AURORA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team earned an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader sweep of SUNY Canton on Sunday at Wells College. Sunday's twin bill was played at Wells due to unplayable condition at Freeman Field. With the sweep, Ithaca is now 11-9 overall and 4-1 in the Empire 8, while Canton falls to 7-14 and 3-5.

At the conclusion of the doubleheader, junior Ryan Henchey went 4-for-8 with five RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and a home run. Freshman Sam Little collected five hits in nine at bats with four RBI, three runs scored, a double and an outfield assist.

GAME ONE: Ithaca 3, Canton 2

Canton got on the board first with two runs in the second inning on one hit. A pair of errors by Ithaca led to the first run of the game and the next run crossed on a fielder's choice.

The Bombers cut their deficit in half with a run in the fifth. After a hit by pitch and stolen base by freshman Andrew Bailey, classmate Matt Carey delivered an RBI single to left-center field.

Ithaca then took the lead in the sixth on back-to-back hits from Henchey and senior John Stanley. Henchey drove in S. Little, who reached on a single and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. On the play, Henchey advanced to second on the throw home and then scored on a double off the leftfield wall from Stanley.

Sophomore Tyler Hill earned the win in a complete game effort. Hill gave up just two hits with six strikeouts. He needed just 84 pitches and retired the side in order in five innings.

Carey went 2-for-2 at the plate, while Henchey was 2-for-3.

GAME TWO:

Ithaca jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning on a pair of doubles, five walks and a hit by pitch. S. Little and Henchey stroked back-to-back doubles to start the rally. Following the hits, five straight batters reached by walk or hit by pitch.

The Bombers tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run single from junior Trevor Thompson that brought in juniors Josh Savacool and Brennan McCormack.

In the fifth, Ithaca extended its advantage to 11-3. Savacool started the three-run frame with a base hit to bring home freshman Webb Little, and then S. Little followed with a single which allowed McCormack to score from second and Thompson crossed after an error on the play.

Canton trimmed the difference down to 11-5 with solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Bombers responded with five runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Ithaca loaded the bases to start the inning with walks to Savacool and Thompson, and a single from McCormack. S. Little followed with a two-run base hit and then Henchey sent a shot over the left-centerfield wall to cap off the frame.

S. Little and Henchey both drove in four runs in the night cap, while Savacool and Thompson each had two. Savacool also walked four times in Game Two.

Senior Benji Parkes tossed seven innings and struck out nine batters with no walks for his third win of the season. Freshman Zach Zotolla and junior Jean Germosen each threw an inning of relief in the win.

Ithaca and Canton square off again tomorrow at 1 p.m. and a final decision on the location of the game will be made early tomorrow morning. If Ithaca's field is still unplayable, the contest will be back at Wells.