PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State softball team celebrated Senior Day with two State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) wins over Fredonia, winning 4-3 and then 16-0 in five innings. Plattsburgh once again had strong starting pitching from Kristina Maggiacomo (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Julia Golino (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai), as the pair each earned wins in the circle.

Golino also had a strong day at the plate for the Cards, collecting four hits and driving in three runs, as she doubled twice and had a triple. Claire Palmer (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) also had four hits between the two games, driving in four runs as well, with Maggiacomo adding three RBI for Plattsburgh. 

The Cardinals move to 18-6 (7-3 SUNYAC) with the two wins, as they sit in fourth place in the conference standings at the end of the day on Saturday. They next play Middlebury on the road at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25. Fredonia falls to 4-22 (3-7 SUNYAC) on the year and will head to Cortland on Friday, April 28 for road SUNYAC action. 

After the completion of the game, the team honored their six seniors for their respective four-year careers in the program: Rebecca Diller (Halfmoon, N.Y./Shenendehowa), Julia Golino (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai), Kristen Langdon (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Kristina Maggiacomo (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville), Danielle Torres (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central), and Kelsy Waite (Winthrop, N.Y./St. Lawrence Central). 

Game One: Plattsburgh 4, Fredonia 3

The Cardinals took game one in a tight matchup, with the Cardinal offense being held in check over six innings. Maggiacomo led the team to the win with a strong effort in the circle, going seven innings, striking out nine batters, and walking none to earn her seventh win of the year. Maggiacomo also had an RBI single, and Golino had a strong day in game one at the plate, roping a double and a triple, scoring a run, while also walking once.

The Cardinals got the scoring started in the first inning, as Golino lined a two-out triple to right center and Maggiacomo followed with a single through the right side to put the Cards up 1-0. Back-to-back walks in the second inning, followed by a sac bunt, set up a two-run, two-out single for Palmer, as the Cards took a 3-0 lead through two innings. 

In the third inning, however, Fredonia put up three runs as they exploded for five hits tying the game at three runs apiece.

The Cardinals retook the lead in the fourth inning, as Michelle Gonzales (Grass Valley, Calif./Nevada Union) reached second base on an error. Gwen Noll (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) followed with her second sacrifice bunt of the game, and Mikayla Manalo (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) grounded out to short in the next at-bat to drive in Gonzales from third. 

Now with a 4-3 lead, Maggiacomo had all the support she needed, as she worked out of a jam in the fifth and put up zeroes in the final four innings of work in the circle. 

Allie Wandell was 2-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI for Fredonia, as Emily Chelius took the loss despite a quality start, going six innings, giving up three earned runs, and striking out seven. 

Game Two: Plattsburgh 16, Fredonia 0 (5 innings)

In game two, Plattsburgh matched their highest-scoring output of the season, scoring 16 runs to run-rule the Blue Devils. The team had 16 hits, with six Cardinals putting together multi-hit efforts in the game-two win. 

Golino continued her strong senior day, throwing five scoreless innings for the complete game shutout win, allowing just three hits and striking out three batters, moving to 8-0 on the season. She also added two hits and three RBI for the offense, doubling for the second time in the day. Palmer finished 3-4 in game two with four runs scored and two RBI, while Langdon added two hits, three runs scored, a double, and an RBI. Kylie Persampire (Bellmore, N.Y./Wellington C. Mepham), Waite, and Torres also had multi-hit days, with Persampire driving in a run and Torres driving in two runs.

The Cardinals wasted no time getting runs on the board to start game two, as they put up four runs in the frame, knocking out the Fredonia starter after she recorded just one out. Golino and Persampire each had run-scoring doubles, with a Torres RBI single capping off the four-run frame. The offensive onslaught continued into the second inning, as Langdon doubled home Palmer and Maggiacomo drove in Langdon with a sacrifice fly to put Plattsburgh up 2-0. 

In the third and fourth, Plattsburgh scored four and six runs, respectively, as the team just continued to churn out hits and take advantage of Fredonia miscues. Palmer drove in two runs with a single in the third and Manalo came around to score on the play, thanks to two Blue Devil errors, which was followed by a Golino sacrifice fly two batters later to account for the four runs in the third. The Cardinal six-run fourth saw four run-scoring singles, capped off by a deep single to left from Dimitra Mouhteros (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) that scored the 16th run of the game for Plattsburgh.

Golino continued to pitch well in the circle as the Cardinal offense was giving her plenty of run-support, as the senior retired the final nine batters she faced for the complete game win to stay undefeated on the year. 

For Fredonia, Tory Pauwels, and Lexi Wulf each had hits in their only at-bats.