ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College softball team challenges both Ithaca College and Stevens Institute of Technology to Empire 8 Conference doubleheaders this upcoming weekend. The Soaring Eagles will begin the weekend with a road tilt against the Bombers on Saturday, April 22, at 1:00 p.m. EC will conclude this busy slate with a home matchup against the Ducks on Sunday, April 23, at 1:00 p.m. at Eldridge Park Stadium. Sunday's bout will also represent the Class of 2017 Recognition Day for Elmira softball.

LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles battled their way to a hard-fought doubleheader sweep of non-conference foe Alfred State on Monday, April 17. EC walked away with two one-run victories in the high-scoring twin bill, taking the first game 7-6 and winning the nightcap by a 12-11 final score. In the opening tilt, Elmira stormed out to an early 2-0 lead by plating one in both the first and second innings. Despite the early momentum, Elmira faced a 6-3 deficit heading into the top of the seventh inning. The Soaring Eagles answered with a RBI double from Emily Clark '19 and three straight RBI singles to storm ahead, 7-6. Although Alfred State put two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, Katie McDougal '18 held the home team scoreless to preserve the win. The second game of the day started off with both teams trading runs until the score sat knotted at 5-all in the second inning. The Soaring Eagles stormed ahead by four runs, after plating two in both the third and fifth frames, taking a 9-5 lead. EC continued to pull ahead in the seventh with RBI singles from McDougal and Hannah Lundgren '18, and took a six-run advantage, 12-6, into the home half of the frame. However, the contest became tense in the bottom of the inning, as the Pioneers scored five runs to cut the advantage to just one run, 12-11. Emily Carlin '17 moved to the pitching circle and recorded two consecutive groundouts to seal the victory.

CLARK DRIVES THEM HOME: Clark had an exceptional performance at the plate in Monday's twin bill, as she tied a career high with three RBIs in the nightcap and recorded five total RBIs in the doubleheader. The Trumbull, Connecticut, native became the first Soaring Eagle to record three RBIs in a game since Julianne Heggie '16 posted three against Utica College on April 23 of last year.

SCOUTING ITHACA: The Bombers have played exceptional softball of late, winning 14 of their last 15 games, with the only loss coming against 10th-ranked St. John Fisher College, 8-0, on Sunday, April 9. Ithaca's most recent result was a doubleheader sweep of SUNY Oneonta on Tuesday, April 18. The Bombers' Haley Congdon held the Red Dragons hitless in a 5-0 contest in the opening game of the twin bill. In the second game, Ithaca walked off in the bottom of the seventh inning, taking the contest by a 2-1 final score. Following all of this recent success, the Bombers record sits at 20-6 overall and 9-1 in conference play. Pitching has been Ithaca's main strength this season, as they rank second in the E8 in ERA (2.34) and opponent batting average (.233). Pacing the pitching staff has been Emily Holden and the aforementioned Congdon. Holden  paces the team with a 1.59 ERA and an 8-1 record. Congdon has played just as well, as she possesses a 1.83 ERA and a team-leading 53 strikeouts and 10-2 record. At the plate, senior outfielder Jessie Fleck is hitting at a team-high .450 clip. Sophomore Vanessa Brown has supplied a good amount of power for the squad, as she leads the team in RBIs 24 and has two homeruns on the year.  

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE BOMBERS: The all-time series against Ithaca has been been very one-sided, as the Bombers own a 52-4 lead in the previous meetings. Despite the series heavily favoring Ithaca, the Soaring Eagles have gotten the better of their conference foe in the past three season, besting the Bombers by a 1-0 score on April 14, 2014, in a home matchup. EC's last road victory against Ithaca came on April 21, 2013, winning a thrilling 12-inning contest, 4-3, in Ithaca, New York.  

SCOUTING STEVENS: The 2017 season for the Ducks can best be characterized as an up and down one. After starting the year with a 14-6 record in its first 20 games, Stevens has dropped eight of its last 14, which puts them at 20-14 overall. The biggest win of the year for the Ducks came on April 2, when they handed 10th-ranked St. John Fisher its second conference loss of the season, 2-1. In its most recent result, Stevens split doubleheader against St. Joseph's College (LI) on Wednesday, winning the first game 7-0 and dropping the nightcap, 9-4. The Ducks' offense has been the key to all of their success this year, as they rank first in the E8 in hits (319) and second in batting average (.320), runs (190) and RBIs (171). Leading the offense has been junior infielder Lauren Shirley. In 17 games Shirley has a team-leading .593 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage with nine doubles, two triples and three homeruns. Senior third baseman Emily Sellitti has also been crucial to the team's success with a .366 batting average and a team-leading 30 runs to go along with 13 doubles and four homers. On the mound, sophomore Christine LaRochelle leads the way with 9-4 record and a team-low 4.27 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE DUCKS: Sunday's tilt marks the 15th all-time meeting between Elmira and Stevens, with the Ducks owning a 10-4 advantage in the previous matchups. EC's last wins in the series came in a doubleheader sweep on April 20, 2013.

LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira returns to action on Wednesday, April 26, with a twin bill against Houghton College at Eldridge Park Stadium. The opening game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.