WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – It was a day of many emotions for the Plattsburgh State baseball team, as they started their day with a nice victory against SUNYAC rival Fredonia State before ending it with a game they would like to forget against a non-conference opponent in Franklin & Marshall College on Friday as a part of the RussMatt Invitational.
 
GAME ONE: Plattsburgh State 6, Fredonia State 5
Senior pitcher Will Flynn was looking to rebound after not making it through the first inning yesterday, and pitched well through the first four innings, allowing just three hits and no runs.
 
The designated home-team Cardinals jumped on the board in the opening inning when Nicholas Lupo scored after  a wild pitch thrown by the Blue Devils' Thomas Morris.
 
The game would remain 1-0 Plattsburgh State until the bottom of the fourth, when T.J. Montalbano and Mike Vargues, both of whom would reach via walk to start the inning, scored on a Chris Pescetti single, helped by a two-base error by right fielder Kenny Johnson.
 
With Pescetti standing on third base, Alex Rodriguez drove a fly ball to center field that was deep enough to plate Pescetti for a sacrifice fly, extending the Cardinal lead to 4-0.
 
Fredonia State would score all of their five runs in the next half-inning, thanks to five consecutive singles to start the frame.
 
With the score now 4-3 Cardinals, Flynn was removed in favor of Andrew Kramer. The sophomore committed a fielding error against his first batter, setting up bases loaded with still nobody out.
 
The Blue Devils' were then able to execute the squeeze play after Ricky Mendiola got one down to plate Ciro Frontale and tie the game at four apiece.
 
Another sacrifice, this one of the fly ball variety by Kenny Johnson would give Fredonia State their first lead of the game at 5-4.
 
The Cardinals had multiple runners on base in the sixth and seventh, but were unable to plate the tying run.
 
However, in the home-eighth, Plattsburgh State would get the first two runners on by way of a single and hit-by-pitch.
 
Brandon Buksa grounded into a fielder's choice, but no outs were recorded as pitcher Joe DiLeo committed an error, allowing Alex Rodriguez to score the tying run and putting the go-ahead run just ninety feet away.
 
Two outs were then recorded by the Blue Devils, but senior Brian Latulipe drove in Buksa with a single, giving the Cardinals a 6-5 lead, which they were able to hold onto for the win.
 
Kramer earned the victory for Plattsburgh State, giving up just one hit over the last five innings as the Cardinals took two of three from their SUNYAC rivals.
 
GAME TWO: Franklin & Marshall 22, Plattsburgh State 5
It was one of those games you'd just like to chalk up if you were Plattsburgh State.
 
The Diplomats slugged 15 hits for the game, which accounted for 18 runs through the first three innings alone.
 
A major contributor to the Franklin & Marshall offensive showcase was a lack of control by the Plattsburgh State pitching staff.
 
The Cardinals walked seven, and threw six wild pitches while also hitting two batters.
 
The biggest highlight of the game was a grand slam by Franklin & Marshall's Luke Seib as a part of the Diplomats' 11-run third. Seib would finish with six runs batted in.
 
All of the Cardinals' runs, driven in by the trio of Brandon Buksa, Matt Meunier, and Joe Tolosky were unearned and came in the final two innings.
 
Freshman Tyler Bulich was the lone Cardinal to finish with more than one hit for the game.
 
Plattsburgh State will play the final game of its Florida spring break trip on Saturday against another non-conference opponent, Keuka College. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.