Shane Hake '21 swings for a hit vs. Ithaca, March 20, 2021
8
Winner Ithaca College ITHACABB 1-0
7
Elmira College ELMIRA 0-4
Winner
Ithaca College ITHACABB
1-0
8
Final
7
Elmira College ELMIRA
0-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ithaca College ITHACABB 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 8 14 4
Elmira College ELMIRA 3 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 6 2

W: Charlie Hammel (1-0) L: Crysler, Alex (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Bombers Rally to Spoil Baseball's 2021 Home Opener at Dunn Field

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Ithaca College spoiled Elmira College's baseball home-opener at historic Dunn Field on Saturday evening by clipping the Soaring Eagles, 8-7.

EC (0-4) took advantage of several miscues by the Bombers (1-0) in key moments of the early innings, but Ithaca's bats found new life in the late innings to complete the comeback.

The Soaring Eagles posted a three-spot in the bottom of the first, thanks to a pair of Ithaca errors. After Shane Hake '21 and Mark Ryan '21 led off the inning with hits, it looked as if the Bombers got the ground ball they needed to stall EC's hot start. However, an errant throw while trying to turn two allowed Hake to score Elmira's first run and tie it at 1-1.

With two outs in the first, Jourdan Plaisted '21 swung at a low strike three, but the ball got away from Ithaca catcher Gil Merod. Plaisted beat the throw to first to keep the inning alive, and on the return back to home plate, IC first baseman Buzz Shirley missed his target. The wild throw allowed Angus Adams '22 to score on the play, while Plaisted moved all the way to third. He would score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to give Elmira a 3-1 lead.

Up 5-2, EC added two more runs in the sixth inning. Michael Millross '24 slapped a single to no man's land between the first and second baseman to lead off the inning. Hake then drew a full-count walk before both men moved into scoring position on another wild pitch from Ithaca starter Matt Chase. A patient Ryan drew a 2-0 lead in the count, then cleared the bases with a two-run single that padded Elmira's cushion to 7-2.

The Bombers, however, saved their best work for the seventh and eighth innings. Ithaca tacked on three runs in each inning, first by chasing Taber Carter '22 from the mound with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh. Ahead 0-2 in the count, reliever Kyle Tubbs '22 was a pitch away from escaping unscathed, but Jack Lynch extended the frame with an RBI single. Kyle Gordon followed with a grounder deep enough into the hole at short to plate two more, cutting Elmira's lead to 7-5.

After tying the game at 7-all in the eighth, IC jumped ahead with a well-placed bunt base hit. Pinch-hitter Mike Nauta made the most of his only plate appearance with two outs in the visitor's half of the inning. The slow-rolling bunt stopped just to the left of the pitcher's mound, where neither pitcher Alex Crysler '21 nor third baseman Myles Littlejohn '24 could field the ball quick enough to make a play at first.

Charlie Hammel, who earned the win with 4.0 innings out of the Ithaca bullpen, faced the minimum in the last three innings to preserve the narrow victory.

News and Notes
  • Elmira's seven runs against Ithaca are a single-game season-high through four outings in 2021.
  • Batting one-two in the lineup, Hake and Ryan paced EC with two hits apiece.
  • Hake, who produced the only extra-base hit for the Soaring Eagles, scored two runs and drove in another.
  • Ryan tied Ithaca's Gordon with a game-high two RBIs.
  • Appearing in the field for the first time as a freshman, Millross posted his first collegiate hit and run.
  • Carter, who made his second start in three outings on the mound this spring, hurled a season-high 6.2 innings.
Up Next
Elmira and Ithaca, former rivals during the Bombers' days in the Empire 8 Conference, will wrap-up their weekend series with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 21. The first pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. at Freeman Field in Ithaca, New York.


 
Print Friendly Version