KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team split a pair of contests to close out action on the first leg of its Florida trip at the Rebel Spring Games on Monday, falling, 5-2, to Mount Saint Mary College before shutting out Franklin & Marshall College, 5-0.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 3-5 overall with the results and kicks off the second leg of its Spring Break trip on Wednesday, March 15, when it squares off with No. 21 Manhattanville College as a part of the National Training Center Spring Games. Mount Saint Mary moved to 1-0 with the victory, while Franklin & Marshall slipped to 0-4 with the loss.
 
Game 1: Mount Saint Mary 5, Plattsburgh State 2
 
Mount Saint Mary scattered nine hits for the game and scored one run in the first inning, two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth to come away with the victory.
 
Sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) prevented the shutout, driving in two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh. The Knights caught a Cardinal runner in a rundown between third and home, however, and recorded the out to end the game.
 
Seven different Cardinals finished with a hit, while senior second baseman Shannon Sommer (2-for-4) and junior pitcher Cindy Connoly (2-for-3) each recorded multiple base knocks for the Knights.
 
Freshman pitcher Rhea Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) was saddled with the loss in 3 1/3 innings of work for Plattsburgh State, while Connoly struck out 11 batters in a complete-game effort for Mount Saint Mary.
 
Game 2: Plattsburgh State 5, Franklin & Marshall 0
 
Plattsburgh State jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in its final tilt at the Rebel Spring Games, posting a shutout victory over Franklin & Marshall.
 
The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the first when sophomore catcher Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) drove in a run on a squeeze bunt. Groat pushed Plattsburgh State's second run across as well, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the second, while junior third baseman Jackie Decker (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) plated two runs with a double to left center two batters later. Finally, in the third, sophomore second baseman Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) scored on a double steal with two outs.
 
Preiss and junior right fielder Amanda Tantillo (Florida, N.Y./S.S. Seward) each went 2-for-4 to lead the Cardinal bats, while Groat and Decker both drove in two runs. Senior third baseman Megan Ryan posted the Diplomats' top performance at the plate with a 2-for-3 outing.
 
Junior pitcher Katie Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) tossed a complete-game shutout for Plattsburgh State, scattering just five hits while striking out four. Junior pitcher Izzy Schaefer sustained the loss for Franklin & Marshall, yielding five runs (two earned) on seven hits, a walk and a hit by pitch while striking out six.