The Ithaca College baseball team ended the 2025 season with a heartbreaking loss to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers on May 11 at Booth Field. After a 16-6 loss May 10, the Bombers fought to protect their Liberty League Championship Tournament title, but they were unable to find their groove and fell 4-1.
The IC softball team also faced the Engineers for the last matchup in their Liberty League championship May 10. The South Hill squad defeated the Engineers 8-0 in six innings, capping off a dominant 3-0 weekend and securing the team’s first title since 2019.
Senior pitcher Anna Cornell earned the Most Outstanding Performer award. Cornell started in all three of the tournament’s games and struck out nine batters in her final appearance against the Engineers. Senior shortstop Sela Scheinman, graduate student center fielder Belle de Oliveira and junior left fielder Jessie Lopez also brought their A-game to beat the Engineers, earning two runs each.
The softball team will continue its historic season by hosting the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament Regionals on May 15-16 at Kostrinsky Field.
The baseball team seemed to have learned from the previous game, where the Engineers scored eight of their 16 runs in the first three innings. Sophomore pitcher Danny Drotos kept the Engineers scoreless until the fourth. He had help from the defense at the end of the third, when an Engineer hit a single that was about to earn the team a run until senior second baseman Connor Pedersen got a hand on the ball and tagged a runner out, ending the inning.
Despite the Bombers’ strength on the mound, the Engineers never let them get ahead. Engineers first-year pitcher Ben Belliss was vigilant in the second inning, throwing three pitches to first base to try to tag out senior center fielder Collin Feeney. Feeney managed to steal second, but his speed was not enough as Belliss spun 180 degrees to tag him out during his next pitch.
Senior catcher Logan Scully said while stealing bases relies on base runners’ speed and reaction times, Belliss’ knack for tagging out runners impacted the Bombers’ mindset.
“[Belliss] did a good job holding us,” Scully said. “So not a lot of opportunities to steal.”
The Engineers’ persistence paid off when they hit a home run during their first at-bat in the fourth. They quickly loaded the bases and scored another run to end the inning up 2-0.
For a moment, the Bombers began to find their rhythm. Their bats kept connecting with a deafening crack and bases were loaded when senior third baseman Ryan Laubscher was hit by the ball, earning the South Hill squad a run. Their momentum came to an abrupt stop when the next batter fouled out and the inning came to an end. The Bombers did not score again for the rest of the game.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score,” Scully said. “We just couldn’t get the big hit to cash in the runs.”
The Bombers’ fans in the stands were quiet through the next two innings as the Engineers responded with a run of their own. They came alive again in the seventh when senior pitcher Dan Kellachan walked onto the field. It became a battle of the threes, as both Kellachan and Engineers’ senior pinch hitter Kameron Levesque sported threes on their respective jerseys. With three runners on base and the Bombers’ back against the wall, Kellachan pitched three balls before getting Levesque out with three strikes. Fans began to chant Kellachan’s name as play continued.
The South Hill squad appeared to play in slow motion in the eighth inning. The Engineers stole three bases during two at-bats and although they only scored one run, their performance had shaken the Bombers. There were no hits in the bottom of the eighth.
Everyone leaned forward in their seats as Bombers senior shortstop Riley Brawdy stepped up to bat for the last time. His bat made contact and sent the ball into middle field, where it barely grazed an outfielder’s glove as Brawdy made it to first. Graduate student left fielder Andrew McDermott and senior right fielder Ethan McDonough followed with two more hits, but the Engineers’ outfield rocketed the ball around the diamond to beat the Bombers’ to their bases and left Brawdy alone on third.
The Bombers could not outrun their last out. The next batter hit a fly ball to second base and the game was over. The Engineers secured a 4-1 victory and the title of 2025 Liberty League champions.
“I love my guys,” Scully said. “I wish we could do it over again.”
