The Ithaca College softball team won both games of its doubleheader against the Union College Dutchwomen on April 15 on Kostrinsky Field.
In a game that was shaping up to be a great pitching duel between the Bombers’ senior pitcher Riley Piromalli and Union sophomore pitcher Melody Kappel, the first competition ultimately resulted in a 8–0 blowout after five innings.
In the top of the first inning, Piromalli got into some trouble after walking the leadoff batter. She struck out the next batter, but that was followed up with a single to give Union first and third. However, the Bombers then produced some fantastic work to get out of the inning unharmed, with a strikeout leading to a caught stealing at home.
The Bombers struck first in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore second baseman Sela Scheinman led off with a single and stole second base. She was driven home by a double from the Bombers’ junior right fielder Hudson Hassler. The Bombers continued to threaten the remainder of the inning but had nothing to show for it.
The pitching and field work would then take over for the next couple of innings. Both pitchers did not give up much and, when they did, the defense was there to back them up.
The bottom of the fourth inning is when the pitchers duel turned into a lopsided game. The Bombers’ first-year student catcher Haley Petrucci would hit the ball directly back at Kappel, resulting in a single. Kappel managed to finish the inning but not without getting roughed up.
An error in the field allowed Petrucci to score and allowed sophomore first baseman Cynthia Ehrenfeld to reach first base. The Bombers followed this up with two more singles from junior left fielder Belle de Oliveira and senior third baseman Allison Dell’Orto with a sacrifice fly from Scheinman sandwiched in between. The inning ended with the Bombers leading 4–0.
The fifth inning was the same from the Bombers with Piromalli recording two more strikeouts, giving her seven total strikeouts on the day and completing her five-inning shutout.
“I needed to keep the ball low and rely on my spin pitches,” Piromalli said. “Then I could rely on my defense to have my back.”
The bottom of the fifth turned out to be the end of the game after the Bombers would put up four more runs following a Union pitching change.
After two Bomber singles to lead off the inning from senior center fielder Kailey Collins and senior designated hitter Madison Casale, Petrucci had the biggest hit of the day. Petrucci hit a three-run shot for her second home run of the season to make the game 7–0. After an error, a stolen base and sacrifice fly, de Oliveira would come around to score and invoke the 8–0 mercy rule.
The second game went much like the first for the Bombers, taking the 8–0 mercy rule victory after a six-run fourth inning. Sophomore Anna Cornell took the mound and struck out all three Dutchwomen in the first inning. Cornell nearly matched her career-high total of 13 strikeouts, notching 12 in just five innings of play.
After Scheinman struck out swinging to lead off the Bombers, Hassler singled and stole second to give the team an early scoring chance, but was thrown out on the basepaths following a Dell’Orto walk.
Senior Tava Kasper did not let it phase her, though, hitting a double to score Dell’Orto and scoring on a Collins single to give the Bombers a 2–0 lead.
The second inning passed with no scoring chances for either squad, but the bottom of the third inning saw a walk, error and single load the bases before the Dutchwomen notched a double play, catching a pop fly from Collins and throwing out Scheinman at home.
In the fourth inning, the Bombers put the game away. With two outs and a 3–0 lead after first-year student designated hitter Suzie Williams scored, Hassler hit an RBI double to bring two Bombers home. Dell’Orto then scored Hassler on a single followed by a walk by Tava Kasper. Kasper and Dell’Orto would execute a double steal and the throw went errant, letting Dell’Orto advance to home. In her second at bat of the inning, Williams singled to score Kasper, which was the final run of the game.
Cornell let up a double in the top of the fifth, but it was far too little too late, and the game was called following the end of the frame.
The Bombers’ next game is at 3 p.m. April 16 at home against the No. 25 University of Rochester Yellowjackets.
