LA VERNE, Calif. – The Ithaca College baseball team bounced back from its loss yesterday to Redlands with a 6-4 victory at La Verne on Saturday morning to conclude its spring trip to California. Ithaca is now 5-3 on the season, while La Verne falls to 10-6. This is the third straight season that the Bombers have won five games against their California counterparts.

The Bombers wasted no time to take a lead in the contest as sophomore Garrett Callaghan led off the top of the first inning with a triple to the left-center gap. Senior Garrett Snyder then drove in Callaghan with a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0.

La Verne tied things up in the bottom of the third with a one-out base hit up the middle, which was set up by a triple down the right field line. The Leopards then loaded the bases on a base hit, error and walk, but senior Tyler Hill avoided any further damage by inducing a foul out and fly out to get out of the jam.

Ithaca answered with a four-run fourth inning on three hits to extend its lead to 5-1. Sophomore Jack Lynch started the rally by reaching on an error. After a single from sophomore Brendan Ryan, senior Cam Fuoti drove in Lynch with a base hit to right field. Ryan would come home on a sacrifice fly from junior Buzz Shirley to give IC a 3-1 advantage. La Verne would go to its bullpen after that but a bunt single by Callaghan and a hit by pitch to Snyder loaded the bases. Senior Webb Little gave the Bombers a 4-1 lead with a walk and then Callaghan scored on an error to cap off the four-run outburst.

The Leopards got a run back in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out triple but a fly out in the next at bat stranded the runner at third base.

Fuoti reestablished Ithaca's four-run lead, 6-2, with a sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the seventh. Lynch scored on the play after he led off the inning with a single and moved up to third on a pair of bunts by Ryan (fielder's choice and error) and senior Jackson Smith (sacrifice).

La Verne pulled to within two runs at 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly and single up the middle. A lead-off doubled, followed by a single, set up two runners in scoring position with no outs. The Leopards then pushed a run home with the sac fly to make it a 6-3 spread. After a strikeout, La Verne stroked back-to-back singles to bring in the second run of the inning.

IC went to its bullpen, as senior Matt Eiel relieved sophomore Tom Cosentino. Eiel hit the first batter he faced to load the bases but got out of the stressful situation with a looking strikeout to preserve Ithaca's 6-4 lead.

Over the final two innings, La Verne managed to put just one runner on as Eiel notched his first save of the season in 2.1 innings pitched with a pair of strikeouts.

Hill earned his second win of the trip in six innings pitched with three strikeouts. Hill allowed two runs on nine hits before exiting the game.

Callaghan and Lynch each went 2-for-5 with two runs scored in the game. Fuoti was 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.

The Bombers will return to action on March 23-24 at home for a three-game Empire 8 Conference series with Utica College.