ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College softball team is set to return to action after nine months behind head coach Kelly Robichaud and her two assistants, Payton Cutting and Dan Raymond. The roster is made up of seven upperclassman, five sophomores, and five first-years, who are looking to avenge their Liberty League championship loss the previous season.
 
Ithaca have a three-prong goal approach going into the season as they look to build upon the 2022 season successes while also looking for student-athletes to step up into new roles.
 
"We're looking forward to making the most of our non-conference schedule as we're excited for our spring trip down in Clermont, Fla. where we'll play strong competition and look to grow and get better every day," said head coach Kelly Robichaud. "We're looking to once again make a run at the Liberty League as this team is very goal-oriented and have a clear vision for this season where we'll compete to hopefully host the Liberty League tournament and compete for a championship."
 

Screaming because it's almost gameday🤩#GoBombers | #Team56 pic.twitter.com/PK4lMzn8ES

— Bomber Softball (@Ithaca_Softball) February 29, 2024

 
The Bombers are returning a few key members from last year's squad, including three All-Liberty League team selections from a year ago: Hudson Hassler (First Team), Sela Scheinman (First Team), and Anna Cornell (Second Team). Hassler led the Bombers in batting average last season with a .346 mark, while adding a .396 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage. She recorded the second-most RBI on the squad with 24. Scheinman was top-three on the team in almost every offensive category, including her .323 batting average and .428 on-base percentage to help pace the Bombers' offense. Cornell recorded the second most strikeouts in the Liberty League last season, racking up 140 strikeouts in 110.2 innings to earn a 1.79 ERA enroute to a 13-4 record for the year.
 
Aiding Hassler and Scheinman on the offensive side of things will be sophomore Haley Petrucci and senior Belle de Oliveira. Petrucci hit .282 on the season, while recording a .802 OPS, a .487 slugging percentage, and 25 RBI in 117 at-bats as she will look to also handle the team's pitching staff behind the plate. Meanwhile, de Oliveira hit .265, with a .618 OPS, and 13 runs in 102 at-bats, which included nine doubles, 13 runs scored, nine RBI and seven stolen bases. She had a strong Liberty League tournament where she helped spark the offensive attack with four hits in 13 at-bats.
 
Ithaca will look to depend on a pair of first year pitchers in Taylor Brunn and Mady Rowell to round out the pitching staff along with Anna Cornell.
 
The Bombers will open up their season against the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pa. for a doubleheader on March 3 beginning at 1 p.m. Ithaca will then take a trip to Clermont, Fla. for a 10-game slate that begins against Arcadia University on March 10 at 4 p.m.

Ithaca's first home games will take place on March 23 when the Bombers face off against Nazareth University for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. IC will then see its first Liberty League matchup come on April 6 when they take a trip to Schenectady, N.Y. to face off with Union College. The Bombers will close out the regular season slate with an away doubleheader at the University of Rochester on Saturday, April 27 and conclude it on May 4 when IC hosts RIT.
 
"We've made some adjustments in our offensive approaches and defensive strategies, it'll be fun to implement them this year and we hope to see all the Bomber support this spring out at Kostrinsky Field," added Robichaud.