FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State softball team inched closer toward qualifying for the conference tournament with a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader split with Fredonia on Friday at Blue Devils Field, dropping a 9-2 decision in game one before prevailing, 13-4, in five innings in game two.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 12-16 overall (8-8 SUNYAC) with the results and closes out its regular season tomorrow at Buffalo State in a 12 p.m. doubleheader. One win tomorrow assures the Cardinals of a SUNYAC Tournament berth. If Plattsburgh State loses twice, Fredonia's Saturday results against SUNY Potsdam as well as tiebreakers with Buffalo State and SUNY Brockport would ultimately determine the Cardinals' fate. Fredonia moves to 12-24 overall (7-9 SUNYAC) with the results and hosts Potsdam tomorrow for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
 
Game 1: Fredonia 9, Plattsburgh State 2
 
Fredonia scored four runs in the first and two runs in the second to build an early 6-0 lead, one it would not relinquish in the front end of the twinbill.
 
In the bottom of the first, first-year second baseman Allie Wandell put the Blue Devils on the board with a steal of home, while senior first baseman Nicole Kumro tripled in a pair of runs and junior pitcher Emily Chelius tallied an RBI double to put Fredonia in front, 4-0. Senior third baseman Maria Caviris hit a two-run double in the second to make it a 6-0 game.
 
The Cardinals scored two straight runs to cut the gap to 6-2, as junior right fielder Alexa Murray (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) scored on a wild pitch in the fourth and junior pitcher/third baseman Julia Golino (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) drove in a run with an RBI double in the sixth. Fredonia added insurance in the sixth, as graduate student shortstop Amber Piniewski hit an RBI single and Kumro plated two runs with a double.
 
Langdon keyed the Plattsburgh State attack with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, which included two doubles. Three Fredonia batters had multi-hit games, led by Kumro's 2-for-4 outing that included four RBI, a double and a triple.
 
Golino was the pitcher of record for the Cardinals in game one, while first-year pitcher Mikayla Manalo (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) hurled the remainder of the contest in relief, notching two strikeouts. Chelius earned the win for the Blue Devils, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out six.
 
Game 2: Plattsburgh State 13, Fredonia 4 (5 inn.)
 
The Cardinals scattered 11 hits while the Blue Devils committed seven errors in the nightcap, as Plattsburgh State cruised to a 13-4 victory in five innings.
 
Plattsburgh State got on the board early, as Golino hit an RBI single and junior catcher Rebecca Diller (Halfmoon, N.Y./Shenendehowa) drove in two runs on a base knock in the first to build a 3-0 advantage. Fredonia countered in the home half of the inning, as Kumro recorded an RBI single and Chelius registered a two-run double. A run came around to score for the Cardinals in the second on a Blue Devil error, while Chelius knotted the tally at 4-all with an RBI single.
 
The Cardinals broke the game open with a five-run fourth, which began with a pair of runs crossing on an error. Golino and sophomore second baseman Sam Gentile (Highland, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) added to the lead, with Golino hitting a two-run single and Gentile plating a run on a base knock. In the fifth, Murray blasted a two-run single, Langdon had an RBI groundout and Golino notched an RBI single to hand the visitors a 13-4 cushion. While Fredonia received a pair of one-out singles in the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals retired the next two batters in order to seal the run-rule victory.
 
Golino tied the single-game program record in hits with four, going 4-for-4 with four RBI. Murray also had a standout performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. For Fredonia, Chelius batted 2-for-3 with three RBI.
 
Junior pitcher Kristina Maggiacomo (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) earned the win in the circle for Plattsburgh State, yielding four runs on eight hits while striking out six. Chelius shouldered the loss for Fredonia in 4 1/3 innings of work.