In any season, a team’s mental toughness and grit is challenged. The Plattsburgh State baseball team knows it is being tested but remains determined to keep a positive mindset and aim for success.
After tallying their first SUNYAC victory of the season against New Paltz in late March, the Cardinals (3-22, 1-8 SUNYAC) have yet to tally another win, losing the past five games.
PSUC head coach Kris Doorey said his team’s recent stretch of contests has led to frustration and disappointment, and he sourced inconsistency as a key reason why the Cards have been unsuccessful.
“We can never get a game where we pitch well and hit well,” Doorey said. “If it was just pitching, we could fix it. If it was just hitting, we could fix it, but there’s not a day where we do everything at once.”
The frustrating aspect for the Cards is how they see spurts of positivity, such as the six-run inning the team had during its third game against Oswego last Sunday or senior pitcher Scott Orr’s complete game the previous day, where he allowed just three runs but was handed the loss because PSUC could not produce offense.
Junior catcher Trevor Markey said these types of scenarios can serve as potential building blocks for success and noted PSUC understands the factors preventing victories.
“We are just not piecing it all together,” Markey said. “We either get a good pitching performance and don’t score as a team, or we do get some good hitting and don’t pitch or play defense like we should. It’s just a combination of everything, and we are not coming together at the same time.”
While PSUC knows there are some negatives revolving around the team right now, the Cards want to take the diamond in upcoming games with an upbeat mind frame.
“We just have to know we can win,” Markey said. “We have to stay positive. We need to look back and realize losing is awful and just play at the top of our game.”
As the Cards continue their season, they will look to utilize this attitude during their games in Cortland this weekend. The series opener is scheduled to begin today at 3 p.m. followed by a doubleheader tomorrow starting at noon.
The Cards’ main concentration as they approach the Red Dragons, a team they know to be talented, is to play loose and ignore any pressure.
“We are going to go there, and Cortland is going to have everything to lose and nothing to gain,” Doorey said. “They are supposed to beat us, so for us, it’s just about showing up and going out and playing. If we do the right things at the right time, we will have an opportunity to win.”
Moving forward, the Cards trust they have a great opportunity against Cortland to construct some positivity and plan to start every game not worrying about previous contests and believing wins are attainable.
“If you dwell on the past, it’s not going to improve the future,” senior pitcher Andrew Kramer said. “If you don’t go into every game expecting to win, you don’t have a chance to win it. What we need to do right now is keep a short memory and keep the same mentality going into every game expecting to win.”
Email Joey LaFranca at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
