Ithaca, NY: The #18 Ramapo College softball team won the 2017 NCAA Ithaca Regional 3-2 over #20 Ithaca College today at Kostrinsky Field. The Roadrunners (32-9) advance to the Super Regional round to begin May 18th at 4pm against Amherst College in Amherst, MA. The Super Regional format is a best of three series with the winner advancing to the 2017 NCAA Championship Tournament. The championship tournament is scheduled for May 25-30 at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK.
For Ithaca (33-12) in the top of the fourth inning, Jessie Fleck led off with a slap single back up the middle before the Roadrunners recorded the first two outs. Hannah Anderson then stepped up to the plate and drove a home run over the left field fence putting the Bombers up 2-0.
Nicole Hernandez beat out an infield single to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning before
Sisi Machinski moved her up to second base with a sac bunt.
Jackie Howarth walked before Hernandez was lifted for pinch runner
Alexandria Rigoli with one out. The Bombers induced a fly out and strikeout to end the Roadrunner threat and preserve the 2-0 lead.
The Ramapo defense would hold Ithaca to just two runs allowing them to come back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. With no outs and the bases loaded
Grace Brennan drove home
Nicole Mahoney with a sac fly to deep center field cutting the Bomber lead in half 2-1. Mahoney worked a lead off walk to start the rally.
Shannon Cox also advanced to third base on the play before later scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2.
Kristen Ruggiero, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning moved to third when she tagged up on a foul out down the left field line to put the go-ahead run 60 feet away with two outs. The Bombers then got out of the inning with a ground out to shortstop.
The Bombers would put the go ahead run on second base in the top of the seventh inning with two outs until Ramapo starting pitcher
Erin Fitzsimmons induced a ground out to Hernandez at shortstop who fired to Mahoney at first base to end the threat – setting up an opportunity for a come from behind win in the bottom half of the inning.
Jackie Howarth led off the bottom half of the seventh with a hard hit double down the left field line before
Ally Spellman moved her up one base with an infield groundout. The Bombers choose to intentionally walk
Harper Patsko and Mahoney to load the bases with one out. Shannon got saw herself down in the count 1-2 before she ripped a hard hit ground ball past the pitcher allowing Howarth to cross home plate with the game-winning run.
Cox led all Roadrunners with three hits in the game finishing 3-4 while Hernandez and Howarth each collected one hit.
Erin Fitzsimmons (14-3) struck out one, walked one and scattered five hits in the complete game win.
Cox, Spellman, Patsko, Hernandez and Fitzsimmons were all named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team while Fitzsimmons was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament with two complete game wins on the mound. She struck out two and only surrendered three runs in the tournament along with ten hits in 14 innings.
The Roadrunners are making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons and the seventh overall. This is the first time in school history that Ramapo has moved onto the Super Regional round since the tournament format changed four years ago.
