CLERMONT, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team dropped a pair of contests at THE Spring Games Wednesday, falling, 9-6, to Bethel University before dropping a 5-0 decision to the University of Southern Maine.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 3-5 overall with the losses and faces Hope College (11:15 a.m.) and the University of Wisconsin-Superior tomorrow. Bethel rises to 8-1 overall with the win, while Southern Maine ups its record to 6-5 overall with the victory.
 
Bethel 9, Plattsburgh State 6
 
Despite holding a 4-0 lead through one inning of play and a 5-3 advantage through three frames, the Cardinals lost to Bethel, 9-6, due to a three-run sixth for the Royals.
 
The Cardinals got on the board in the first thanks to a muffed throw by the catcher on a squeeze play, and sophomore third baseman Bella Spadinger (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) drove in three runs with a single to right field to make it a 4-0 game in the top of the first.
 
Sophomore second baseman Allie Fauth plated her sister, senior first baseman Maddie Fauth, with a double to left field in the bottom of the second, while junior center fielder Mariah Uphoff drove in a run with an infield single during the ensuing at-bat. Allie Fauth scored on a double-steal attempt to cut the gap to 4-3.
 
Spadinger pushed the Cardinal lead to 5-3 with an RBI double to right center in the third, but Bethel took a 6-5 lead in the fourth. Uphoff drove in a run with a single to third base, while sophomore right fielder Amanda Gemuenden plated two with a single to left field.
 
Plattsburgh State tied the game in the sixth thanks to an RBI double by freshman first baseman Alex McKearin (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane), but Bethel's three-run sixth wound up being the difference. Junior left fielder Cassidy Abbott pushed across two runs with a triple to right center, while freshman designated player Kayla Hokanson added insurance with an RBI single to center field during the ensuing at-bat.
 
Senior center fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) (2-for-3, one run scored), Spadinger (2-for-3, four RBI, one run scored, one double) and McKearin (2-for-3, one RBI, one double) all had multiple hits for the Cardinals, while five Royals tallied two or more hits, led by Gemuenden's 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
 
Freshman pitcher Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) and senior pitcher Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) combined for six innings of work in the circle for Plattsburgh State, while Bethel's freshman pitcher Ellie Rogers earned the win in five innings of relief, yielding two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out one. Junior pitcher Hannah Schmidt earned the save, keeping the Cardinals off the board in the top of the seventh.
 
Southern Maine 5, Plattsburgh State 0
 
Southern Maine's five-run third was the only half-inning that saw any run production, as the Huskies held on for a 5-0 victory.
 
Senior center fielder Brooke Cross hit a two-run single to open up scoring in the third, while junior first baseman Alexis Brown made it a 3-0 game one batter later. Two runs came across on an error to stake Southern Maine to a 5-0 advantage.
 
Three Cardinals recorded a hit, while junior right fielder Erin Martin went 2-for-2 for the Huskies.
 
Freshman pitcher Elliana Bowlen (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks across four innings of work for the Cardinals, while senior pitcher Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) came in and threw three scoreless innings of relief. Freshman pitcher Ashley Alward scattered three hits and walked five while striking out eight in the shutout win for Southern Maine.