CLERMONT, Fla. – It was a day of contrast for the Plattsburgh State softball team as the squad racked up nine hits in a 7-2 triumph over Oberlin before registering just two base knocks in a 5-0 loss to No. 5-ranked UW-Whitewater at the NTC Training Complex.
The Cardinals' record now sits at 5-9.
GAME ONE: Plattsburgh State 7 (5-8), Oberlin 2 (1-2)The middle of the Cardinals' lineup packed some significant punch in a non-conference triumph over the Yeowomen as
Kelsey Gage, Jacqueline Decker and
Lauren Graves combined to go 4-for-12 with seven RBIs and three runs scored.
Gage tied with
Nicole Cast and senior shortstop
Brittany Marshall for game-high honors in hits as all three went 2-for-4 at the dish. Marshall, who hails from Malone, N.Y., scored three of the Cardinals' seven runs in the triumph. As a team, the Cardinals accumulated nine hits while Oberlin was limited to just three.
Plattsburgh State got its offense rolling early on when Marshall smoked a one-out double to center, beginning a three-hit, three-run first for the designated visiting club.
The senior came around to score thanks to the first of five errors by the Yeowomen. Gage sent a fly ball to left field which was misplayed, allowing Marshall to score and the freshman out of Pine Bush, N.Y., to advance to second.
Two batters later, Graves punched a two-run single to right field, increasing the Plattsburgh State lead to 3-0.
Senior
Kristin Fisher received the start in the pitching circle and retired eight of the first nine batters she went up against. The Plattsburgh, N.Y., hit her only bump of the road in the bottom of the third when Katie Pieplow connected on a pitch and sent it to right field for a two-run double which trimmed the Plattsburgh State edge to 3-2.
Four more Plattsburgh State base knocks in the top portion of the fifth put some distance between the Cardinals and Yeowomen.
Dominique Zummo, Marshall and Gage kicked off the frame with consecutive singles.
After Gage's RBI single down the right field line, Decker stepped to the plate and delivered a two-run single which pushed the score to 6-2.
Armed with the lead, the Cardinals turned things over to freshman pitcher
Taylor Smith who proceeded to shut the Yeowomen down for the rest of the tilt. The Washingtonville, N.Y., product worked a flawless final 3.2 innings, sitting down the only 11 batters he faced. She registered four strikeouts in that span, too.
Decker's seventh-inning RBI accounted for the final run of the game. Fisher scored the win by turning in a line of 3.1 innings pitched in which she gave up three hits and two runs.
Pieplow took the loss for the Yeowomen as she gave up eight hits and five runs in 4.1 innings.
GAME TWO: No. 5 UW-Whitewater 5 (3-1), Plattsburgh State 0 (5-9)Squaring off against one of the top teams in all of the land, the Cardinals saw nearly all of their offense get extinguished by the Warhawks who limited the designated home team to just a pair of hits in the seven-inning skirmish.
Errors also hurt the Cardinals as four of the five runs plated by the Warhawks were of the unearned variety. The only Plattsburgh State player to manage anything against UW-Whitewater's Bekka Houda was Zummo who finished 2-for-3 at the plate.
Morgan Anderson did all she could in the circle to keep the Cardinals in it, limiting the Warhawks to just one run through the first four innings. UW-Whitewater plated the game's first run courtesy of a two-out RBI single by Jo Jablonski in the top of the third.
A wild offering by Smith in the fifth allowed another Warhawk run to score and the first Plattsburgh State error of the game later in the frame allowed UW-Whitewater's lead to increase to 3-0.
The final two runs were scratched across in the top of the sixth. Another Plattsburgh State miscue as well as another wild pitch accounted for the scores.
Anderson was tagged with the loss as she fired 4.1 innings and gave up five hits, three runs and two walks. Houda threw a complete game and struck out nine.
With their slate of Florida games in the books, the Cardinals will migrate back to the North Country to take part in their second SUNYAC doubleheader of 2015. Plattsburgh State is scheduled to tangle with SUNY Potsdam in a pair of road tilts at 3 p.m. on Friday.
