KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Head coach John Flynn earned his first career win on Saturday at THE Spring Games, as the Plattsburgh State softball team downed Farmingdale State College, 8-5, in the second game of a season-opening twinbill. The Cardinals fell to Anderson, 4-2, in the first contest of the day.

Plattsburgh State moves to 1-1 overall with the results and takes on D'Youville College (9:30 a.m.) and the College of Staten Island (12 p.m.) tomorrow. Anderson rises to 2-0 overall with the win, while Farmingdale State drops to 0-2 with the loss.

Anderson 4, Plattsburgh State 2

Anderson scored four unearned runs in the Cardinals' season opener to come away with the win.

The Ravens struck first with two runs in the second, as a run scored on an error before junior shortstop Tara Morey drove in senior first baseman Melissa Wilson with an RBI single. Anderson added two more in the fifth with a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk.

Plattsburgh State did cut the deficit in half in the sixth, though, as senior catcher Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) drove in a run with an RBI single before senior left fielder Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) scored on a wild pitch. 

Five different Cardinals registered a hit in the contest, while freshman center fielder Taylor Johnson, junior catcher D.J. Martz and Wilson each rapped out multiple hits for the Ravens.

Freshman pitcher Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) shouldered the loss in her first collegiate appearance despite holding Anderson to no earned runs, while sophomore pitcher Kacey Kaelin earned the win in the circle for the Ravens.

Plattsburgh State 8, Farmingdale State 5

Flynn earned his first collegiate head coaching win in a game in which the Cardinals never trailed.

Junior designated player Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) blasted a three-run home run to stake Plattsburgh State to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, while Fisher and senior center fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) each notched RBI base hits in the third to give the Cardinals a 5-0 advantage.

The Rams got one back in the fourth with an RBI single by freshman first baseman Sabrina Snyder before an error, an RBI double and an RBI ground out stretched the Plattsburgh State advantage to 8-1 in the fourth. After getting a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Kimberly Basile in the fifth, Farmingdale State scored three runs in the sixth to spell the final 8-5 score.

Plattsburgh State used three pitchers in the win, with Fuerst getting the winning decision in four innings of work. Farmingdale State's junior pitcher Julia Walpole was saddled with the loss, yielding eight runs (five earned) on six hits while striking out four.