By Melanie Lanzo
The Plattsburgh State softball team not only took two wins against New Paltz(2-0 and 9-4) but managed to participate in the SUNYAC conference undefeated Saturday, April 2. This season, they have been outstanding and are ready to have another undefeated game against SUNY Oneonta Sunday.
After a slow start, Jackie Rometo(New Paltz) struck out swinging and Katie Quagliana singled through the left side. New Paltz started off strong with Quagliana advancing to second, but then Carol Ann Campsey (New Paltz) struck out looking.
Toward the bottom of the second inning, the Cardinals had only one hit and one left on base. With time ticking toward the bottom of the third inning, the Cardinals finally took their first run of the game. Alexa Murray managed to steal second base, causing Claire Palmer to fly out to infield. Helping get to home base, Kristen Langdon singled to catcher, allowing Murray to score.
This run in the third inning was all Julia Golino needed to face the complete game shutout and lead the Cardinals to a win.
Golino flied out to center field and scored just in time for the fourth inning’s race. The end of the fourth inning is when it started to get more intense, as Danielle Torres was put in to bat and made it to first base. Her play allowed Dimetria Mouhteros to steal second and help Sam Gentile score. This gave the Cardinals a boost in score for Golino to work around the tying runs.
“It was a great feeling, especially as a start to the season. The way we played is the team I know we are. We are capable of anything and have so much talent to perform like this every game. It gave us a lot of confidence and it paved the path for the rest of our season,” Golino said.
At the end of game one, New Paltz had more outhits making the final score Plattsburgh 2, New paltz 0.
The second game had eight innings, which was all that was needed for the Cardinals to win a doubleheader this past weekend. Kristina Maggiacomo continued the second inning, singling through the right side and then opening doors for Rebecca Diller to score. Toward the end of inning four, the score was 4-2 but that didn’t stop the Cardinals from doing their all until the end.
In the last inning Rebecca Diller doubled to second field earning two runs for the Cardinals. Golino grounded out to the pitcher and took the team home for their double victory.
“Team chemistry is a huge component to any team,” Golino said. “On the field it is important to have confidence and trust in one another. This is a huge improvement I have seen from the start of our season. We are all in it together and have each other’s backs and know how to pick each other up. Our main goal for this season is to focus on the next pitch, next at bat, and next play after an error. It is important to not dwell on what just happened, but how to react to the next play.”
Golino attributes their team chemistry to their Spring training in Florida a few weeks ago.
With the win, Kristen Langdon made three runs for the Cardinals and Diller had two run in bats for Plattsburgh. Golino managed to take two hits for the win. The Cardinals are ready to play SUNY Oneonta April 3, 2022 at noon at Cardinal Park.
