PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State softball team clinched a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament on Friday afternoon at Cardinal Park, splitting with Buffalo State in a conference doubleheader. The Cardinals won game two, 9-1, in five innings after falling, 10-2, in five innings in game one.
 
Sophomore catcher/left fielder Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) went 6-for-6 across both games of the doubleheader, and in doing so, she recorded her 99th career hit.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 22-16 overall (10-6 SUNYAC) with the results and closes out its regular season tomorrow with a 12 p.m. doubleheader against Fredonia. Buffalo State moves to 13-21 overall (9-7 SUNYAC) with the results and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
 
Game 1: Buffalo State 10, Plattsburgh State 2 (5 inn.)
 
Buffalo State scored nine runs in the first two innings to build what ended up being an insurmountable lead in a 10-2 win for the Bengals in game one.
 
The Bengals plated two runs in the top of the first, as sophomore third baseman Cassandra O'Hern plated a pair of runners on a no-out double. They then broke the game open with a seven-run second that saw the lineup bat around. Buffalo State tacked on an insurance run in the third, as a run scored on an error.
 
Plattsburgh State broke up the shutout with a two-out, two-run home run by junior center fielder Dominique Zummo (Commack, N.Y./St. Anthony's) in the fifth, as Zummo blasted a frozen rope to left that banked off the scoreboard.
 
Groat went 3-for-3 with two doubles, while Zummo posted two RBI on her home run in the fifth. For Buffalo State, O'Hern batted 3-for-3 with four RBI, while senior center fielder Laura Crooks went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
 
Junior pitcher Katie Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) took the loss in the circle despite striking out five, while Buffalo State's sophomore pitcher Allie Block yielded two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six in the winning effort.
 
Game 2: Plattsburgh State 9, Buffalo State 1 (5 inn.)
 
The Cardinals turned the tables in the nightcap, jumping on the Bengals with a six-run second that included a pair of three-run home runs.
 
Plattsburgh State kicked off scoring in the first, as sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) scored on a wild pitch, but Block homered to straightaway center in the second to knot the score at 1-all. In the home half of the second, however, senior designated player Hope VanBrocklin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) and freshman first baseman Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) each hit three-run home runs to stake the Cardinals to a 7-1 lead. Junior third baseman Kelsey Gage (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) reached home on a wild pitch and sophomore right fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) scored on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Amanda Tantillo (Florida, N.Y./S.S. Seward) in the third to round out the Cardinals' scoring.
 
Groat once again provided the hot bat for Plattsburgh State, going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Agans and VanBrocklin each drove in three runs on both of their home runs. Buffalo State mustered just two hits in the contest.
 
Freshman pitcher Rhea Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) allowed just one run on two hits and three walks in the win while also striking out seven. Notably, she dealt four strikeouts in the first inning, with one of them resulting in a runner reaching first on a wild pitch. Freshman pitcher Scarlett Whitman sustained the loss for Buffalo State.