ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team made its long-awaited return to Freeman Field on Sunday as the Bombers hosted Elmira College for a non-conference doubleheader and came away with a sweep, 8-0 and 11-1. The victories are the first home wins for second-year head coach David Valesente as IC improves to 3-0 on the season.
 
GAME ONE: ITHACA 8, ELMIRA 0

Highlighting Sunday's Game One victory was senior pitcher Buzz Shirley who put up career-high numbers through six innings on the mound. The lefty ace tallied five strikeouts and two walks while only surrendering one hit in the game. That was the fewest amount of hits allowed by Shirley in a single contest over the course of his career thus far.
 
The Bombers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. Senior center fielder Garrett Callaghan led off the inning with a walk, followed by a stolen base to advance himself to second. A single to right field by freshman Alex Barker-Hook drove in Callaghan for the first run of the contest.
 
Ithaca's lead grew to 2-0 in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by freshman Colin Shashaty, which scored freshman Kyle Gordon from third base.
 
The Bombers' offense continued to wreak havoc in the bottom half of the third inning. Callaghan kicked things off with a double to center field, followed by a walk to Shirley and an infield single by Barker-Hook. After a fielder's choice that threw Callaghan out at home, Shirley bolted to home plate and scored off of a wild pitch to put IC up 3-0. One batter later, Gordon roped a sac fly to center, scoring Barker-Hook from third base to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
Freshman second baseman Louis Fabbo ripped a single to lead off the fourth inning for Ithaca. Following that, Callaghan registered his second hit of the contest with an electrifying triple to left center field to score Fabbo, making it a 5-0 ball game. One batter later, Shirley added to the damage with a line out to right field, driving in Callaghan from third to push the lead to six.
 
Ithaca would proceed to notch two more runs in the final three innings to cap off a dominant 8-0 home win.
 
Gallagher had the hot bat for the Bombers, as he went 2-for-3 in the ball game with a stolen base to go along with his double and RBI triple.

Freshman Nate Scott tossed a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout in his first collegiate appearance.
 
GAME TWO: ITHACA 11, ELMIRA 1
 
Ithaca finished off its first doubleheader of the year against Elmira with a 11- 1 victory.
 
Junior pitcher Kyle Lambert took the mound for his first start of the season for the Bombers. Lambert started off a bit rocky, allowing a run in the first inning off a couple of doubles before settling in and striking out two batters in the inning. He continued to find success throughout the remainder of the game, tallying six strikeouts over five innings and allowed just three hits and one walk to secure his first win of the season.
 
Despite allowing a run in the first inning, the Bombers answered back quickly, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning. The first run came off of a throwing error by the shortstop which allowed Callaghan to score from second base. He was shortly followed by Shirley, who scored from third on a wild pitch and give the Bombers an early 2-1 lead.
 
The Bombers offense came alive in the fourth inning with four runs. It started off with a triple over the center fielder's head from senior Jack Lynch, who was followed by a double down the left field line by freshman Kyle Gordon. Gordon went on to score later in the inning from second base on a wild pitch that bounced out of play. The scoring continued on a double over the left fielder's head from freshman Louis Fabbo which scored senior Aaron Shoemaker. The scoring finally ended for the Bombers after a single into left field from Callaghan to score Fabbo and give the Bombers a 6-1 lead.
 
Shirley, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances with two hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch, doubled in the bottom of the sixth to score freshman Ethan McDonough to give the Bombers a 7-1 lead.
 
The Bombers continued to add to their lead in the eighth inning as Callaghan, who went 3-for-5 at the plate, knocked in sophomore Mike Nauta in the eighth inning to push the Bombers up to an 8-1 lead. Lynch, who also had a multi-hit game, singled in Callaghan to add to the Bombers lead. The Bombers went on to score another two runs in the inning on passed balls that scored sophomore Matt Fabian and Lynch to make the lead 11-1.
 
Freshman Matteo Ragusa, sophomore Garrett Bell, and freshman Dom Trippi all pitched well in their first relief appearances of the season. They combined for a total of four scoreless innings pitched, one hit allowed, four strikeouts, and four walks to secure the Bombers win.
 
Ithaca is tentatively scheduled to play ots next game on Wednesday, March 24th against Utica College at Freeman Field. If that game is not played, IC will take on the University of Rochester for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.