CLERMONT, Fla. - The Plattsburgh State softball team returns home from Florida after a 3-1 weekend. The Cardinals earned wins against Babson, RPI and Elmhurst and suffered a loss to Bowdoin. Plattsburgh improves to 9-4 overall.
Plattsburgh 8, Babson 5
Six first-inning runs built an early lead that helped bring home an 8-5 win over Babson.
Brittany Marshall and Megan Price led Plattsburgh with two hits apiece. Allison Smiddy drove in two runs and Dana Mandery scored twice for the Cardinals.
Heather Loughran took the ball for Plattsburgh and earned the win despite getting into some trouble in the sixth. Loughran allowed five runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out three.
Babson scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning but Ashley Marshall stepped in to secure the win. Marshall was virtually untouchable through the final one and two-thirds innings, surrendering one hit and striking out five.
Plattsburgh 3, RPI 1
Ashley Marshall handled the RPI lineup with ease, racking up 16 strikeouts in a one-hit performance to lead the Cardinals to victory.
The junior pitcher did not allow an unearned run in seven innings of work.
Despite only having three hits, the Cardinals were able to capitalize on RPI's mistakes. In the first inning, Brittany Marshall walked, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. A sacrifice fly by Brianna Clarke brought Brittany Marshall home to score and give Plattsburgh a 1-0 lead.
A fielding error by Plattsburgh gave RPI the opportunity to tie it up in the fourth but the Cardinals responded with two runs in the fifth.
Ashley Marshall led off the inning with a double to center field before advancing to third on an error by the RPI second baseman. Allison Smiddy reach on an error by the shortstop, allowing Marshall to score and Dana Mandery to advance to third. WIth the bases loaded, Sam Capobianco drew a walk to force in a run.
Bowdoin 8, Plattsburgh 0
Bowdoin pitcher Melissa DellaTorre silenced the Plattsburgh bats in Saturday's first game. DellaTorre held the Cardinals to three hits and struck out seven.
Melanie Hayes accounted for two of Plattsburgh's hits while the third came from Brianna Clarke.
Heather Loughran's recent struggles continued against the Polar Bears. Loughran allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits in five and two-thirds innings of work. She walked one and stuck out three.
Plattsburgh 1, Elmhurst 0
Another dominant performance from Ashley Marshall allowed Plattsburgh to bounce back in game two Saturday night. Marshall struck out 10 and allowed four hits in the complete-game shutout.
The Cardinals manufactured their only run of the game in the first inning. Allison Smiddy led off the inning with a single and Katie McNally drew a walk. A sacrifice from Michelle Iannone put the runners in scoring position and a sacrifice fly by Brianne Clarke allowed Smiddy to score.
Plattsburgh is now off until March 30-31 when the Cardinals open their State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) schedule March 30-31 with doubleheaders at Buffalo State and Fredonia.
