Ithaca Opens NCAA Play With 8-1 Pasting Of Centenary [N.J.]
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The softball team (28-12), seeded second in this weekend's NCAA regional, posted an 8-1 win over seventh-seeded Centenary [N.J.] Thursday. The Bombers, who are hosting the regional, will face sixth-seeded Keuka at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Sophomore first baseman Carianne D'Alessandro (Bridgewater-Raritan/Bound Brook, N.J.) drove in three runs and senior second baseman Kait Dolan (Farmington/Victor) and senior left fielder Britt Lillie (Mendon/Honeoye Falls-Lima) both finished with three hits to pace Ithaca's offense and freshman Jill Olmstead (Ceasar Rodney/Magnolia, Del.) worked out of trouble in the sixth to thwart Centenary's best offesnive threat.
Lillie's RBI double and D'Alessandro's run-scoring single highlighted the Bombers' two-run second inning. Dolan and Lillie added RBI hits in Ithaca's four-run uprising in the fourth with center fielder Jennifer Biondi (Morris Knolls/Rockaway, N.J.) and freshman pinch-hitter Jackie Branco (West Essex/Roseland, N.J.) also driving in runs.
Olmstead earned her third save of the season, retiring the last four batters. She came in with the bases loaded and two outs following an RBI single that plated Centenary's only run. The Cyclones had been held hitless through 5.2 innings before a two-out bunt gave them their first hit. Senior starter Alison Greaney (John F. Kennedy/Iselin, N.J.), who improved to 10-3, had allowed only two baserunners (a fourth-inning walk and an infield error one batter before Centenary's first hit). A Cyclone walk loaded the bases before Olmstead entered and shut down Centenary.
D'Alessandro's two-run single in the sixth closed out the scoring. Dolan and Lillie both scored three runs.
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