KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team split a pair of contests at THE Spring Games to close out its spring break trip on Saturday, defeating Allegheny College, 6-3, before falling to Hamilton College, 7-6.
Plattsburgh State moves to 6-8 overall with the results and next hosts Oswego State in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)-opening doubleheader on Friday, March 29, at 3 p.m. Allegheny slips to 4-7 overall with the loss, while Hamilton rises to 10-2 overall with the win.
Plattsburgh State 6, Allegheny 3
After trailing 2-0 through two innings, the Cardinals scored six runs across the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead before holding strong defensively and retiring the final out of the game with the tying run at the plate in the seventh.
Sophomore third baseman Kyleigh Cason and sophomore right fielder Kelly Lafferty put the Gators on the board with RBI in the first and second innings, respectively, before the Cardinals took the lead in the fourth. Sophomore third baseman
Bella Spadinger (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) plated senior left fielder
Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) with a single through the left side, while freshman first baseman
Alex McKearin (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) tied the game with an RBI infield single and Spadinger handed the Cardinals the lead by scoring on a throwing error.
In the fifth, junior designated player
Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) drove in one with an RBI single before freshman pinch runner
Gabby Rodriguez (Albany, N.Y./Albany) and Groat both scored on a pair of errors. Allegheny's sophomore catcher Hayley Behr had an RBI double in the top of the seventh, but the Gators stranded two runners on base when freshman pitcher
Elliana Bowlen (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) forced a fly out to center field to end the game.
Groat keyed the Cardinal attack with a 2-for-4 performance that included two runs scored. Behr led the Gators with a 3-for-4 outing that included one RBI and a double.
Freshman pitcher
Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) earned the win in the circle for Plattsburgh State, yielding two runs on nine hits in six innings of work. Bowlen came in to pitch the seventh, allowing one run on three hits. For Allegheny, senior pitcher Kala Mahen permitted six runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out seven in the loss.
Hamilton 7, Plattsburgh State 6
Hamilton walked off with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, handing the Cardinals a 7-6 setback despite Plattsburgh State finishing with an 11-10 edge in hits.
The Cardinals got on the board with four runs across the first three innings. Groat hit an RBI double to center field in the first before senior shortstop
Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) plated two with a double in the second. McKearin handed Plattsburgh State a 4-0 lead with an RBI double in the third.
Hamilton took the lead in the bottom of the third, however, with a five-run inning. Senior catcher Liz Brautigam plated two with a single up the middle, while junior center fielder Emily Fraser drove in a run with an infield single. After an RBI groundout tied the game, junior third baseman Caitlin Berreitter gave the Continentals the advantage with an RBI single.
Plattsburgh State seized the upper hand in the fifth, with Spadinger tying the score with a single through the right side and sophomore second baseman
Sydney Adolfo (Morrisonville, N.Y./Saranac) giving the Cardinals the lead with a squeeze attempt that plated senior left fielder
Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport).
After senior designated player Ashleah Yzaguirre doubled to open up the bottom of the seventh, Fraser blasted a two-run home run to left center to seal the 7-6 win for the Continentals.
Spadinger batted 3-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a double to lead Plattsburgh State, while Preiss, junior right fielder
Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and Adolfo all had multiple hits as well. Hamilton was led by Fraser, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored and a home run.
Bowlen and Fuerst both pitched in the loss for the Cardinals, while freshman pitcher Morgan Hartranft earned the win for the Continentals, yielding just two hits over three scoreless innings of relief.
