ITHACA, N.Y. – After clinching the No. 3 seed for the upcoming double elimination Liberty League Championship tournament, the Ithaca College softball team will look to claim its first Liberty League championship since the 2019 season. The Bombers will take on No. 2 University of Rochester in the first round on Thursday at 3 p.m. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
 
ABOUT THE LIBERTY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:
The University of Rochester have claimed three-straight Liberty League championships as for the second-straight season, RPI will once again host the three-day tournament. The Engineers finished as the regular season champs with a conference record of 12-2 and 32-3-1 overall record. The Bombers won back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

 
Thursday, May 9
 
PLAY-IN: No. 5 St. Lawrence (19-14) vs. No. 4 RIT (12-21-1) – 10 a.m.
 
GAME ONE: Winner of the Play-In vs. No. 1 RPI (32-3-1) – 12:30 p.m.
 
GAME TWO: No. 2 Rochester (27-7) vs. No. 3 Ithaca (25-12) – 3 p.m.
 

Friday, May 10
 
GAME THREE: Winner of Game One vs. Winner of Game Two – 10 a.m.
 
GAME FOUR: Loser of Game One vs. Loser of Game Two – 12:30 p.m.
 
GAME FIVE: Winner of Game Four vs. Loser of Game Three – 3 p.m.
 

Saturday, May 11
 
GAME SIX: Winner of Game Three vs. Winner of Game Five – 12 p.m.
 
GAME SEVEN: If necessary – 3 p.m.
 
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
 
2024 LIBERTY LEAGUE STATS
 

SCOUTING THE BOMBERS:
Winners of four-straight and an overall record of 25-12 heading into the weekend, Ithaca College will look to repeat its formula from last spring where they also were the No. 3 seed and finished as runners-up.
 
The 2024 version of the Bombers are much more offensively balanced as they hit .313 as a team, which ranks third within the Liberty League behind RPI (.332) and Rochester (.313). Ithaca has also combined for the third best ERA within the conference at 2.30 as the pitching staff is headlined by Anna Cornell. Cornell has put together her best season yet, leading the LL in strikeouts with 189 and is tied for first in shutouts this season with five. The junior has totaled a 1.70 ERA as she will most likely be in tandem with first year Taylor Brunn who has a 2.38 ERA in 61.2 innings.
 
Leading the Bombers offense this year has been Haley Petrucci who paces IC in batting average (.392), on-base percentage (.474), home runs (12) and RBI (33). Elise Waddington and Jessie Lopez are each tied for a team-best in hits with 42 as Waddington also has 13 doubles and 32 RBI and scored a team-high 27 runs during the regular season. Petrucci, Waddington, Lopez, Sela Scheinman (.327), Sydney Miranda (.366), Olivia Comolli (.311) and Ava Rao (.308) are all hitting over .300 on the year.
 
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
 
RPI holds a 32-3-1 overall record and posted a 15-2 record on its home field as they most recently were ranked No. 15 in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. They feature a pair of pitchers who hold the lowest ERA within the conference in Ava Market (0.82) and Brooke Sroczinski (0.92). Sroczinski has tossed 121.2 innings where she has struck out 131 and holds a 15-1 record, which includes six shutouts.
 
The Engineers lineup is led by Erin Askins who is hitting .400, which includes a team-best 46 hits and 37 runs scored. Alex Ledger has connected on five homers and has driven in 28 RBI. Ithaca and RPI met at Kostrinsky Field on April 12 for a doubleheader, which saw both games go into extra innings with RPI winning 4-2 in 10 innings and then followed by a 7-5 win in nine innings.
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS
Led by first-year head coach Abby Hurley-Martin, the University of Rochester clinched the No. 2 seed with a regular season record of 27-7 and have won seven in a row entering postseason play. They have an extremely balanced lineup as they hit .328 as a team. First year Riley Laygo has had a monster debut season for the 'Jackets leading them in several statistical categories including runs (41), hits (54), home runs (11) and RBI (36). She has also stolen 13 bases as her and Jenna Gorecki batting above .400 with Gorecki slashing .420.
 
The Bombers should expect to see sophomore Molly Broccolo who was an NFCA First Team All-Region III selection and First Team All-Liberty League in 2023 and this year she has put together a 1.51 ERA across 101.2 innings pitched, which includes five shutouts. Maddie White and Lauren Keys have also saw time in the pitching circle as they each have ERAs of 1.93 and 1.98, respectively.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The play-in game is a must win for both RIT and St. Lawrence as the loser of this game is eliminated from postseason play. The Tigers qualified for the Liberty League tournament for the first time since 2017, but were most recently swept by Ithaca on the final day of the regular season. Maddy Cook leads the offensive charge batting .336 where she has driven in 25 RBI. Sophomore Jessica Majot has spun the ball well for RIT as she has a team-best ERA of 2.13 and has tossed three shutouts.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
St. Lawrence clinched its first playoff berth since 2013. Both the Saints and RIT has the same conference record, but RIT had a better record against No. 2-seeded Rochester, which gave them the fourth seed based on their record against conference opponents in descending order. SLU finished the regular season at 19-14 overall and teams should expect to face either of Sofia Berryhill or Izzy Melanson. Berryhill has tossed 93.0 innings where she has an ERA of 2.56. Rose Meredith is their most dangerous hitter leading the team in doubles (12), batting average (.352) and RBI (29).