SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State softball team took both ends of a doubleheader against Skidmore on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Thoroughbreds in extra innings in game one, and using a strong offensive performance for a game two win. 

The Cardinals had some strong starts from both Kristina Maggiacomo (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Julia Golino (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) as each posted complete-game wins. Claire Palmer (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) had a three-hit effort in game one, and Kristen Langdon (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and Maggiacomo matched Palmer in game two, each posting three-hit games of their own. 

Plattsburgh improves to 6-2 on the season and will enjoy a weekend off before eight games in six days, including their home and conference opener next Friday against Oswego State. Their next games come on Monday, April 3, when they visit Castleton in doubleheader action. Skidmore falls to 3-10 and next plays Russell Sage in an Albany-area clash on Friday, March 31.

Game One: Plattsburgh 4, Skidmore 3 (8 innings)

In a tightly contested game one, the Cardinals needed an extra inning to take down the Thoroughbreds, as they were able to score two runs in the top of the eighth to earn the win. 

Palmer led the offense with three hits, finishing 3-4 with a run scored in game one while Langdon, Golino, and Gwen Noll (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) each drove in a run. Maggiacomo finished with eight innings pitched, giving up just five hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters. She moved to 3-1 on the season with the victory and lowered her season ERA to 2.53 in 27.2 IP. 

Skidmore kicked off the scoring in game one with a double in the first that plated two runs. From then on, however, Maggiacomo would hold the Thoroughbred's bats at bay, as she escaped the first inning by retiring the final two batters of the inning in a row and retiring the next 13 she faced. 

Plattsburgh scratched a run across in the third to cut the lead in half when Noll reached on an infield hit and Palmer reached on a bunt single. Langdon grounded out to shortstop to move both runners and Golino followed with an RBI groundout to plate Noll. The Cards were able to tie the game in fifth in a similar fashion, as Palmer singled on a bunt and wound up on third base after a throwing error. Langdon ground into a fielder's choice in the next at-bat, scoring Palmer from third and tying the game.

Both pitchers continued to limit the opposing bats, eventually pushing the game into extra innings as each breezed through the seventh inning. 

In the eighth inning, each team started with a runner on second base, as per NCAA extra-inning rules for softball. Plattsburgh was able to get that runner to third base to start the inning, but a ground ball to third base resulted in an out at home to start giving Skidmore the first out of the eighth. After a sac bunt, a wild pitch allowed Maggiacomo to score from third base, and Golino advanced to third. In the same at-bat, Kelsy Waite (Winthrop, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central) singled home Golino to put the Cards up 4-2, giving them a valuable two-run cushion in extra innings. 

The Thoroughbreds started extra innings singling home their free base-runner, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Maggicaomo was able to continue her strong outing after the single, however, retiring the next three batters to earn the win.

Game Two: Plattsburgh 7, Skidmore 4

Plattsburgh State continued their strong play into game two, platting seven runs and registering nine hits, six of which came from Langdon and Maggiacomo, who each finished 3-3. The pair both doubled, drove in a run, and walked, while Langdon scored twice and Maggiacomo scored one run.

Kylie Persampire (Bellmore, N.Y./Wellington C. Mepham) belted a three-run home run for the first home run of 2023 for Plattsburgh, while Waite and Golino each had a hit and drove in a run for the Cards. Golino pitched all seven innings, giving up three earned runs while walking none and striking out four batters. 

The Cardinals wasted no time getting on the board in the second game of their twin-bill, as Langdon walked, stole second, and then scored on an RBI double from Golino down the left field line. Maggiacomo followed with an infield hit and after a groundout, Persampire blasted her first collegiate homer to right-center field, an opposite-field blast to put the Cards up 4-0 early. 

Skidmore was able to answer back in the bottom of the first with two runs, but Plattsburgh added another run in the top of the second, as Langdon doubled home a run to put the Cards up 5-2.

The score remained a three-run advantage for Plattsburgh until the fifth inning when Maggiacomo doubled home a run, putting the Cards up four runs. Skidmore responded in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double of their own, putting them back down three runs. 

In the seventh, Waite picked up her second RBI single of the day, scoring Langdon and bringing the Cardinal lead back to four runs. A lead-off double for Skidmore and subsequent wild pitch and groundout once again shifted the lead back to three runs, but Golino was able to strike out the Thoroughbred cleanup hitter and induce a game-ending groundout to give Plattsburgh a doubleheader sweep.