Davenport, Fla. - The Plattsburgh Cardinals (5-5) bats came alive on Tuesday afternoon in Davenport as the Cardinals pounded out 14 runs on 15 hits, defeating the Springfield Pride (3-6) 14-9. Christian Ott (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Christian Lent (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) each had three hits in the win, while three Plattsburgh players had three RBIs.

The Cardinals got the scoring started in the second as Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) continued his hot start with an RBI single to score Nolan De Melfi (Shirley, NY/William Floyd). The Pride responded with two runs in the top of the third, however, to take their first lead of the game.

In the bottom of the third, the bats got rolling for Plattsburgh. Back-to-back one out singles from Kaden Kowalowski (Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown) and Lent, followed by a Conner Gonzalski (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) walk set the table for the Cards. Ott followed with a bases loaded double scoring two runners, giving the lead back to Plattsburgh. After a pinch hit walk from Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, NY/ Kennedy Catholic), Nick Cergol (Mount Sinai, NY/ Mt. Sinai) smoked a triple to right field, clearing the bases and increasing the lead to 6-2 Cardinals. Kornblau then picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly, giving Plattsburgh a commanding 7-2 lead early in the game. 

Springfield added runs in the fourth and fifth to cut into the lead, but the Cards got both runs back with an RBI hit-by-pitch from Gonzalski and an RBI walk from Ott, making the score 9-4.

The Pride added two runs in the top of the seventh, but Plattsburgh was up to the task with their response once more, as Lent and Gonzalski blasted back-to-back doubles to grab a run, and Cremin added a ground-rule double to score Gonzalski later in the inning. 

The Cardinals pulled away for good in the home half of the eighth as Lent hit his second double of the game to score Mike Rasquin (Garden City, NY/Garden City) and Gonzalski followed with a double for the second time as well to score Lent. Ott picked up his third hit of the game with a single to center, giving the junior his third hit and third RBI. 

Plattsburgh's bullpen ran into trouble in the top half of the ninth, as the Pride rapped out three hits to score three runs, but Michael Ascanio (Armonk, NY/Byram Hills) struck out the final batter of the game to clinch the win.

Andrew Veit (Yaphank, NY/Bellport) earned the victory on the mound for the Cardinals, as the junior arm tossed six innings giving up four earned runs while striking out 10. The six innings and 10 strikeouts were each career highs for Veit in his ninth career pitching appearance. 

Eight of the 15 hits for Plattsburgh went for extra bases, as Lent and Gonzalski had two doubles each. Ott, Cremin and Jacob Hutton (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) each had a double while Cergol tripled. Gonzalski, Ott,and Cergol each drove in three runs, while Kornblau drove in two. The team also reached base 10 times by walk, while getting hit three times at the plate, earning plenty of base runners throughout the nine innings of play. 

The Baseball team returns to action tomorrow, March 16, for their final game in Florida versus Rutgers-Camden. A live stream will be available through the BeTheBeast Event Live+ App, with the link available on gocardinalsports.com.