HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Ithaca College baseball team moved on in the winner's bracket of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a high-scoring, 17-11 victory over St. John Fisher College on Thursday afternoon at Dobbelaar Field in Hoboken, N.J. The victory for Ithaca pits them against Stevens tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the opportunity to advance to the Empire 8 title game on Saturday.  Ithaca is now 26-14 on the season, while Fisher drops to 26-15.

The 28 runs scored in the contest matches the most runs scored in an Empire 8 Tournament game. Ithaca was part of the other 28-run onslaught against Canton during the 2015 tournament as the Bombers prevailed, 19-9.

Ithaca used an eight-run seventh inning to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 14-7 lead, which proved to be the difference maker in the contest. The Bombers also recorded 15 hits, including two home runs and three doubles, and four different places notched multi-hit games.

Fisher struck first in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out double down the left field line to take a 1-0 lead. A leadoff hit batter came around to score after a passed ball and groundout moved him up to third base.

The Bombers answered in the top of the third inning with an RBI double off the bat of sophomore Andrew Wollner to tie the game at 1-1 as freshman Jack Lynch scored from second base. Lynch led off the inning with a base hit and stole second to move into scoring position.

Ithaca continued to hang runs on the board in the third as junior Andrew Bailey stroked a two-run double to right, which brought home Wollner and senior Domenic Boresta, who reached on a walk. Junior Sam Little capped off the four-run frame with an RBI single up the middle to plate Bailey.

In the top of the fourth, junior Webb Little added another run to the Bombers' lead with a bases loaded single through the left side of the infield to drive home Lynch.

Fisher got a run back in its next trip to the plate with a solo home run by Scott Eisenmenger. After a pair of two-out walks, Victor Konstantinovsky tied the game at 5-5 with a three-run homer to right field.

IC jumped back on top in the sixth inning on a solo homer by Boresta, but the Cardinals regained the lead in the bottom half, 7-6, on a two-run single.

In the seventh inning, Ithaca exploded four eight runs on four hits, including a grand slam by W. Little to break the game open. W. Little led off the frame with a base hit and eventually scored on a two-run single by Lynch to once again give Ithaca the advantage at 8-7. After a pitching change, a pair of walks to Wollner and Generali, along with a hit by pitch to Boresta forced two runs to score.

 Once again, Fisher would go to the bullpen, but W. Little stepped to the dish for the second time in the inning and blasted a grand slam to centerfield to put IC ahead, 14-7.

W. Little finished the game 4-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored.

Fisher would not go down without a fight, however, as the Cardinals pulled to within a 14-10 score on a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.

Ithaca got those runs back in the top of the ninth on a bases-clearing double by junior Adam Gallagher and the Bombers would go on to win the opener, 17-11.

In the ninth, Generali started the rally with a one-out walk, and then W. Little followed with a single before Bailey drew a free pass to load the bases to set up the three-run double by Gallagher.

Bailey, Gallagher and Lynch each had two hits in the win for IC.

Junior Matt Eiel picked up the win in three innings of relief. Eiel allowed four runs on four hits with three strikeouts before being relieved by senior Jack Morello, who tossed a scoreless ninth inning.

Junior Jake Binder started the contest for IC and was roughed up for seven runs over five innings with a pair of strikeouts.

Ithaca will face top-seeded Stevens tomorrow afternoon at 1p.m. after the Ducks dropped Houghton College, 4-2, to open the tournament this morning.