TROY, NY – No. 2-seeded University of Rochester softball defeated the No. 3-seeded Ithaca College Bombers, 3-1, in their opening game of the Liberty League Softball Conference Championship on Thursday afternoon at Robison Field.
 
Both Ithaca and Rochester put a pair of baserunners on in the first, but both starters, Anna Cornell for the Bombers and Molly Broccolo for UR, worked out of the inning without allowing a run. Broccolo got Sydney Miranda to ground out, while Cornell struck out the side, getting Jensen Sminchak swinging to keep things scoreless after one.
 
Both starters cruised through the second while Cornell worked around a leadoff single by Savannah Nowak in the fourth before Ithaca struck first in the top of the fourth.
 
Elise Waddington and Haley Petrucci led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and though Broccolo retired the next two Bomers via a popout and flyout, Kailen Winkelblech smacked a single up the middle, just out of the reach of Broccolo, to score Waddington and put Ithaca on the board.
 
However, Rochester would come right back to answer and knot things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame. Sminchak notched UR's first extra-base hit of the contest with a one-out double to right center, and after Cornell retired Molly Mason, Lauren Keys pinch hit for Julianna Lyons and laced an RBI single to right, easily scoring Smichak to even the score at one-all.
 
In the top of the fifth, Broccolo worked around a one-out double by Sela Scheinman, notching her first strikeout of the afternoon against Jessie Lopez, while Cornell got right back in the circle and retired the side, one of a pair of 1-2-3 innings for the Ithaca starter.
 
Broccolo then matched Cornell's effort in the top of the sixth, one of three 1-2-3 frames for the UR sophomore, setting up the Yellowjackets to take the lead in the bottom of the frame.
 
Jenna Gorecki led off the stanza with an infield single to second, and was pinch-ran for by Katelyn Wade, who promptly stole second. An RBI double by Hannah Keiper then gave Rochester a 2-1 lead, before UR tacked on one more on Lyons' RBI single to center, scoring Mathili Shah, who pinch-ran for Keiper.
 
Up 3-1, Broccolo got a pair of quick outs to start the seventh before a two-out double by Belle de Oliveira brought the game-tying run to the plate, but Broccolo retired Scheinman after an eight-pitch at-bat with a flyout to center, securing the 3-1 victory for the Yellowjackets.
 
With the win, Rochester moves to 28-7 on the season, while Ithaca falls to 26-12.
 
Broccolo (13-4) earned the win, allowing just one run on seven hits, striking out two over 7.0 innings pitched. Cornell (14-7) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits, walking two and striking out 10.
 
Keiper and Lyons each went 1-for-2 with an RBI to lead UR at the plate, while Keiper added a walk to her line. Sminchak went 1-for-3 with a run scored, while both Wade and Shah scored runs off the bench.
 
Rochester now advances to the winners' bracket to face No. 1-seeded and 16th-ranked RPI, who earlier in the day beat the No. 4 seed, RIT. The two will square off at 10:00 a.m. at Robison Field, with the winner clinching a spot in Saturday's Tournament Championship Game.