OSWEGO, N.Y. - For the 10th-straight year in a row the Plattsburgh State softball team will be making an appearance at the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament. The Cardinals clinched a trip to the event with a sweep of Oswego on the Lakers' home field. Plattsburgh won 10-0 in six innings and 12-0 in five innings.
The Cardinals improve to 21-14 for the season, 10-7 in the SUNYAC. Oswego falls to 5-28 overall, 2-15 in conference play.
Ashley Napear led the Cardinals at the plate, going 5-for-7 with a double, a home run, five RBI and two runs.
Erin Jamieson rocked two triples and a double for the team while recording five RBI, as well, and four runs. Jamieson went 4-for-7 at the plate.
Ashley Marshall (15-5) pitched the first game for the Cardinals, gave up two hits and struck out four during her fourth shutout of the season.
Heather Loughran (5-6) stood in the circle for the second contest. Loughran gave up eight hits, but, with a strong defense behind her, still posted her second shutout this year.
In game one, the Cardinals recorded one run in both the first and third innings and then added two more to their total in the fifth. Plattsburgh capitalized on a number of errors by the Lakers in the sixth and racked up six more runs--all unearned.
The run-rule victory became a reality after
Nicole Diemer recorded an assist when Laura Agle grounded out to the shortstop position. Marshall then struck out Sue Schoff. The final out came when Shannon Baker attempted to turn her double into a triple and was thrown out at third by
Danielle Gjergji from left field.
In the second game, Plattsburgh racked up eight runs early on in the second inning and continued to add to that total with a run in the third, two in the fourth and another in the fifth, until the mercy rule was placed into effect after the fifth inning ended.
Only five of the Cardinals 12 runs were earned in the second game, as the Lakers made six errors in the field. Plattsburgh only made one error the entire afternoon, which only resulted in a runner moving from first to second base following a mistake in right field in game one.
Next up, the Cardinals will travel to Cortland for the SUNYAC Tournament. The competition is set to begin on Thursday, May 6, and brackets will be announced by the conference office early next week.
