PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After winning the SUNYAC championship for only the second time in program history, the Plattsburgh State softball team will face the University of New England at the eight-team Amherst Regional.
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This will mark the Cardinals first appearance in the NCAA tournament since they appeared at the NCAA Division III World Series in 2007.
The winner of the double-elimination regional will advance to the eight-team World Series in Salem, Va., May 18-22.
With rain delaying the start of the tournament, the second-seeded Cardinals will be the now play on the seventh-seeded University of New England (26-12) Friday. SUNYAC foe Cortland (38-8) received the top seed and will open the tournament against eighth-seeded Keuka College (21-12) Thursday at 3 p.m. The other two Thursday matchups include fourth-seeded Keene St. College (25-10-1) versus fifth-seeded St. Joseph’s College (33-7) at 5 p.m. and third-seeded Amherst (34-4) versus sixth-seeded Husson College (33-11) at a time to be announced.
The Cardinals are led by third-year head coach Stephanie Zweig, who won her first SUNYAC Championship as a coach after Plattsburgh defeated Cortland 3-2 in the Championship game. Zweig has achieved back-to-back 30-win seasons as she enters her first NCAA Tournament at the helm.
Plattsburgh is entering the regional tournament in red-hot hitting form, led by Erin Florkiewicz, Brianna Clarke and Allison Smiddy. Florkiewicz leads the team with a .383 batting average, while Clarke is second with .375. Clarke and Florkiewicz are tied for the team lead with six home runs each. Smiddy drove in all three Cardinal runs in the SUNYAC Championship game against Cortland and has a team-leading 33 RBI this season.
The Cardinals also have SUNYAC Tournament MVP Ashley Marshall in their pitching stable. Marshall is second in the SUNYAC with a 1.48 ERA and enters the weekend with a record of 22-4.
The Nor’Easters gained an automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament after going undefeated in the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs. By virtue of its 3-2 win over Salve Regina in the CCC title game, University of New England earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history.
Ashley Gott paces the Nor’easter offense with a .417 batting average, a .447 on-base percentage and a .561 slugging percentage. Gott leads the team with 11 doubles and is tied for the team lead with 23 runs scored. Meanwhile, Maegen Johnson has a team best 21 RBI.
Kelly Reid anchors the UNE pitching staff with a 2.39 ERA and an opponent batting average of .277. She has posted a 16-4 record in 25 appearances at the Nor’easters top starter.
