Score: Ithaca College 5, Elmira College 3
Records: Ithaca (11-9, 4-4 E8), Elmira (2-18, 2-9 E8)
Location: Freeman Field -- Ithaca, N.Y.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team was unable to maintain an early lead on the road over the Ithaca College Bombers on a wintry Sunday afternoon, as the hosts scored the final four runs of the game in the last three innings to beat the Soaring Eagles 5-3 at Freeman Field.

The Soaring Eagles struck first in the opening frame with a pair of runs. Ithaca starter Jake Binder walked lead-off batter Sam Plaugher '20 on four pitches, and he moved up to third on an errant throw by Binder while trying to field a Conor Bawiec '18 bunt. The next two batters each picked up an RBI, as Dennis Rudolph '18 hit a grounder that plated Plaugher and Tommy Fogarty '20 lifted a fly ball deep enough into left to score Bawiec.

The Bombers cut the EC lead in half in the second inning. Adam Gallagher led off with a single, stole second, and took third on an error, before scoring on a Garrett Snyder sac fly. A heads-up play by Fogarty allowed the Soaring Eagles to turn a double play on the fly out, as he cut down the throw from center and caught Domenic Boresta leaning too far away from second base.

Eddie O'Donnell IV '18 slugged a clutch two-out two-bagger that padded Elmira's lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth. His opposite-field extra-base hit flew over the head of the right fielder, giving Jansen Crossley '20 enough time to slide in safely ahead of the tag at home plate.

Right-hander Zach Williamson '20 hurled a career-high 6.2 innings in his first start as a sophomore. He allowed just one run through the first five frames, including three scoreless between the third and fifth innings, and several of which forced him to pitch through windy snow flurries. Williamson induced a pair of groundouts in the sixth, but Gallagher tied the game at 3-all with a two-out, two-run home run to left field. 

The Bombers scored two more in the seventh, the latter coming on a bases-loaded walk before Joe Kidd '18 entered out of the bullpen to get the Soaring Eagles out of a jam. Kidd fanned Boresta with an off-speed pitch that broke into the left-handed batter's box to leave the bases loaded. The senior worked a 1-2-3 eighth with one strikeout but was helped by some tremendous defense in center field. Rudolph was able to track a hard-hit ball off the bat of Jake Generali and made a diving catch for the final out.

Down by two, the Purple and Gold made things interested in the top of the ninth. With two outs, O'Donnell laced a single through the left side, and Joey Florio '20 legged out an infield single. Nick Sampogna '18 entered as a pinch hitter, pitting the left-handed batter against the right-handed reliever, Christian LaLomia. Sampogna took a hack at the first pitch he saw and drove a fly ball deep into the right-center gap. Alas, it wasn't deep enough, as Ithaca center fielder Matt Carey was able to track it down on the run just before the outfield fence.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 2-18 on the season and 2-9 in Empire 8 play.
• Williamson threw a career-high 6.2 innings in just the second start of his two-year collegiate career.
• Williamson tied a season high with three strikeouts.
• Kidd's appearance out of the 'pen was his second scoreless outing of the year.
• Shane Hake '20 made his first start as a Soaring Eagle and picked up his first career hit.
• Florio and O'Donnell tied a season high with two hits apiece.

Up Next
With the third game of the series against Ithaca postponed due to the cold, the Soaring Eagles will return to action at home on Friday, April 13, when Elmira hosts Hilbert College at historic Dunn Field. First pitch between the feathered foes is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.