The Ithaca College softball team opened its 1997 season with a 3-1 loss against Simpson College. 
 
Simpson got on the board first with one run in the bottom of the second to take an early 1-0 lead and the Bombers tied it in the top of the third. Simpson scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. 
 
Junior Amy McMordie went 1-for-2 with Ithaca's lone RBI of the game. Freshman Vanessa Montorsi and senior Mary Ellen Hoffman each added one hit.