CLERMONT, Fla. – The Ithaca College softball team was back in action on Tuesday afternoon, and they picked up two more wins, as the Bombers first defeated Ohio Northern 5-2 before defeating Monmouth College 8-0 in five innings. The Bombers continued their strong start to their 2024 season and improved to 5-3 overall and are scheduled to play four more games as part of their spring break trip.
 
 Ithaca 5, Ohio Northern University 2 (F)
 
The Bombers continued to swing hot bats on Tuesday as they ended up outhitting Ohio Northern 9-5 and Anna Cornell spun the ball well in her five innings of action picking up five strikeouts as she picked up her third win of the season. Cornell gave up just two hits as the two Polar Bear runs were scored during the two innings of relief from Taylor Brunn.
 
It was a pitcher's duel until the bottom of fourth inning when the Bombers finally broke through for a pair of runs. Kailen Winkelblech got things going with a lead-off double and advanced to third on a Haley Petrucci single in front of the ONU left fielder. Both runners were plated with a Belle de Oliveira two-out double that made it 2-0.
 
Cornell worked a 1-2-3 top of the fifth frame including a strike out of Taylor Hilty. Jessie Lopez singled to lead off the bottom half of the frame and would come around to score on an RBI single from Elise Waddington. Kailen Winkelblech earned an RBI with her sacrifice fly and Anna Bello drove in Waddington on an RBI single to left field that made it 5-0 in favor of the Bombers. Ohio Northern scored both of their runs in the top of the sixth as Taylor Brunn was able to escape the inning without any more damage after forcing Taylor Hilty into a line out.
 
Ithaca 8, Monmouth (Ill.) 0 (F)
 
Mady Rowell helped propel the Bombers to victory as she earned her first collegiate win in the pitching circle as she went 4.0 innings with five strikeouts with Ainsley Rogers coming in relief to toss 2.0 innings of scoreless ball. Elise Waddington drove in the first run against Monmouth in the top of the first with her 10^th RBI of the season coming on a sacrifice fly that scored Sela Scheinman.
 
The Bombers would make it 2-0 in the top of the second frame when Scheinman singled up the middle that plated Ava Rao. IC continued to pad its lead and would go up 4-0 when Haley Petrucci connected on a two-run homer that cleared the outfield fence that drove in Elise Waddington.
 
The score remained 4-0 until the top of the fourth, when Ithaca drove in two more runs bringing its lead to 6-0. Taylor Andrews led off the inning with a walk and would score when Hudson Hassler legged out an RBI triple. Hassler was plated just one batter later when Elise Waddington drove her home with her second hit of the afternoon as Waddington finished 2-for-2 with two RBI. IC added two more insurance runners in the fifth inning with Sydney Miranda ripping an RBI triple to right field and Taylor Andrews driving her in with a single that went right back up the middle.
 
Up next, Ithaca College will be off on Wednesday before returning to action with two games on Thursday, March 14 in Clermont, Fla. The Bombers will first take on Occidental College at 10:15 a.m. before squaring off against Juniata College at 12:45 p.m.