PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – In what was a fitting way to celebrate Senior Day, senior left fielder/pitcher Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) set the program's all-time hits record in the Plattsburgh State softball team's State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader split with Fredonia on Saturday at Cardinal Park. Plattsburgh State won game one, 7-2, before falling, 10-9, in eight innings in the nightcap. It also served as the Cardinals' home opener.
 
Groat finished the day with 186 career hits, surpassing Amy Woo's former program record of 185. Woo achieved her mark over the course of a decorated four-year career from 2007-10. Groat tied the record with a bunt single in the bottom of the first in game two before notching the record-breaking hit, a two-run single, later on in the inning.
 
In between games, the Cardinals honored their four seniors as a part of Senior Day festivities: Groat, shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall), catcher Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) and center fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson).
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 9-9 overall (3-1 SUNYAC) with the results and next hosts Buffalo State in a 10 a.m. doubleheader tomorrow morning. Fredonia moves to 8-14 overall (3-5 SUNYAC) with the results and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
 
Game 1: Plattsburgh State 7, Fredonia 2
 
Plattsburgh State scored seven unanswered runs and scattered seven hits in game one to come away with a 7-2 victory.
 
Fredonia plated the first run of the game, as freshman center fielder Maddy O'Heir plated freshman shortstop Karli Murray with an RBI groundout in the top of the first. Sophomore catcher Eva FitzSimmons came around to score in the fourth on an RBI fielder's choice to stake the Blue Devils to a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Cardinals took the lead and broke the game open with a six-run fifth. Junior right fielder Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) scored on an RBI fielder's choice to put Plattsburgh State on the board before Groat drove in three runs with a bases-clearing double. Junior designated player Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) and Glashoff also notched RBI base knocks in the inning, with Agans driving in Groat on a double and Glashoff plating sophomore second baseman/pinch runner Sydney Adolfo (Morrisonville, N.Y./Saranac) with a single. A Blue Devil error in the sixth allowed sophomore third baseman Bella Spadinger (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) to come around to score, which served as the final run in the contest.
 
Merkel was the lone Cardinal with multiple hits in game one, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Groat earned three RBI thanks to her bases-clearing double in the fifth. For Fredonia, Murray and sophomore left fielder Sydney Merkley each notched multiple hits.
 
Freshman pitcher Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) earned the win in the circle for Plattsburgh State, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three. Fredonia's junior pitcher Katie Yudin was tagged with the loss, permitting six runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two in 4 2/3 innings of work.
 
Game 2: Fredonia 10, Plattsburgh State 9 (8 inn.)
 
Fredonia scored eight unanswered runs in game two, and an RBI single by Fitzsimmons in the top of the eighth wound up being the difference in a split-salvaging 10-9 victory for the Blue Devils.
 
After Yudin drove in a run in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to put Fredonia ahead early, the Cardinals countered with an eight-run first in which they batted around.
 
Preiss tied the score by coming across on a wild pitch, while Agans made it a 2-1 game with an RBI single to left field. Glashoff drove in a run with an RBI single before Spadinger plated Glashoff with an RBI double. Preiss drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a 5-1 score before Fisher singled up the middle during the ensuing at-bat to push the lead to five. Groat closed out scoring in the inning with a two-run single.
 
Fredonia got a run back in the second with an RBI double by sophomore second baseman Amber Piniewski, but Spadinger pushed the margin back out to seven runs with an RBI double in the home half of the inning.
 
The Blue Devils began to claw back with a three-run third on the strength of an RBI single by freshman first baseman Nicole Kumro, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by sophomore right fielder Alyssa Piniewski. Yudin drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, while Amber Piniewski cut the deficit to one in the fifth with a two-run double. Senior third baseman Cassie Herman tied the score in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly.
 
Groat (2-for-4, two RBI, one run scored), Spadinger (2-for-3, two RBI, two doubles, one run scored) and Glashoff (2-for-4, two runs scored, one RBI, one double) all had multiple hits for the Cardinals in game two. Fredonia scattered 19 hits total in the nightcap, led by FitzSimmons, Alyssa Piniewski and Amber Piniewski, who all had three hits. Amber Piniewski also drove in three runs.
 
Groat drew the start and did not earn a decision, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks. Freshman pitcher Elliana Bowlen (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) was tagged with the loss. Yudin made up for her game-one loss by earning the win in game two, throwing six hitless and scoreless innings of relief. She struck out five and issued just one walk.