Capolongo Grand Slam Leads Ithaca To 4-3 Win Over Cornell
ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca softball team defeated Cornell 4-3 on a grand slam by Monica Capolongo in the bottom of the fifth inning. A second scheduled game was rained out. The Bombers are 23-11 on the season and the Big Red fell to 20-21. Ithaca picked up its first win over Cornell since April 27, 2006.
Ithaca's defense greatly helped in the victory, as the Bombers turned a school-record three double plays in the game -- in the second, third and fifth innings. In the second, Bomber junior third baseman Molly O'Donnell fielded a grounder, stepped on the bag for a force and threw to first base. In the top of the third, a comeback ground ball to sophomore pitcher Sam Bender was turned to second base, and then on to first by freshman shortstop Francesca Busa. Ithaca worked out of trouble in the fifth with runners on the corners as sophomore second baseman Julianne Vincent caught a line drive and threw to sophomore Sydney Folk at first base to double the Cornell runner.
The Bombers were held without a hit until breaking through with the four-run fifth inning. The rally started with a four-pitch walk to Folk and was followed by a bunt single from Vincent. On the next pitch, junior catcher Lindsey Johnson was hit by a pitch while squaring to bunt. Capolongo, the freshman centerfielder, smashed a line drive home run over the center field fence.
Ithaca shut down the Big Red over the final two innings without allowing a baserunner as sophomore pitcher Jillian Olmstead induced three flyouts and three groundouts. Olmstead (13-6) earned the win in relief of Bender. Olmstead worked the final three innings and allowed one hit, a two-run double that gave the Big Red a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth, with one walk and one strikeout. Bender was charged with three runs, two earned, over four-plus innings. She had one strikeout.
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