By Rosie Sculco
The Plattsburgh State softball team (5-12, 2-4) fought through two double headers and pulled away with one win, coming up short in three tightly contested matchups.
“We battled every inning of every game — even when we were down — that fight and focus is something we are going to carry into the next series,” junior Gwen Noll wrote in a message. “We are staying hungry for more wins and finding ways to compete until the final out.”
The Cards hosted both doubleheader series at Cardinal Park on April 11 and April 12.
FREDONIA
Plattsburgh fell short of the win, losing 1-2 to start off the series against Fredonia State (5-11, 0-1).
Senior Carly Gemmett threw all seven innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs and striking out 13.
Both teams were scoreless in the first inning of play.
In the top of the second inning, Fredonia put points on the board from a two-run home run that would set them up for the win.
The hope for Plattsburgh sparked in the bottom of the fourth inning while first-year Bella Toleman singled with two outs.
Junior Megan Pillus followed with a single, and first-year Meghan Stork walked to load the bases, but all three were stranded to keep Fredonia ahead 2-0.
“Leaving runners stranded on base means we are missing scoring opportunities and having those timely hits are crucial because it gives us the chances to bring those runs in,” Noll wrote.
Three scoreless innings passed for both teams until Plattsburgh put up their lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Isaacs singled to left center with one-out and advanced to second on an error by the centerfielder to be in scoring position.
Pillus came through with a single through the right side, scoring Isaacs and putting the Cards within a run.
“Over the past few games, we’ve been struggling on the offensive side of the field,” Isaacs wrote in a message. “As a team, we have seen what the kind of damage our bats can do, but we need to consistently have trust and belief in ourselves every pitch in our at bats.”
Gemmett had a quick top of the seventh inning to get back to offense but Fredonia’s pitcher did the same, ending the game giving Plattsburgh the loss.
Pillus went 2-3 with an RBI and Senior Mikayla Manalo, Isaacs, and Toleman all had one hit.
The Cards earned the split in the second game of the series, defeating Fredonia 10-2 in 5 innings of play.
Plattsburgh jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with a two-out rally as Isaacs, Pillus, and Toleman singled one after another.
Isaacs scored on Toleman’s single to give the Cards one run to Fredonia’s zero.
The lead was extended 2-0 in the following inning as Noll singled and advanced to second on an error by the centerfielder, scoring sophomore Michelle DeFina.
A homerun in the top of the third inning for Fredonia made the score 2-1.
In the top of the fourth, the Blue Devils tied the game after a double scored the runner.
The Cards did not score in the third, but dominated offensively in the bottom of the fourth.
“I think offensively, we just came together as a unit, and we brought the energy and the effort. We just showed up, and they wanted it,” head coach Jessica Miller said. “All the pieces kind of came together a little bit for us and we took advantage of their mistakes, like any good team should.”
The Cards used five hits and three errors to score eight runs and take a 10-2 lead.
Noll hit a one-out RBI double, and an error allowed a run to score in the next at-bat to give the Cards a 4-2 lead.
Noll stole home and after a hit from Isaacs, Pillus singled through the left side to bring home another run.
Sophomore Emma Deo and Stork had back-to-back RBI singles, and the Cards scored their final run of the inning when DeFina was caught in a pickle on a steal attempt, allowing the tenth run for the Cards to score, also putting the mercy-rule in effect.
The Blue Devils made no comeback in the top of the fifth and the game was concluded because of Plattsburgh’s impressive eight-run lead.
“You always want that sweep, but the split was good because we got a couple points out of it and it helped us going into Saturday with that confidence boost, putting up those 11 hits, and the runs, you end that two games with a little bit lighter of a feeling,” Miller said.
Noll led five Cardinals as she finished 2-3 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored.
Isaacs was 2-3, with two runs scored, and Pillus drove in one run.
Toleman and Deo were each 2-3 with an RBI.
In the circle, Junior Morgan Ormerod went all five innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out five.
BUFFALO STATE
Plattsburgh fought long and hard during both games against Buffalo State (12-10, 6-0) ultimately taking two more conference losses.
In game one, three scoreless innings passed until the top of the fourth, when the Bengals scored three of their four runs.
Buffalo’s points on the board came from a two-run homer, resulting in a 3-0 lead.
In response, Manalo and Isaacs singled to begin the bottom half of the fourth inning, and Pillus walked to load the bases with no outs.
Toleman made good contact, allowing Manalo to score on an RBI single to center field.
However, two strikeouts were to follow and end the Cardinal comeback that inning and keep Buffalo State ahead 3-1.
Plattsburgh had just three hits, which all came in that fourth inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning for both teams, the Bengals picked up a run that started with a double, an advance to third on a sacrifice bunt, and then a score on a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cardinals had two base runners with two outs.
However, DeFina hit a lined shot that may have scored two runs, but Buffalo’s third baseman made a standout play.
A scoreless seventh inning allowed Buffalo to take the win 4-1.
“Our defense showed up and we were able to get out when we needed to keep ourselves in the game,” Miller said. “Offensively, we gave ourselves a better opportunity to get those hits to string together a good inning and put up the runs that they scored in order to win a game. We’ve got to put up more than one run.”
Gemmett was strong in the circle, striking out nine over seven innings of work, allowing four runs and seven hits.
Toleman had the RBI single, and Manalo had a single and scored a run while Isaacs also had a single for the Cards.
Game two stung a little more for the Cards as they fell short to Buffalo again, 3-4.
“Every day, both Coach Miller and Coach Brad remind us of the importance of finding joy in the process of improving, learning, and developing our skills rather than solely on our desired outcomes,” Isaacs wrote.
Ormerod gave up four runs in the first inning but retired 18 of the next 19 batters she faced, with the only one runner reaching base after that because of an error.
Ormerod finished with seven innings pitched, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out two and walking none.
On the other side, the Bengals defense succeeded as their pitcher tossed 6 scoreless innings and struck out five while allowing three hits and three walks.
Although Buffalo came out strong in that first inning, leading 4-0, Plattsburgh answered immediately in their half inning, similar to game one, all with two outs.
Manalo doubled with one out and Pillus doubled Manalo home with two outs.
Toleman followed with a single that could not score Pillus, but an error by the left fielder allowed her to score.
Toleman made her way to third, and Stork singled Toleman home to put the Cards only down 4-3.
From there on, the game was scoreless, securing a Buffalo win.
The only runner that was allowed by Ormerod because of an error was not until the fifth inning.
In the seventh, Manalo hit a single up the middle with one out and moved over to second base after a ground out to make the second out.
With the tying run in scoring position, the Cards grounded out to short to end the game.
“Even in our losses or our own personal failures, we continue to learn, grow, and use this as motivation to believe in the process of this team,” Isaacs wrote.
The Cardinals are scheduled for a non-conference game on April 15 against Clarkson (14-11, 4-2) on the road and will follow that up with another two day double header series.
Plattsburgh will travel and take on New Paltz on April 18 (7-13) and follow that up against Oneonta (8-10, 2-0) on April 19.
