By Melanie Lanzo
This past weekend the Cardinals softball team had back-to-back games against Buffalo State. These games were very close ties, but by winning the second game the girls managed to achieve their goals and gave it their all. The final scores of the weekend are Plattsburgh (13-17,9-9) and Buffalo State (15-21- 7-11). The Cardinals are prepared to take their skills to the next level at the SUNYAC Playoffs starting May 5.
“This is the most stressful time of the year between school and sports,”Julia Golino said. “As for softball, it is super important right now that we take care of our bodies and get the treatment we need so we are all healthy and ready to play. This week’s practice consists of many reps to be up to par on our skills. It also comes down to having fun. SUNYACs is something many of us have not experienced yet and this week we are having fun and touching up on our skills to be ready for Thursday.”
Knowing the history of Buffalo State against Plattsburgh State, a tie was bound to happen due to teams always being close in score. With a total of eight innings, the game started off strong with a solid game play. Kristina Maggiacomo reached on a fielder’s choice, letting Julia Golino advance to second and Kristen Langdon outing at third for Alexa Murray to score. Quickly the Cardinals and Bengals soon traded spots in raising the score, where Taylor Benton (Buffalo State) tied the game on a single to right center after Oriana Castillio (Buffalo State)led the frame with a double.
Buffalo took the 2-1 lead in the second inning where they caught Plattsburgh’s battery off guard in between pitches. With a score of 5-5 towards the seventh inning, Plattsburgh and Buffalo State went to a tie due to Parsons (Buffalo State) game at five with a two-out double to left field. The score soon went down for Plattsburgh State and Buffalo State used it to their advantage. Once Maggiacomo struck out the ball was out of reach for the Cardinals and the Bengals scored the game-winning run for the win.
Although it was a tough game, the players for the Cardinals did make monumental strides throughout the game. Alex McKearin had her first multi-hit game of the season. Claire Palmer had three hits and one run batted in. Lastly Kisten Langdon had three hits that were tripled, two runs and one score.
“Buffalo State was a team very similar to us. Both teams played their best game because the score was very close or tied every inning,” Julia Golino said. “We were hitting the ball, we just got unlucky sometimes and the ball went right to the other team. Our biggest thing is not getting those clutch hits in situations where we have runners on base. Hitting is a skill that will come with time so I am confident we will get better with this during our last week or for next season. Overall, we did great and I couldn’t be more proud of my team. We have been working really hard and I am super excited to share this SUNYAC experience with them.”
At this point, it was an all or nothing decision. The Cardinals had to redeem themselves this game after that devastating loss in the first game. They started off strong in the first inning by getting their first score as Sam Gentile hit by pitch, Diller advanced to second, Maggiacom advanced to third and Golino scored. Benton(Buffalo State) led the Bengals with a 2-for-3 performance, scoring a run. It was a scoreless second inning for the Cardinals, but they picked the pace back up in the third inning as McKearin singled up the middle and Rodriguez scored.
In the sixth and last inning Golino doubled to left center causing Murray and Palmer to score and lead the team to victory.
“My team this year is very capable of winning it all.” Golino said. “ We have so much talent and skill and if we apply it and play to the best of our ability, we can go really far. I am super excited to see how we compete this week.”
The Cardinals next game is May 5, where they will go against Geneseo at 9 a.m.
