outs, Kaczegowicz singled up the middle, scoring Re and putting Rochester up 1-0.
 
The Bombers answered right back in the bottom of the inning with two runs to take the lead.
 
With two outs, Wright singled up the middle to start the rally, before Abby Shields also hit a single up the middle. An Anderson RBI single up the middle scored Wright for the first run of the inning.
 
Gabby Laccona continued the momentum for IC, sending a single through the left side to send Shields home and give the Bombers a 2-1 advantage.
 
The Bombers nearly added more runs in the bottom of the third inning, but three runners were left stranded to end the inning.
 
Ithaca did push across two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
Brown got things going for the Bombers with a single down the left field line before Skuraton dropped a single into left field. Both runners scored on a Wright double to left center, boosting Ithaca's lead to 4-1.
 
After three quick Rochester outs in the top of the fifth inning, Ithaca went to work again, adding its final two runs of the game.
 
With two outs, Flegenheimer drew a walk before Cooney drilled a double to left field to put both runners in scoring position. A Brown double to left center scored both Flegenheimer and Cooney for a 6-1 Ithaca advantage.
 
Wright finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Anderson went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Brown also finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
 
Beth Fleming picked up the win in the circle, pitching all seven innings with five strikeouts and just five hits.
 
Ithaca is back in action tomorrow for its final regular-season Liberty League doubleheader against Union. The games, originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, are slated to begin at 10 a.m. Following the doubleheader, Ithaca will honor its seniors – Hannah Anderson, Nikkey Skuraton, Haley Congdon, Vanessa Brown, Alex Wright, Alex Kimmel, Ellie Murray and Annie Cooney.