SCRANTON, Pa. – The Ithaca College baseball team returned to action on Tuesday for the first time since its spring trip to Florida and the Bombers were handed a 6-4 loss by the University of Scranton at Volpe Field. With the loss, Ithaca is now 10-3 on the year and has its five-game winning streak snapped.

The Bombers were able to get on the board first as Nicholas Cutaia drove in Buzz Shirley with a triple to right-center in the top of the first inning. Shirley reached on a two-out single to keep the inning alive.

Scranton knotted the contest at 1-1 in the bottom of the first with its own two-out rally. Matt Chase retired the first two batters he faced, but then allowed a single and walk to put a pair of runners on. The next Royals' batter singled up the middle to tie things up.

The Royals added another run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to build a 5-1 edge. In the fourth, Scranton earned a pair of walks off Chase and then a double to right field brought home a run, but that was all the Royals could get as the next two batters stuck out.

In the fifth, a triple led off the frame and then a batter reached on a hit by pitch. A run would score on a double steal and then another triple made the score 4-1. After a groundout, the Royals pushed home their fifth run of the contest on a base hit, which knocked Chase out of the game for Colin Leyner.

The Bombers responded in the top of the sixth with three runs to pull to within a 5-4 difference. Mike Nauta led off with a walk and Louis Fabbo followed with a free pass. The bases would then be loaded as Shirley reached on an infield error and Cutaia brought in Nauta with a single to right-center, but Fabbo was thrown out at the plate to set runners up at the corners. Gil Merod drove in Shirley was a sacrifice fly and then Connor Pedersen stroked a double to right to push home Cutaia.

IC had a chance to tie the game in the seventh as Nauta found his way to third after a walk, stolen base and error, but he would be left stranded.

Scranton picked up an insurance run in the eighth with another two-out rally. After a walk and two strikeouts, a wild pitch moved the runner into scoring position and the Royals capitalized with an RBI base hit for the final run of the game.

Cutaia and Matt Fabian each went 2-for-4 in the loss. Chase went 4.1 innings in the loss with five earned runs on seven hits. Leyner struck out three and gave up four hits in 2.2 innings of work, while Garrett Bell threw the final inning of relief.

The Bombers head to Skidmore College for their Liberty League opening series in Saratoga Springs on Saturday and Sunday.