Morgan Ormerod pitching April 10.
By Justin Rushia
The Plattsburgh State Cardinals dropped both SUNYAC doubleheaders against strong Oneonta and New Paltz teams last week. The Cardinals fell to last in the conference.
Plattsburgh (7-19, 1-9) opened its week of SUNYAC play with a series against the Oneonta Red Dragons (14-14, 6-4) on Friday, April 19.
“We were really hunting for a sweep to get to that turning point in our season,” catcher Emma Deo said.
Plattsburgh has made the playoffs in its past two seasons. With how the Cardinals started this season, it would take a perfect season to make it back to the tournament. The Cardinals have just one conference win on the season going into this matchup.
Oneonta is a powerhouse in the SUNYAC, the team has made the conference tournament every year since 2013. The Red Dragons came into the matchup with a conference record of 2-4, putting them outside the playoff picture.
The Red Dragons started game one hot. Oneonta started with a single off of a bunt by Delaney Haley. Haley stole second base and reached third base after a wild pitch by Cardinal Morgan Ormerod, who threw the whole game. Haley finished her trip around the bases by stealing home and giving Oneonta the lead.
The Red Dragons rounded out the inning by tallying another run from an RBI single and shutting down the Cardinal’s offense, retiring their second, third and fourth hitters.
Neither team scored a run in the second inning. Oneonta’s aggressive baserunning did not pay off this inning as Plattsburgh found a counter to the Red Dragon’s tactic, getting thrown out while trying to steal second base.
“Once we saw what was happening on the bases, we quickly made the adjustment from not making it to the bag to getting there in time to make outs,” pitcher Julia Golino said.
Oneonta extended its lead in the top of the third inning after a two run blast to left center field, making it 4-0. The Cardinals once again finished the inning scoreless.
It would not be until the fifth inning that Plattsburgh scored its first and only run of the game, an RBI infielder’s choice single from Golino.
Oneonta scored three more runs in the top of the sixth inning, closing out game one with a final score of 7-1.
In game two, Plattsburgh again used a one pitcher approach, having Golino throw for all seven innings.
“Both Morgan and Julia are throwing really great right now and didn’t give us any reason to take them out,” Deo said.
Oneonta again took an early lead, going up one on the Cards in the top of the first inning. The Red Dragons bats stayed hot in the second inning, adding two more runs to the scoreboard, making the score 3-0.
Golino allowed the Red Dragons to score four more runs on the day, two of which came in the fourth and two in the sixth, giving Oneonta the 7-0 win and the series sweep.
Plattsburgh’s climb from the bottom of the SUNYAC did not get any easier in its second series of the week. New Paltz is undefeated in the SUNYAC with a 10-0 record and is on a 15-game win streak.
“No matter who you’re playing, you have to have the same mentality of playing hard and trusting your teammates,” Golino said.
Once again, Ormerod took the circle for the Cardinals’ first game of the series. The pitcher experienced deja vu, allowing two runs in the top of the first inning again. Fortunately for Plattsburgh, it held New Paltz scoreless the rest of the game. The Plattsburgh offense couldn’t support the defense and scored zero runs.
The Cardinals again went with Golino to start game two of the series. Golino started her second outing of the week by holding New Paltz to zero runs through two innings, making it the first time the Cardinals did not allow their opponent to get out to an early lead.
Golino got it done on both ends of the diamond, giving Plattsburgh a 1-0 lead after hitting an RBI single out to left center field.
New Paltz immediately responded to Plattsburgh, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth and shutting down the Plattsburgh offense, showing why they’re undefeated in the SUNYAC.
New Paltz blew the game open by coming back out and scoring three runs in the top of the fifth. The Cardinals stopped the bleeding by getting a run on the board in the bottom of the inning, giving New Paltz a 5-2 lead heading into the sixth.
Plattsburgh made a pitching change in the sixth inning, bringing in Sarah Milyko to finish the game. Golino finished her outing with four earned runs and two strikeouts. Both teams finished the sixth innings scoreless.
In the final inning of the week, Plattsburgh gave up two more runs to top-ranked New Paltz. The Cardinal offense was shut out, and the game ended with a final score of 7-2.
Plattsburgh has an action-packed week ahead. They will play SUNY Geneseo in a doubleheader Friday, April 26 and Brockport in a doubleheader Saturday, April 27.
“We’re really working towards finishing strong and growing as a team,” Deo said.
