Score: Ithaca College 4, Elmira College 3
Records: Ithaca (26-11), Elmira (16-18)
Location: Rochester, New York -- Dugan Yard

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The No. 3-seeded Elmira College baseball team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 2 seed Ithaca College in the opening round of the Empire 8 Conference Championships on Thursday, as the Bombers overcame a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off two-run double.

Elmira starter Conor Bawiec '18 pitched a gem to put the Purple and Gold in position for the upset, scattering eight hits across 8.0 innings with four strikeouts. He gave up a single run in the third and eighth innings, but limited in the damage by inducing double plays in the first and fifth. In the bottom of the opening frame, Ithaca's leadoff hitter, Josh Savacool, connected on the first pitch he saw, but the Bawiec got Will Little to ground into a 4-6-3 double play in the next at-bat to erase the baserunner. The Lebanon, Pennsylvania, native then worked around a two-out error and walk to preserve the scoreless tie in the second inning.

The Soaring Eagles threatened to break the stalemate in the top of the third inning. With two outs, Bryce Plante '18 stroked a soft liner into the left center gap for Elmira's first hit of the afternoon. Hayden Rothenberg '17 was then plunked and both runners moved up a base when Ithaca starter Robby Buffis was called for a balk, but both were stranded in scoring position. The Bombers, however, were able to come through with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Third baseman Ryan Henchey plated the game's first run with a two-out base hit, the team's third knock of the frame, scoring Savacool from third.

EC finally broke through against Buffis in the top of the fourth inning, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Dylan Bellinger '17 led off with a base hit back up the middle of the infield, and Tommy Fogarty '20 followed by lifting the ball into left for a single. Jansen Crossley '20 sacrificed the duo into scoring position, and a sac fly hit by Dennis Rudolph '18 to center field tied the game at 1-all. Fogarty then touched home for the go-ahead runner on a two-out error committed by Ithaca shortstop Trevor Thompson.

Both sides were held scoreless in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but Elmira didn't go down quietly in its half of the seventh. Rothenberg reached base on another IC error, followed by a Bawiec base hit. A four-pitch walk issued to Fogarty juiced the bases with two outs and chased Buffis from the mound, but relief pitcher Tom Cosentino forced pinch-hitter Matt van Muelken '18 to ground out to keep the difference at just a single run.

Elmira made the Bombers pay for their fifth error of the afternoon in the top of the eighth. Following a two-out single off the bat of Eddie O'Donnell IV '18, Bryce Plante '18 ripped a double just inches fair down the left field line, moving O'Donnell to third. Ithaca should have escaped the inning unscathed, but a pair of Bombers collided trying to catch a routine pop up on the infield hit by Rothenberg, allowing O'Donnell to score and extend the lead to 3-1.

Ithaca was able to trim the deficit back down to one run in the bottom of the eighth, thanks in part to consecutive free passes surrendered by Bawiec. Dominic Boresta came through with an important two-out single lined into left, allowing Henchey to score from second.

After 120 pitches, Bawiec was lifted in favor of second-year lefty Andy Reed '19 for the final inning, with EC clinging to a 3-2 lead. The Bombers got to Reed quickly; Savacool and Will Little both singled to lead off the inning. IC chose to sacrifice the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, and with first base open, Sam Little was intentionally walked to set up an inning-ending double play. Alas, Henchey worked a full count before slugging the walk-off two-bagger down the left-field line.

Turning Point
After Buffis set down the first eight Elmira batters he faced, the Soaring Eagles put runners on base in every inning but the sixth. Although EC carried a slim lead into the final frame, it left several potential runs on the base path throughout the contest, 13 to be exact. In the third, Rothenberg and Plante were stranded at second and third, respectively. In the fifth, Elmira had runners on the corners with two outs, and in the seventh, the bases were left loaded. Even in the top of the ninth, Sam Plaugher '20 and Rudolph registered back-to-back singles, but the Soaring Eagles were unable to drive in any insurance runs.

Inside the Box

• Ithaca outhit Elmira, 11-to-8.
• EC committed just one error, whereas the Bombers had five miscues.
• Seven Soaring Eagles recorded a hit, led by Plante, who went 2-for-4.
• Plante's double was Elmira's only extra-base hit of the game.
• Bellinger, Fogarty, and O'Donnell each had one hit and one run.
• The top five batters in Ithaca's lineup were responsible for 10 of the team's 11 hits.
• Savacool, the lead-off hitter, posted a game-high three hits.
• Henchey finished 2-for-4 and drove in three of IC's four runs.
• Bawiec gave up two runs and fanned four in 8.0 solid innings of work for Elmira.
• Reed was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
• Andrew Bailey earned the victory for Ithaca with 1.1 scoreless relief innings.

News and Notes

• Elmira's overall record falls to 16-18.
• EC is now 0-2 all-time in Empire 8 Tournament games.
• Thursday's win was Ithaca's third in four meetings with the Purple and Gold in 2017.
• The walk-off loss was Elmira's third of the season.
• Bawiec extended his consecutive game on-base streak to 27 games.
• Bellinger has reached base safely in each of the last 12 games.
• Fogarty's singles lengthened his streak to seven straight games with at least one hit.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will continue play at the Empire 8 Championships in an elimination game on Friday, May 12. against the No. 1 seed, St. John Fisher College. The No. 14 nationally-ranked Cardinals will host Elmira at Dugan Yard with first pitch slated for 9:00 a.m. SJFC was upset by fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology, 7-3, in the first game on Thursday.