PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior left fielder/pitcher Jennifer Groat (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) recorded her 100th career RBI, as the Plattsburgh State softball team split a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader with Buffalo State on Sunday at Cardinal Park. Plattsburgh State won game one, 7-4, before falling by a 12-5 final in game two.
 
Groat is just the fourth Cardinal in program history to reach the 100-RBI plateau, as she recorded RBI No. 100 with a sacrifice fly in game two.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 10-10 overall (4-2 SUNYAC) with the results and next hosts Oswego State in a SUNYAC doubleheader on Tuesday, April 16, at 2 p.m. Buffalo State moves to 15-11 overall (6-4 SUNYAC) with the results and next visits Nazareth College for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 16, at 3 p.m.
 
Game 1: Plattsburgh State 7, Buffalo State 4
 
Freshman pitcher Elliana Bowlen (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) inherited and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, while the Cardinals added two key insurance runs in the home half of the inning to pull out the game one win.
 
Junior right fielder Frannie Merkel (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) put the Cardinals on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI double to left, and one batter later, sophomore third baseman Bella Spadinger (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) ripped a three-run home run over the left field fence.
 
Buffalo State pulled within one in the top of the third, as freshman center fielder/pitcher Oriana Castello drove in two runs with a double to left center and junior catcher Chelsea Davis plated Castello with an RBI single to center.
 
Spadinger pushed the Cardinal advantage back out to two with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third, while heads-up defense allowed Plattsburgh State to turn a double play on a sacrifice fly in the sixth. With Bowlen entering the game with the bases loaded and one out, she induced a fly ball to center field. Senior center fielder Amy Glashoff (Montrose, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) made the catch and threw home, with the run crossing the plate before the ball made it to senior catcher Anna Fisher (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport). The Bengal runner on second base took off for third on the throw, and Fisher made a heads-up throw to third to end the inning, as Spadinger applied the tag.
 
Plattsburgh State took advantage of that momentum swing in the bottom of the sixth, as freshman first baseman Alex McKearin (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) roped an RBI single to center field before Spadinger scored on an RBI fielder's choice by senior shortstop Kaitlyn Preiss (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall).
 
Bowlen shut the door in the seventh. Despite an error following a lineout to Preiss, Bowlen induced a popup to Preiss and a fly out to Merkel in right field to seal the 7-4 victory.
 
Eight Cardinals had a hit in game one, led by Spadinger's 2-for-2 performance that included four RBI, two runs scored and a home run. Merkel batted 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Senior left fielder Hannah Dunlap paced the Bengals at the plate with a 2-for-3 outing.
 
Freshman pitcher Hannah Fuerst (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) earned the win, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings of work. Bowlen earned her first collegiate save, keeping Buffalo State hitless and scoreless in 1 2/3 frames of action. Buffalo State used three pitchers in the loss, with freshman pitcher Emma Richard shouldering the losing decision.
 
Game 2: Buffalo State 12, Plattsburgh State 5
 
Buffalo State overcame a 5-3 deficit in game two by scoring nine unanswered runs, salvaging the split with a 12-5 game-two victory.
 
Plattsburgh State fired the opening salvo, with Glashoff plating Preiss with a single through the right side in the bottom of the first. Buffalo State countered in the top of the third when senior shortstop Julia Blujus advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an ensuing throwing error, while the Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in the third thanks to an RBI single by junior designated player Haleigh Agans (Brasher Falls, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) and a sacrifice fly by Glashoff.
 
The Bengals knotted the tally at 3-all in the fifth, as Castello hit an RBI single to left center and Davis drove in a run with an RBI groundout, but Plattsburgh State opened a 5-3 lead in the fifth on a throwing error and a Groat sacrifice fly.
 
Buffalo State pushed across four runs in the sixth, with Blujus driving in the first run of the inning on an RBI single. An error allowed Blujus and freshman second baseman Alyssa Nichy to score to give the Bengals the lead, while Castello scored on a wild pitch to stake Buffalo State to a 7-5 advantage. The Bengals locked up the win with a five-run seventh, as the lineup batted around in the inning.
 
Agans led the Cardinal attack with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Glashoff drove in two runs. Seven different Bengals recorded a hit in game two, led by Blujus (3-for-4, four runs scored, one RBI).
 
Groat drew the start in the circle for Plattsburgh State, working five innings in a no decision. She allowed five runs (two earned) on three hits and four walks. Bowlen was tagged with the loss in 1 1/3 innings of work. Buffalo State's Castello earned the win, permitting five runs (four earned) on one walk while striking out three.