By Rosie Sculco
After a four game stretch filled with three straight losses, the Plattsburgh State softball team (4-9, 1-1) bounced back in their final game, securing their first conference win of the season.
“It’s their desire, they want to win and communicate with each other. We can do it, we just have to buy into it and compete,” head coach Jessica Miller said.
The Cardinals hosted Vermont State University Castleton (11-7, 1-2) in a double header for their home opener on April 2.
The first game of the series ended in extra innings, favoring the Spartans 5-4.
Plattsburgh had a 3-2 lead until the top of the fifth inning, where the Spartans tied the game at three. Two scoreless innings followed as both teams stranded runners and were unable to score.
A leadoff double for the Spartans put the go-ahead run in scoring position. A single followed, giving Castleton the lead, and a one-out double later in the inning set up a sacrifice fly to put them up 5-3.
Plattsburgh started with a single and a walk in the bottom of the eighth inning. A groundout put the tying run in scoring position, with runners on second and third.
Sophomore catcher Emma Deo followed that up with a sacrifice fly that did not move the runner up from second.
The Cards grounded out next at-bat, giving the Spartans the 5-4 win.
“Castleton had the timely hits and placed the ball where they needed to and when they needed to. We fell short on the timely hits, but it is something we all reflected on and learned from,” Noll said.
Junior Morgan Ormerod threw eight innings on the mound and gave up four earned runs, taking the loss.
Junior catcher/outfielder Gwen Noll went 1-2 with an RBI triple and walked twice. Deo drove in a run for the Cards and sophomore infielder Sara Isaacs went 3-4 with two RBIs.
Plattsburgh lost the next and final game of the series 3-6. The contest concluded after just five innings due to darkness,
“One of the biggest takeaways from Castleton game one was the importance of starting strong and staying disciplined throughout the entire game, especially in high-pressure situations,” Noll said.
Senior Carly Gemmett tossed 3.2 innings and struck out five, and sophomore Cadey Wheat tossed 1.1 innings with two strikeouts.
First-year infielder Meghan Stork finished the second game 1-1 with two runs scored.
Isaacs went 2-3 in the second game with two doubles, while senior pitcher/infielder Sarah Milyko was 1-2 with an RBI and run scored.
“I think as a team we really felt frustrated by how we consistently came close to winning, but just fell short of it, so we had to put our faith in our abilities and we’d come to Potsdam with the fire to win,” senior Mikayla Manalo said.
POTSDAM
The Cards hit the road and headed to Potsdam on April 4 (7-6, 1-1) for their first conference doubleheader of the season.
The Cards came out hot to start the series.
Noll singled to center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch before stealing third. Manalo then reached base on an error, stealing second, and Noll stole home.
Toleman reached first and Manalo advanced to third on an error by the center fielder. A fielder’s choice allowed Manalo to score, giving Plattsburgh the early lead.
Potsdam quickly answered, scoring three runs of its own to finish the first.
Three scoreless innings of play followed.
“Offensively, we’ve been doing very well, much better with getting the runs across,” Miller said. “It’s just now defensively, we need to just clean up those little mistakes”.
The Cardinal offense came back to life in the top of the fifth inning, scoring five runs
A bunt-single and a stolen-base from Noll, was followed by a single up the middle from Manalo, putting runners on the corners of the diamond.
Noll then scored on a wild pitch as Manalo moved to second.
An RBI single to center field from Toleman brought in Manalo, and a two run RBI double to right field from Pillus added to Plattsburgh’s lead and made the score 6-2.
Pillus then advanced to third on a passed ball, and a ground ball to second led her to score.
After a scoreless top of the sixth for the Cards, Potsdam rallied for six runs in the bottom of the inning, consisting of four singles, a double, two hit by pitches, and a walk to take an 8-7 lead going into the seventh.
“This is where we all felt the most frustrated as a team, it was initially really disheartening when we put up a good fight and put ourselves in a position to win, just to relinquish it,” Manalo said. “But, it only added fuel to the fire”.
Ormerod tossed 5.2 innings with two strikeouts and gave up six earned runs.
Wheat relieved Ormerod and gave up one earned run, taking the loss.
“Mistakes are inevitable, but it’s how you respond to them. I’ve been able to step into a leadership role this year, and pick up my teammates when we are down,” Noll said.
The Cards finished their week by winning the final game of the series 8-3.
Potsdam scored a run in the top of the first, giving them the advantage until the Cards tied the game in the fourth.
At the top of the fourth, Deo singled to left field, advancing Stork to third and scoring Pillus ultimately tying the game.
A scoreless fifth and sixth inning followed, heading into the final inning of regulation.
The Cards rallied for seven runs to take an 8-1 lead in the top of the seventh.
Sophomore outfielder Michelle DeFina began the inning with a double to left field, followed by a throwing error as Milyko was safe at first, and DeFina advanced to third.
A two-RBI double down the left field line from Noll scored DeFina and Milyko.
Back-to-back singles from Plattsburgh scored Noll, and an error allowed Toleman to reach safely as Manalo scored on the play.
A ground out to second from Stork scored Isaacs, and an RBI double to left center from Deo scored Toleman while Deo scored on an error, making the score 8-1.
“Once we figured out that we have opportunities to answer back to little hiccups in the game, we generated an upward momentum that continuously put us in a good position to win,” Manalo said.
Gemmett recorded a complete game, striking out eight batters in seven innings of work and only allowing three runs for the win in the circle.
Deo was 3-4 in game two with two RBIs and a run scored. Noll, Isaacs and Stork all went 2-4 as Noll drove in two runs and Isaacs and Stork both had an RBI.
The Bears attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh tallying two more to their lone run throughout the game but a fly out to center field handed them the 8-3 loss.
“You’ve got to play free, you just got to go out there and just execute and we were able to finally do that,” Miller said. “All the pieces came together in that seventh inning.”
The Cards will try to carry this momentum in their next SUNYAC double-header matchup against Fredonia (4-10, 2-0) on April 11.
“After battling all week with games and practices, coming out with a strong win was so important for my team,” Noll said. “Beating Potsdam gave us the momentum and confidence boost we need going forward for our next set of games.”
