Monday, March 18, 2024

Cards sweep Norwich, now hosts Fredonia to wrap up SUNYAC play

The Plattsburgh State baseball team ended last weekend by splitting a doubleheader against Oneonta on the road. Afterwards, the Cardinals traveled to Northfield, Vermont Tuesday to take on Norwich University for a doubleheader, which the Cards managed a sweep, winning 8-2 and 3-1.

“We’re playing the same way we’ve been playing all year, but now we’re starting to take advantage on more of our opportunities,” head coach Kris Doorey said. “Our pitching continues to do well and we’re doing a little bit better offensively, so I’d say we’re playing pretty well right now.”

Riding a mini two game winning streak, PSUC went on to play Union College in Amsterdam, New York, to round out its stretch of five games over five days, all of which were played on the road.
“Our guys are pretty tired right now,” Doorey said. “We had to leave some kids home for class, but at this point in the year it’s just something we have to deal with.”

Although the Cards fell short to Union College Wednesday night, 4-3, PSUC holds a record of 10-20, and 2-13 in the SUNYAC conference.

Starting Friday, the Cards will host Fredonia at 3 p.m., then will end the weekend with a doubleheader Saturday with games at 12 noon and 3 p.m.

“They’ll be aggressive on the baseball, and do a little bit of everything,” Doorey said. “They’re good competition for us. They are having a down year this year, so it’ll be like any other SUNYAC game we’ve had so far. It’ll be close.”

The seniors will be honored this weekend for Senior Day. Like on most teams, this group of veterans do a lot to help pave a smooth path for those next in line. Although the wins have not added up to the team’s liking, it is the foundation within that is important for the program in its years to come.

“These guys have been great,” Doorey said. “Their leadership has been awesome during the season helping the younger guys grow. Our guys understand their roles and are able to help out on the team whenever they can.”

Heading into the final stretch of the season, it is always important to finish strong. In doing so, the Cards have been improving on all of the fundamentals and other little things that contribute to winning ballgames.

“I think our team has done a real good job at stealing bases,” sophomore pitcher Ryan Whalen said. “Being aggressive helps our hitters by taking pressure off them to move runners up by already being in scoring position.”

Whalen is one of the pitchers in the rotation for the Cards and has won his last two starts by throwing 94 pitches in 6.2 innings against New Paltz April 19, and then struck out five batters over 5.1 innings in the win against Norwich Tuesday.

“Our rotation has done a great job hitting their spots,” Whalen said. “We don’t have a lot of guys who throw very hard, but as long as you hit your spots in our conference then you will usually have a lot of success.”

Another young arm for PSUC is freshman pitcher/third baseman Justin Adams, who has mainly worked out of the bullpen in his first year.

“The older guys have a big impact on all of us,” Adams said. “It’s a fun group of guys, so once we get it rolling we’ll start winning more.”

The Cards will have one more home game after the weekend series against Fredonia which begins Friday at 3 p.m.

“The road guys are always tough, so it’ll be nice to get back home,” Adams said. “We’re going to go out there and try to win the series for our seniors.”

Email Ezra Kachaturian at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com

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