Buffalo, N.Y. - With a playoff spot on the line in the top of the sixth of a tie game, Julia Golino (Mt. Sinai, NY/ Mt. Sinai) connected on possibly the biggest hit of her Plattsburgh career as the junior doubled to left-center field to bring home two runs and give the Cardinals a late lead over Buffalo State (15-21, 7-11). Plattsburgh State (13-17, 9-9) would hold onto the two-run lead and take home the 4-2 win over the Bengals to secure their first postseason berth since 2018 when they entered as the fifth seed. 

The Cardinals open up the six-team, double-elimination SUNYAC Tournament, which will be hosted by top-seeded SUNY Geneseo, on Thursday, May 5, with the top-seeded Knights at 9 a.m. The winner of that game will make it to the next day before they play again, while the loser will play the final game on Thursday against the game two loser at approximately 3 p.m.

Game One: Buffalo State 6, Plattsburgh State 5 (8 innings)

The two SUNYAC teams opened up the day with a back and forth affair in game one, as the Bengals thrice came back to tie the game before winning in extra innings, as the game ended with the game-winning run scoring on a wild pitch after a strikeout. 

The Cardinals led at various points throughout the matchup, but could not hold onto the lead for more than an inning at a time. They first got on the board in the top of the first, with an RBI fielder's choice from Kristina Maggiacomo (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) scoring Alexa Murray (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comswegue). Buffalo State quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first with a single to right-center and then took the lead with a steal of home in the second. 

Plattsburgh was able to retake the lead in the top of the fourth, as Kristen Langdon (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) tripled home two runs to put her team up 3-2. The team added another run when Langdon scored on an error by the catcher, putting the Cards up two runs. The Bengals once again responded immediately with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, with an RBI single and RBI double with two outs. 

In the seventh, Sam Gentile (Highland, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) reached on an error to open the frame and was eventually brought home by a Claire Palmer (Suffern, NY/Suffern) RBI single to left to put the Cardinals up one. In the bottom of the seventh, a leadoff double put the tying run in scoring position as they eventually scored on a two-out, RBI double to left to tie the game. Maggiacomo was called upon in relief in the circle and worked out the frame after allowing a base-hit to the first batter she faced. 

A scoreless top of the eighth for Plattsburgh gave Buffalo State a chance to win the game with one swing. A leadoff single, followed by a stolen base and an infield single put runners on the corners with no outs for the Bengals. Maggiacomo struck out the next two batters, but on the strike-out pitch to the second batter, the ball bounced away from the Cardinals and the Bengals scored the game-winning run for the win. 

Langdon had three hits for Plattsburgh as she tripled, drove in two runs, and scored once. Palmer also had three hits and one RBI while Alex McKearin (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) had her first multi-hit game of the season. 

Game Two: Plattsburgh State 4, Buffalo State 2

After a heartbreaking game one loss, the Cardinals came out strong in the first inning of game two, loading the bases with three singles and scoring the first run of the game on an RBI HBP by Gentile. Buffalo State, once again, however, responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run double, taking a 2-1 lead over Plattsburgh.

After a scoreless second inning, a one-out single from Rebecca Diller (Halfmoon, NY/Shenendehowa), followed by a stolen base from pinch-runner Gabrielle Rodriguez (Albany, NY/Albany), put the tying run in scoring position for the Cardinals. After a lineout, McKearin singled up the middle to tie the game. 

Meanwhile, Maggiacomo had started dominating, as she settled in nicely after allowing the RBI double. After that hit, the Bengals would only add one more hit throughout the entirety of the game, a single in the third inning. Maggiacomo's dominance allowed the Cardinals to work slowly as they looked for the big hit from their offense. 

The big hit finally came in the top of the sixth with two runners in scoring position and Golino at the plate. With one out, Palmer and Murray posted back-to-back singles and a Langdon groundout moved over both runners. Golino then smoked a pitch to left-center in the next at-bat to take the 4-2 lead. 

Maggiacomo went back out and continued to dominate in the circle, closing out the game by retiring the final 10 batters she faced. The junior picked up her seventh win of the season with the complete-game effort, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out five. 

Murray, Langdon, Golino, and Maggiacomo all had two hits for the Cardinal offense, as the team recorded 11 hits over seven frames at the plate. 

The team will look to the SUNYAC playoffs on May 5 when they take on the top seed Geneseo at 9 am in Geneseo.