Plattsburgh State softball started off its season with two big wins against the Potsdam Bears this past Saturday, which was its first two conference games of the season. Today the Cardinals will face Buffalo State in another home double-header at 3 and 5 p.m.
PSUC was ranked eighth in the SUNYAC’s preseason poll and Potsdam was ranked 10th. During the game, the Cards had base runners each inning and were very aggressive when the team was up to bat.
The Cards battled back after being down by two at the beginning of both games against SUNY Potsdam. They swept the Bears with the first game scoring 6-3 and the second game’s final score was 9-3.
Freshman Hannah Fuerst and senior Jennifer Groat pitched a whole game each and only allowed three runs in. Both Groat and Fuerst threw their first league game on Saturday. Groat was taught how to pitch with the help of her pitching staff and coaches over winter break this year.
“Jennifer Groat did really good, and she got through the whole game,” Fuerst said. “For not being a pitcher, that should be a big deal for her.”
PSUC bats were on fire this past weekend. Groat hit two big doubles for the team with one in each game. Junior Frannie Merkel and senior Anna Fisher both recorded doubles as well.
In their first league game, senior Amy Glashoff had a season-high of six putouts at third base. Also, Senior Kaitlyn Preiss had a season-high of five assists at shortstop.
The Cards want to keep their hitting momentum going in their following games this week. Coming off their first win, they are ready to see more teams and show the division what they have in store.
Freshmen Gabby Rodriguez said, “We have to keep thinking we are going to score a lot of runs and stay positive at all points.”
This afternoon, PSUC will face fourth seed Buffalo State. The Cards look forward to the opportunity to overcome their preseason poll of being the eighth seed with a positive mindset.
Tomorrow PSUC will see the fifth seed team, Fredonia. On top of four games over the weekend they will see SUNY Cortland, the second seed Monday. In addition, the team will go against rival Oswego, the seventh-placed team in the SUNYAC next Tuesday.
“I think Monday and Tuesday we will have tougher competition and it will be good for us,” Fuerst said. “I don’t think we have anything to be worried about.”
The Cards are confident and know that they are capable of beating the higher ranked teams. They are proud of how they competed against Potsdam and hope to bring that energy into their games this coming week.
For the freshmen of this young team, this was a big game.
“I was super nervous going into it, and I talked to my coach about feeling nervous,” freshman Alex McKearin said. “He told me about how confident he was in me and how excited he was to see me play.”
Fuerst also explained her nerves toward the Bears game. In high school, she was not her team’s pitcher and she is positive that will show this team she has what it takes to be a starting pitcher. She is looking forward to the upcoming games and is ready to show head coach John Flynn and her team that she will do her job out on the field.
“We are such a young team, so we kind of have low expectations of ourselves,” Fuerst said. “We just have to keep rolling with it.”
