PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State softball team bounced back with an 11-0 game-two victory in five innings after falling, 2-1, in game one in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader split with Oswego State in its first home games of 2017 on Friday at Cardinal Park.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 17-11 overall (8-2 SUNYAC) with the results and next hosts No. 22 SUNY Cortland tomorrow for a 12 p.m. doubleheader. Oswego moves to 7-13 overall (3-3 SUNYAC) with the results and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow for a 10 a.m. twinbill.
 
Game 1: Oswego 2, Plattsburgh State 1
 
Oswego scored what ended up being the game-winning run on an error in the fifth, as the Lakers edged the Cardinals in the first contest of the afternoon.
 
The Lakers got on the board early, scoring a run in the first inning on a two-out single to left field by freshman right fielder Jessica Roe. Following Roe's at-bat, senior second baseman Melissa Mulvaney walked, but junior pitcher Katie Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) forced a groundout with the bases loaded to end the inning.
 
Sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) used heads-up base running in the third to tie the game, as she scored from second base on a single by junior center fielder Dominique Zummo (Commack, N.Y./St. Anthony's) deep in the hole at second. Oswego ended up scratching across the eventual game-winning run in the fifth on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
 
Freshman first baseman Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) went 2-for-3 to pace the Plattsburgh State bats, while freshman pitcher Rebecca Vilchez batted 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double for Oswego.
 
Pitkin shouldered the loss for the Cardinals, yielding just two runs (one earned) on eight hits and three walks while striking out eight, while Vilchez permitted just one unearned run on five hits and a walk while striking out five in the win for the Lakers.
 
Game 2: Plattsburgh State 11, Oswego 0 (5 inn.)
 
The nightcap saw a reversal of fortunes for the Cardinals, as they pounded out 10 hits, eight of which came in an eight-run third inning, in an 11-0 triumph in five innings.
 
Not to be outdone by the offense, freshman pitcher Rhea Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) threw a one-hitter and struck out nine in the shutout victory.
 
Plattsburgh State fired the opening salvo in the first, with Preiss scoring on a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt attempt before Agans and junior catcher Jackie Decker (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) each posted RBI to stake the Cardinals to a 3-0 lead.
 
In Plattsburgh State's eight-run third inning, the Cardinals batted around—and then some—to take a commanding advantage. Agans drove in the first run of the inning on a single to center field before freshman right fielder Taylor Fischer (Cottekill, N.Y./Rondout Valley) plated Agans three batters later with a single through the left side. Senior first baseman Hope VanBrocklin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) tripled to right center to bring in two runs, while Preiss singled through the left side to make it an 8-0 margin. After sophomore left fielder Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) walked to load the bases, Zummo ripped a bases-clearing double to left center—her second double of the inning—to hand the Cardinals an 11-0 edge.
 
Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth innings, and the game ended following the top half of the fifth as a result of the eight-run rule.
 
Seven Cardinals produced base hits, with Zummo, Agans and junior third baseman Kelsey Gage (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) each finishing with two. Agans extended her hitting streak to 15 games and finished the afternoon going 4-for-5 at the plate. For Oswego, Vilchez produced the team's lone hit.