There is something to be said for dominance, and it can be said that the baseball team has been dominant against the Empire 8. After winning three out of four games last weekend in Pittsford, N.Y., against St. John Fisher College, the Bombers were crowned Empire 8 champions for the eighth consecutive year.

Picked as unanimous favorites to win the conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Blue and Gold never relented in their quest for conference supremacy.

Senior outfielder Rob Raux said the team’s consistent conference victories are a result of staying focused and having good coaching from Head Coach George Valesente.

“Coach works us pretty hard, and we put in a lot of effort,” Raux said. “We come in before practice and stay after. We take a lot of pride in it, knowing we’ve won our league and winning all the games that we can and should win.”

Senior Josh Smith also said Valesente’s determination was instrumental in the Blue and Gold’s conference championship.

“Coach knows how to get us in the winning attitude,” Smith said. “He’s all about perfection, so we strive for it and play hard.”

Out of the 16 conference games the South Hill squad has played this season, 15 have resulted in wins. Most of these games were not close either. Ithaca’s average margin of victory over conference opponents is five runs, while the rest of the Empire 8 has averaged less than one and a half runs against the Blue and Gold.

Valesente said his talented group of senior leaders was instrumental in securing the conference title.

“We have strong senior leadership on this team,” Valesente said. “It’s really helped us through those times. These are all senior leaders that are making a great contribution with the attitude of the ball club. It’s kept us on our toes and determined.”

Smith said the team’s hard-nosed attitude toward its games has led to the conference victory and a potential shot at Regionals.

“We’re playing good ball and hitting the ball hard,” Smith said. “We’re refusing to lose and have a little attitude on us.”

Smith said the weekend games against Fisher were good representations of the team’s determination and hard work they put in against their conference opponents.

“Fisher battled us and we had some good games against them,” Smith said. “We didn’t play our best, but we didn’t give up at the same time.”

Valesente said the team has won so many consecutive Empire 8 titles because one of the team’s objectives every year is to win the conference.

“Some of it is also because we’ve been lucky — getting the right hits at the right time and the big outs at the right time,” Valesente said.

Though the Bombers have the Empire 8 wrapped up and have completed their conference schedule, there are still regular season games until May 11, which will determine how the team will be placed in the playoffs. Valesente said his team’s drive will continue to push it throughout the season.

“We don’t seem to give up, so that’s a great thing,” Valesente said.