By Rosie Sculco
The Plattsburgh State softball team headed to Hancock Park in Clermont, Florida for a ten game series that began on March 16.
Despite the challenges of playing on the road, the Plattsburgh State softball team (3-6) is focused on the future, bringing their experience and determination into their upcoming home opener.
The Cards started off the week strong in a matchup against Keene State (6-4), defeating them 3-2.
“I think that game was just staying within ourselves, trusting what we can do and going out to execute,” head coach Jessica Miller said. “I said a lot throughout the week: “We had seven weeks to get to where we’re at, trust that you can do it.”
The victory was Miller’s first career win as head coach.
First-year Bella Toleman scored two runs and an RBI, while junior Megan Pillus and sophomore Michelle DeFina each had a base hit and RBI. Another score came from first-year Meghan Stork.
Senior pitcher Carly Gemmett threw her third career complete game for the Cards, allowing two runs as she struck out 13. Gemmett added six walks and allowed two hits as she led the Cardinals to the win.
“Carly was able to build a lot of confidence through that game,” Miller said.
Gemmett earned her second straight SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week honor as she struck out 35 batters in 22 innings (11.7 K/7) and finished the week with a one-hit shutout over Salem State, striking out 12, allowing two walks.
Gemmett is in her second year with the Cards. She transferred from Hudson Valley Community College, earning First-Team All-Conference and NJCAA All-Region 3 Second-Team honors while ranking fifth in NJCAA with 195 strikeouts.
“Both coaches are so incredibly supportive. As a team, we are all determined to have a successful season. Everyone encourages the person next to them, and I find that to be so inspiring for us,” Gemmett said.
The ten-game series quickly turned into nine when a tornado warning canceled the second game of the tournament against Worcester State University (5-4) on March 16.
The Cards struggled through the next two days, ultimately getting run-ruled three games in a row.
Plattsburgh faced Simpson College (15-1), losing 1-10, and Ramapo College (10-1) on March 17, losing 0-8, in five innings for both games.
Plattsburgh faced the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (11-7) on March 18, losing 3-11 in six innings of play.
“We did not get the timely hits we needed to. We left 67 runners on base throughout nine games, where we only scored 30 runs. We look at it as a positive and a negative because we put the runners on, we just couldn’t get them in,” Miller said.
The Cards almost broke the losing streak when they faced SUNY Brockport (6-4), but ultimately lost 3-5 in 8 innings of play.
Against Brockport, Plattsburgh put up 12 hits; however, they left 15 runners on base in the eighth inning.
Pillus was 3-4 with an RBI, while sophomore Sara Isaacs was 2-5 with a double and an RBI for Plattsburgh.
Gemmett went 7.1 innings for Plattsburgh State, allowing four earned runs while tying her career high with 13 strikeouts.
Junior captain Morgan Ormerord finished the game for Plattsburgh, tallying two outs.
A 1-0 score held until the top of the sixth inning. Brockport took the lead as they tripled in a run and came around to score on a sacrifice fly.
The Brockport lead was short-lived.
Junior Gywneth Noll drove in sophomore Leila Toomey to tie the game. The Cards were unable to take the lead in the inning, and left two runners on base.
A scoreless seventh inning would send the game into extra innings, and Brockport wasted no time taking the lead. A Golden Eagle stole third and came around to score on a bunt single to start the inning. A single followed to put runners on the corners for Brockport.
A sacrifice fly, followed by a single, put the Golden Eagles up 5-2.
The eighth inning started with an international tiebreaker, meaning the last batted out from the previous inning starts on second base.
Toomey was placed on second.
Plattsburgh did not go down without a fight. Isaacs singled up the middle to score one run, putting the go-ahead run on a base, but a game-ending flyout to centerfield gave this game to Brockport.
“We want to carry over the timely hits to drive in runs, as well as to continue our strong defense,” Gemmett said.
The Cards picked up one more loss to Amherst College (8-4) on March 20 before snapping their losing streak.
After a 13-6 loss that same day, Plattsburgh defeated Westminster College (3-15), scoring nine runs to Westminster’s five.
In the fifth inning of the game, Plattsburgh’s offense exploded, scoring six runs on five hits to take a comfortable lead.
Sophomore Alyssa Hemingway gave Plattsburgh the lead with an RBI double and after a walk, Toomey singled home a run to put the Cards up 5-3.
Noll followed with a two-run single, and Manalo followed with an RBI double to put the team up 8-3.
Isaacs scored Noll with a sacrifice fly, giving Plattsburgh a 9-3 lead.
“We can take a lot away from that game. We always want to score first and often. If we continue our season like how we played against Westminster, I don’t think that other teams will be able to stop us,” Gemmett said.
Plattsburgh gained one more tough loss to Middlebury College (13-3) on March 21 with a final score of 4-6.
Before heading home, the Cards sealed the tournament with a 1-0 win over Salem State University (7-7).
Gemmett allowed one hit over seven innings while walking two and striking out 12 in the circle.
Isaacs went 3-3 with a run scored, while Toleman had an RBI double. Stork and sophomore Emma Deo each had hits as well for the Cards.
The Cards will see action next at home against Vermont State University Castleton on April 2 for a doubleheader.
“Our focus is to keep building on what we’ve already accomplished so far. Our team chemistry has gotten so much stronger since our Florida trip, and we will definitely continue to build on that,” Gemmett said.
Emma Deo mentioned in the story is the associate sports editor for Cardinal Points. Her involvement does not affect coverage of the team.
