The softball team is now on a 10-game winning streak after defeating Empire 8 foe Rochester Institute of Technology in a doubleheader yesterday. Both games ended in five innings as the scores were 8–0 and 14–0. The South Hill squad has now won 31 conference games in a row.

Even though the Blue and Gold shut the Tigers out in both games, the day was all about Ithaca’s performance at the plate. The Bombers pulled off 11 hits in the first game and 15 hits in the second game.

“We hit the ball well,” Head Coach Deb Pallozzi said. “That’s something we’ve been really concentrating on since we got back from California, so the kids are starting to put a big bat to the ball.”

Though the Bombers emerged with the win, senior pitcher and co-captain Nicole Cade got in a bases loaded jam with only one out after the first four batters. None of the players got on bases by hits.

Cade walked the first batter of the inning, RIT senior pitcher and first baseman Amanda Moorehouse. Two pitches later, Moorehouse was out on second due to a fielder’s choice by senior Allison Ingalis. Then Cade hit and walked the next two batters, respectively, to load the bases.

After a short talk with senior catcher Stacey Pelesz, Cade struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning. She ended up pitching a complete game, allowing only one hit, striking out 10 and walking only three.

“We just knew it was time to not let them score,” Cade said. “So, we didn’t let them score.”

The rest of the game was a breeze for the Blue and Gold. After a three-up, three-down bottom of the first inning, they would rip off runs in every inning to follow. They scored one run in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth.

“We’re getting better everyday,” Cade said. “[We’re] taking good cuts. We’re swinging at good pitches. We’re practicing hard every day in practice.”

Seven of the nine Ithaca batters got a hit against RIT freshman pitcher and first baseman Carlissa Cole, while five drove in runs and six scored runs. Even though Cole was struggling, the Tigers had no one to relieve her, as they only have 12 players on their roster, two of which are pitchers The other pitcher, Moorehouse, was scheduled to pitch game two, which was the same story for both teams.

Except this time, along with troubled pitching for the Tigers, they had trouble defensively as well. RIT had five fielding errors in the second game, which attributed to six of the Bombers’ 14 runs.

Senior pitcher Carly Myers, like her teammate Cade, was also stellar, pitching a complete game with only five hits allowed. She also struck out five and walked none.

Out of the 14 Bombers who batted in game two, nine got hits, while 10 scored and seven drove in runs. Also, sophomore first baseman Caitlin Ryan hit a solo home run over the left field wall in the third inning.

“It’s so fun to watch,” Myers said. “Everyone’s facing the ball really well and they’re getting better.”

However, the day was not all triumph for the South Hill squad. In the top of the first inning, senior shortstop and co-captain Erica Cutspec had to leave the game with a foot injury.

With Cutspec on third and one out, Cade was up at the plate. She hit a hard foul ball down the third base line which apparently struck Cutspec, forcing her from the game.

Replacing her at shortstop was Pelesz, the team’s starting catcher. Freshman Kerry Barger took over the catching duties from that point.

While Cutspec’s status is uncertain, Pallozzi said her team has to keep playing strong in the immediate future, as well as continuing to improve as the days go by.

“We’re going to have to be ready to play some teams that are going to make the plays, and [their] pitching is going to be a little bit better,” Pallozzi said. “So we’ve got to be ready to make plays.”