Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Facing a 4-1 deficit in game two of a SUNYAC doubleheader, the Plattsburgh State softball team charged ahead with a four-run fifth inning to earn a 5-4 triumph as well as a series split with SUNY Geneseo on Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park.

The Cardinals, who honored their four-member senior class of Sam Capobianco, Brianna Clarke, Kayle Rabideau and Samantha Tenney in a ceremony between games, moved their record to 8-24 and 4-12 in conference play. SUNY Geneseo's 2014 mark went to 18-14 and 11-7 in league games.

GAME ONE: SUNY Geneseo 7, Plattsburgh State 2
A five-run fifth inning by the Knights provided the winning margin for the visiting squad in game one of the conference twinbill.

Plattsburgh State struck first when Kristine Gay slammed a 2-2 offering from Geneseo's Corrin Spallone to left field, plating Brianna Clarke to put the home squad on top 1-0.

In the top of the third, the Knights conjured up an answer when Jenna Phillips slapped a two-out single up the middle to score Ashley Fillmore.

Starting pitcher Morgan Anderson kept the score knotted at one until she ran into a boatload of trouble in the top of the fifth. Jenna Reilley began the frame with an infield single before the Cardinals committed one of their four errors to put runners at second and third.

Seizing the opportunity, the Knights received RBI hits from Sami Brown and Phillips to pull ahead 3-1 before the first out of the frame was registered.

The Knights were able to take on another pair of runs thanks to RBI singles by Elisa Porreca and Mikayla Moore. Geneseo's final run of the inning crossed home plate on a throwing error by Tenney, the Cardinals' backstop. Pinch runner Katie Muller stole second base, and in an attempt to catch her in the act Tenney made an errant throw which allowed Porecca to come home and make it a 6-1 game.

A sacrifice fly by Porreca in the top of the seventh plated the final SUNY Geneseo run of the game. Junior Brittany Marshall made it a five-run game when her two-out double in the home half of the seventh scored Nicole Chiarello, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get.

Anderson (2-10) threw all seven innings for the Cardinals and gave up five earned runs on 10 hits. Spallone (11-3) was the complete-game winner as she surrendered nine hits and just one earned run.

Brown, Fillmore and Phillips each accounted for two of the 10 Geneseo hits. Phillips and Porreca finished with two RBIs each.

Clarke and Marshall each went 2-for-4 at the dish for Plattsburgh State.  

GAME TWO: Plattsburgh State 5, SUNY Geneseo 4
Through the first three innings of game two, no member of the Plattsburgh State softball team had a hit against Geneseo starting hurler Alexis Kidder, but a pitching change by the Knights made all the difference in the Cardinals' win.

Kristin Fisher did a fine job of damage control for the Cardinals in the top of the first. Three hits by the Knights in the frame loaded the bases with one out, but the junior responded with her first of three strikeouts before inducing a flyout to escape from the jam.

In the top of the second, the Knights cobbled together some two-out hitting to get on the board first. Two-hole hitter Cat Krok laced a sharp RBI single to center field before Muller added an RBI single of her own. An additional run would come across due to a throwing error by Rabideau at shortstop.

Designated player Shelby Heyward not only produced the Cardinals' first hit of the game, she also recorded the first RBI when her one-out single in the fourth scored Marshall and trimmed the Knights' advantage to 3-1.

Geneseo would get that run back, though, when a two-out fielding miscue by Fisher in the fifth allowed Muller to step on home plate and make the score 4-1.

The Cardinals broke out the bats in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. Kerry McCarty began the frame with a single down the left field line before Geneseo reliever Nicole Zimmerman produced a pair of quick outs.

From there, the Cardinals struck for four runs on four of their six hits in the game. Marshall began the scoring parade when the junior drilled the ball to deep center field. It glanced right off the top of the fence – just shy of a three-run home run – but the Malone, N.Y., product wound up on second with a two-run double.

Down 0-2 in the count, Clarke tied the game with a double of her own before Heyward knocked her in with a game-winning single to center field.

Fisher recorded the first out in the sixth, but back-to-back hits by the Knights put runners on second and third. Anderson was summoned from the bullpen and calmly induced a pair of groundouts to escape the inning and end the Knights' threat.

Anderson finished off the Knights in the seventh to earn her second save of the season.

Fisher (3-4) earned the win by working through five innings and giving up 11 hits and two earned runs. Zimmerman (0-2) was responsible for all five of the runs scored by the Cardinals.

Muller and Courtney Budynas each picked up three hits for the Knights. The one through four hitters for Geneseo went 10-for-16 during game two, helping the visitors out-hit the Cardinals 12-6.

Heyward went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs while Marshall finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. 

Presently, the Cardinals are scheduled to conclude their 2014 campaign with a doubleheader against SUNY Potsdam on Monday, but that may change late Sunday. Check GoCardinalSports.com for all the latest news regarding schedule changes throughout the 2014 spring sports season.