KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team split a pair of contests on Monday at the Sunkissed Games, defeating Eastern Connecticut State University, 5-4, before falling to No. 16 Ithaca College, 13-2, in six innings.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 3-3 overall with the results and next faces Washington University in St. Louis (9 a.m.) and Utica College (11:15 a.m.) tomorrow. Eastern Connecticut falls to 1-3 overall with the loss, while Ithaca rises to 2-1 overall with the win.
 
Plattsburgh State 5, Eastern Connecticut 4
 
Senior third baseman Jackie Decker (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) played the role of hero in the first game of the day, driving in the eventual game-winning run with an RBI base knock. With two outs in the top of the seventh and a runner on first, Decker singled to right field and plated junior catcher Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa). Senior pitcher Taylor Smith (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) allowed just one hit in the bottom of the seventh to help the Cardinals hold on for the victory.
 
Senior first baseman Kelsey Gage (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) opened scoring in the top of the second, scoring on a double-steal attempt in which the Warriors tagged out a baserunner caught in a rundown between first and second. Eastern Connecticut leveled the tally in the third, as sophomore shortstop Sara Pisanelli drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.
 
Back-to-back RBI hits helped stake the Cardinals to a 4-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Senior right fielder Amanda Tantillo (Florida, N.Y./S.S. Seward) plated a run with an RBI double to right center before Smith blasted a two-run home run to right center in the next at-bat. Eastern Connecticut countered in the home half of the inning, as three runs came across on a bases-clearing error.
 
Tantillo and Decker each finished with three hits, with Tantillo batting 3-for-3 with one RBI, one run scored and a double and Decker hitting 3-for-4 with one RBI. For Eastern Connecticut, sophomore third baseman Crysta Wolski was the lone student-athlete to finish with multiple hits.
 
Smith earned the win in the circle for Plattsburgh State, throwing two scoreless innings of relief. Sophomore pitcher Rhea Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) drew the start and permitted four runs—all unearned—on four hits and four walks while striking out four. Eastern Connecticut's freshman pitcher Morgan Bolduk was tagged with the loss.
 
No. 16 Ithaca 13, Plattsburgh State 2 (6 inn.)
 
Ithaca scattered 10 hits and took advantage of five Cardinal errors in a 13-2 victory in six innings in the nightcap.
 
The Bombers scored early, with junior third baseman Vanessa Brown and junior shortstop Hannah Anderson posting back-to-back RBI base hits in the top of the first. Groat cut the gap in half in the bottom of the first, driving in senior center fielder Dominique Zummo (Commack, N.Y./St. Anthony's) with a single to left field. Ithaca extended the lead in the third with three runs, all of which scored due to errors.
 
Junior first baseman Alex Wright pushed across two runs with a triple to right field to help Ithaca seize a 7-1 advantage in the top of the fourth, while junior second baseman Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) also had an RBI triple in the home half of the inning to make it a five-run game. Ithaca put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth, with Wright and senior left fielder Allie Colleran each driving in a run in addition to four runs coming across due to defensive miscues.
 
Groat paced the Plattsburgh State bats with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate that included an RBI, while Colleran and Wright each had three hits for Ithaca.
 
Senior pitcher Katie Pitkin (Dexter, N.Y./General Brown) was saddled with the loss for the Cardinals in 5 2/3 innings of work, while junior pitcher Haley Congdon yielded two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four in the win for the Bombers.