CLERMONT, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team bounced back from a 17-4 loss to Hope College in six innings with a 16-2 victory in five innings over the University of Wisconsin-Superior in a split at THE Spring Games on Thursday.
 
Senior left fielder Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) had four runs across both games to move into a tie for second in the program's career record book with 123 runs scored. Brittany Marshall also scored 123 runs from 2012-15. She stands just one run shy of the career program record of 124, established by Amy Woo from 2007-10.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 4-6 overall with the results and faces the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (9:30 a.m.) and the University of Minnesota Morris (2 p.m.) tomorrow. Hope rises to 6-3 overall with the win, while Superior drops to 3-12 with the loss.
 
Hope 17, Plattsburgh State 4 (6 inn.)
 
While Plattsburgh State seized a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a three-run home run by junior designated player Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) and a run coming across on an error, Hope scored 14 straight runs to earn a run-rule victory in six innings.
 
Hope got on the board first with a three-run home run by freshman first baseman Kaelin Callow in the top of the first, and after the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning, senior designated player Shay Pinhey tied the score in the second with an RBI double to center field.
 
Another Pinhey RBI double gave the Flying Dutch a 5-4 lead in the fourth before an RBI double by freshman second baseman Arinn King and a sacrifice fly by sophomore pinch hitter Megan Soderbloom opened up a 7-4 advantage for Hope in the fifth.
 
Sophomore catcher Morgann Kanouse broke the game open with a grand slam in the sixth, kicking off scoring in an inning that saw 10 runs come across for the Flying Dutch.
 
Six Cardinals had a hit in the game, which included Agans, who had three RBI on a three-run homer.
 
Pinhey, who batted 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI and three runs scored, paced the Flying Dutch offense. She was a home run shy of the cycle. Callow and Kanouse each drove in four runs, with Callow going 1-for-3 and Kanouse batting 2-for-3.
 
Freshman pitcher Chloe Haskins earned the win for Hope, yielding four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out three in four innings of work. Sophomore pitcher Maddie Nise was credited with the save, holding Plattsburgh State hitless and scoreless in two innings of relief. Freshman pitcher Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) was tagged with the loss, as she pitched 4 1/3 innings.
 
Plattsburgh State 16, UW-Superior 2 (5 inn.)
 
The Cardinals scored seven runs in the first and four runs in the second to build an 11-0 lead, which was plenty enough cushion to cruise to a 16-2 victory over the Yellowjackets in the nightcap. Plattsburgh State scattered 19 hits in the contest.
 
Two runs came across on a fielding error in the top of the first to open scoring for the Cardinals, while three runs scored as a result of an RBI single by junior right fielder Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and an ensuing misplay on the ball from the outfielder. Senior catcher Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) drove in two runs with a single to right field to give Plattsburgh State a 7-0 lead through a half-inning of play.
 
Freshman first baseman Alex McKearin (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) pushed across two runs in the top of the second, while a pair of RBI infield singles by senior shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) and Fisher later on in the inning staked the Cardinals to an 11-0 advantage.
 
Superior scored its two runs of the game thanks to a two-run base hit by freshman second baseman Tiffany Kirk in the bottom of the second, but Plattsburgh State extended its lead in the third with an RBI double to left center by senior center fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson). In the fourth, Groat drove in two with a double to left center and Agans plated one with a single up the middle before Groat eventually scored on a fielder's choice.
 
Fisher and Preiss both batted 4-for-4 to lead the Cardinal attack, with both tying the program record for hits in a game. Fisher drove in three runs and scored twice, while Preiss crossed the plate twice and had one RBI. Merkel enjoyed perhaps her greatest performance as a softball student-athlete at Plattsburgh State, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kirk batted 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead Superior.
 
Freshman pitcher Elliana Bowlen (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) earned the win in the circle for Plattsburgh State, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out one. Junior pitcher Ashley Taipale shouldered the loss for Superior.