Game 1 | Game 2
Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting Ithaca used solid pitching in both games of an Empire 8 doubleheader Sunday to record a sweep of Nazareth in softball. The Bombers blanked Nazareth 3-0 in the first game and came back to win the second game 8-2.

Ithaca improved to 18-8 overall and 9-1 in conference games. Nazareth is 12-14 overall and 4-6 in the Empire 8.

In the first game, Ithaca's Alyssa Brook outdueled Nazareth's Kelly Kocher on the pitcher's mound to pick up the victory for the Bombers. Brook limited Nazareth to just three hits and struck out six. Kocher yielded seven hits, walked four and struck out 12 in the loss. Kocher (10-4) now has 194 strikeouts in 97.2 innings pitched.

After scoring an unearned run in the first inning, Ithaca scored again in the fifth inning on a solo home run by Kerry Barger. Ithaca added its third run in the seventh as Alyssa Guzman had an RBI single.

Nazareth managed only a double by Casey Mathers in the second inning, a single by Ann Schoff in the third and a double by Brittany Patenaude in the seventh.

In the second game, Ithaca jumped in front early, scoring five runs in the first inning with the assistance of three Nazareth errors. Barger doubled home two runs and a home run by Molly O'Donnell plated two more.

Nazareth got two runs back in the second as Katie Valerio stroked a two-out single and scored in front of a two-run homer by Schoff that cleared the fence in right-center field. It was Schoff's fourth home run of the season.

Ithaca added two more runs in the fifth as Jennifer Biondi had a run-scoring single and Allison Greaney delivered a two-run homer.

Brittany Lillie was the winning pitcher for Ithaca as she scattered six hits and struck out six. Mathers was the losing pitcher for Nazareth.

The Golden Flyers return to action Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader against Keuka, starting at 3 p.m.