WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Ithaca College softball team kicked off the 2025 season on Sunday with a pair of morning games at THE Spring Games in Orlando, Florida. The Bombers dominated Suffolk University, winning 8-0 in five innings, and later edged out Mount Union, 2-1. With these victories at the DiamondPlex, Ithaca starts the year with a 2-0 record.
 
ITHACA 8, SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY 0 (F-5 innings)
Sophomore Mady Rowell pitched a gem, allowing just three hits and striking out five in a five-inning shutout. Ithaca quickly took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Haley Petrucci doubled, driving in Jessie Lopez and Sela Scheinman. Sydney Miranda added a run in the second inning, and Lopez made it 4-0 with an RBI single from Kailen Winkelblech.
 
The Bombers extended their lead with four more runs on five hits. Jessie Lopez tripled to right field, driving in two runs, and later scored on a wild pitch. Cate Murray reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Emerson Poulin to score, sealing the 8-0 victory.
 
ITHACA 2, UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION 1 (F)
Jessie Lopez continued her hot streak, breaking the scoreless deadlock with an RBI single that brought home Cate Murray in the top of the fifth inning. The 1-0 lead was short-lived as the Purple Raiders tied the game in the bottom half of the frame when Kaitlyn Culver scored on a wild pitch. The eventual winning run came when Isabella Maynard was plated by Murray, who forced an error with her hustle to first base.
 
Lopez finished the game 4-for-4 with an RBI. In the pitching circle, Anna Cornell was outstanding, tossing all seven innings, striking out 12, and allowing just two hits.
 
Next up, Ithaca College will face Hood College at 9 a.m., followed by a matchup against Ohio Wesleyan University at 2 p.m. on Monday as play continues at THE Spring Games.