Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (March 30, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team opened its Empire 8 Conference schedule against the Ithaca College Bombers on Saturday afternoon at the Weehawken Waterfront.  The Ducks dropped both games of the doubleheader, 7-0 and 11-0 (5 inn.).
 
Ithaca improves to 7-5 overall and starts conference play 2-0 with the pair of victories while Stevens drops to 1-15 (0-2).
 

Ithaca 7, Stevens 0
 
It was apparent early that senior Molly Herforth (Pompton Plains, N.J.) had her best stuff in the circle as she opened the game with back-to-back strikeouts, catching both Bombers looking.  She got Ithaca's No. 3 hitter, junior first baseman Sydney Folk (Long Beach, N.Y,), into a full count and looked on her way to recording a perfect inning, but a big swing by Folk sent the ball over the centerfield fence and gave the Bombers a 1-0 lead.  A pair of walks later, Ithaca doubled in two more runs to make it 3-0, after which the Ducks finally got out of the inning.
 
Stevens just missed getting on the board right away as well, with a pair of leadoff bunts putting runners on first and second base with no outs, but a run-down at home plate kept the Ducks off the board.  The The Ducks had another chance in the bottom of the second inning with senior catcher Clair Strom (El Paso, Texas) on second base when senior centerfielder Lauren Hurley (Sparta, N.J.) sent a single up the middle, but Strom held up at third and Hurley was caught stealing in the next at-bat.
 
Ithaca added another run, again with two outs, in the top of the third and nearly tacked on another in the fourth, but a heads-up play by Herforth got the runner at home to keep the score 4-0.  That would only last one inning, however, as the Bombers capitalized on an error that extended the fifth inning to score two more and take a six-run lead.  Folk's second homer of the game in the top of the sixth innings made it 7-0, which would be the final score.
 
Junior shortstop Danielle DeFeo (Andover, N.J.) and freshman left fielder Gavriella Risman-Jones (New Boston, N.H.) each recorded two hits in four at-bats as Stevens matched Ithaca with eight hits each.  Herforth took the loss, allowing five earned runs and striking out five over seven innings.
 
Folk led the Bombers with a big day at the plate, going 3-4 with three runs, two RBI and bashing two home runs.  Senior centerfielder Jen Biondi (Rockaway, N.J.) was 1-3 with a walk, two runs and one RBI while junior Sam Bender (Levittown, Pa.) picked up her fourth win of the season in the circle, holding the Ducks scoreless while striking out two.
 

Ithaca 11, Stevens 0
 
The Bombers took control of Game two early as well, scoring one on a bases-loaded walk in the first innings and tacking on five more, including three on a homer by freshman designated player Brooke Powers (Newton, N.J.), in the second.  Ithaca added two more in the top of the third inning to lead 8-0 and made it 11-0 in the fourth on a double and two-run homer. 
 
Stevens had base runners in every inning, with the Ducks' best chance coming in the third as freshman right fielder Kelsey Dempsey (Broomfield, Colo.) and Risman-Jones advanced to second and third on a passed ball with two outs, but freshman Allison Macari (Stamford, Conn.) was on her game and held the Ducks scoreless for the second game, surrendering only three hits and two walks while striking out two in five innings.
 
Risman-Jones, Dempsey and Strom recorded the Ducks' only hits in Game Two, with Dempsey also drawing a walk long with freshman second baseman Sydney Spitz (Shelton, Conn.).  Sophomore Brianna Sandone (Haddon Township, N.J.) took the loss in the circle, allowing eight earned runs on 11 hits and five walks.
 
Freshman right fielder Casey Gavin (Wallingford, Conn.) was a perfect 3-3 with two runs and two RBI for the Bombers while junior second baseman Julianne Vincent (Stamford, Conn.) went 2-3 with three runs, two RBI and a homer.

 
Spitz extended her team season-high hit streak to six games before ending it in Game Two, although she also extended her on-base streak to seven games, tying Dempsey's team high of seven.  DeFeo's two-hit game was her fifth of the season, while Risman-Jones' was her second.
 
Head Coach Erica Mehalick and the Ducks will look to bounce back on Thursday, April 4 as they host William Paterson University (6-8).  First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 3 p.m.  The game will be broadcast via Livestats, which can be accessed here.