ITHACA, N.Y. - Playing a total of 19 innings on Friday afternoon, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) softball team continued their unbeaten streak on the 2024 season as they took two games from the Ithaca Bombers. RPI took the first game of the doubleheader 4-2 in 10 innings before defeating the Bombers 7-5 in nine innings in the second game of the day.

Game 1

The opening game of the day became a pitching duel between RPI's Brooke Sroczinski and Ithaca's Anna Cornell. Both were nearly flawless, each just surrendering one run before holding things scoreless until the 10th inning.

Elise Waddington put Ithaca ahead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out solo home run before RPI responded with a run in the top of the second off Cornell thanks to an RBI double from Sydney Speanburg. 

Cornell shut down the Engineers offense, striking out a total of 21 over the ten innings in the loss. Sroczinski did damage of her own, striking out 12 over nine innings of work. 

In the 10th, RPI started with a base runner on second in Catherine Worthington. Speanburg led off the inning, laying down a bunt that was thrown away by the pitcher allowing Worthington to score. Erin Askins collected a sacrifice fly one batter later before Callista Adorno gave RPI the cushion with an RBI single a couple batters later to score Evann McDowell who doubled after Askins. 

Ava Markert gave up one run in the bottom of the 10th, but held the Bombers at bay to secure the save.

Game 2

A miscue by Ithaca in the top of the ninth inning gave RPI a two-run lead to help secure the sweep for the Engineers. 

The Bombers came out swinging, knocking around Alexis Cooke for five hits and three runs in the first inning before Markert took over in the circle. Markert helped keep the Bombers at bay once again, holding them scoreless over six innings of play.

In that span, the Engineers came back, as a sacrifice fly from Speanburg broke the ice for RPI to make it 3-1 through four innings of play. In the top of the fifth, RPI tied the game as an RBI single from Gabby Comeau preceeded another sacrifice fly from Speanburg to even the score at 3-3. 

The score remained 3-3 into the eighth before RPI took a 5-3 lead. An RBI double from Adorno gave the Engineers a 4-3 lead before Alex Ledger knocked an RBI single up the middle to give the Engineers some breathing room.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth and a runner on, Olivia Comolli knocked a two-run home run over the left field fence to even the score back up for Ithaca, forcing the game into the ninth.

The Engineers then collected a break in the top of the ninth. With Askins on first and Worthington at third and McDowell at the plate, Askins took off for second to steal second. Ithaca attempted to pick off Worthington at third, and thre the ball off McDowell as the ball bounced away up the third base line. The play allowed both runners to score, giving RPI the 7-5 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ithaca threatened but was shut down by Sroczinski for her seventh win of the season.