When it comes to softball in May, Kostrinsky Field is no stranger to the intensity and emotions of the playoffs. For the fourth straight season, the walls atop Ithaca’s South Hill will hold the Empire 8 Championship Tournament.

The Bombers’ win on Friday over Alfred University moved the team to 10–2 in the conference on the season, granting them the Empire 8 regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. Playing the majority of games at home is something the Bombers will not take for granted.

“You know your home field like the back of your hand,” sophomore Allison Greaney said. “You know where the ball is going to go and how it’s going to bounce.”

Aside from the actual physical advantages of playing at home, the idea of being home for the last week of classes and upcoming finals week is attractive as well. By not traveling to a hotel after a cramped bus ride, the team is effectively taking a day off the schedule, which gives each athlete more time for their studies.

“It’s nice that we are not worrying about class or final projects and papers,” Greaney said. “Everybody is here, instead of a hotel.”

With schoolwork under control, the Bombers realize that the rest of their focus will need to be on the games. Since the conference has improved this season, the team knows they need to come ready to play every game, regardless of the opponent.

“The conference has definitely gotten stronger over the years,” junior Caitlin Ryan said. “It makes it easier for us to play up to our competition.”

The two conference losses were the team’s first since 2005, a sign of the parity between teams that is starting to settle in.

“Every team is beating every team,” junior Alyssa Brook said. “All the teams have stepped it up a notch.”

Yet, the Bombers remain on the top of the conference again. The losses, though, are giving the team more motivation to get the job done. Even when they clinched, the Bombers were left with a bad taste in their mouths after their 6–0 loss to Alfred University in game two of Friday’s doubleheader.

“We feel good about winning the Empire 8, but the second game was a little down,” Brook said. “It will give us a little more motivation going to the playoffs.”

That game was a prime example that the team needs to come ready to play every single game. They are looking to their defense to set that tone in the playoffs.

“Everything stems from our defense,” Greaney said. “When our defense is there, and everybody is communicating and locked in, we can’t be beat.”

Greaney said the offense needs to feed off of their defensive efforts in order for the team to play well.

Like last season, the Bombers have an added incentive to win the Empire 8 tournament and make the NCAA Playoffs. On April 2, Ithaca College was chosen to host a first-round regional for the NCAA Tournament.

Much like NCAA basketball team Michigan State trying to make it to Detroit for the Final Four, the Bombers are motivated by seeing Kostrinsky Field’s hallowed walls for a few more days.

To get to the regional, the team only needs three wins to take the Empire 8 tournament. The Bombers start that quest against Rochester Institute of Technology at noon Friday at Kostrinsky Field.