2024 Schedule
2024 Roster
2023 Statistics
 
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State softball team will look to build off their best season since 2017 in 2024 as they will look to replicate a 2023 season that saw the team finish 22-12, including an 11-7 record in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play. The team made the postseason for the second straight season but fell in two close games, 4-2 and 3-2 to Cortland and Oneonta. Plattsburgh will begin their season on Sunday, March 17 as they take on Framingham State at 9 a.m.

Head coach Sam Van Dorn will look for the team's third straight trip to conference playoffs, as she will look to replace several seniors with a class of seven first-year students and two transfers looking to fill the void left by quite a few departures from last year.

Pitchers:

Julia Golino (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) returns for her graduate season as she will be heavily relied upon as the steadying force for the team in 2024. Golino finished behind Kristina Maggiacomo, who graduated last spring, in most categories in the circle, but still put together an excellent year as she was 10-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 87 innings pitched. She nearly matched a school record with her 16-strikeout performance against SUNY Canton last April and will be counted on for more of the same in 2024.

Sophomore Morgan Ormerod (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) and transfer junior Sarah Milyko (Goshen, N.Y./Chester Academy) will be counted on to replace the 100-plus innings thrown by Maggaicomo last year and should both be exceptional options. Ormerod wasn't needed often in 2023 with the strong seasons of Maggiacomo and Golino, but was fantastic in limited action, finishing with a 2.39 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. Milyko played for two seasons at Western Connecticut State and had an outstanding 2022, pitching 60 innings and posting a 1.75 ERA. Transfer junior Carly Gemmett (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central) also has collegiate experience pitching as she was the Mountain Valley Conference Softball Player of the Year and was named to the all-conference and all-region teams while playing at Hudson Valley Community College.

Sophomore Megan Pillus (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) and first-year Calli Fitzwater (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) have yet to pitch collegiately but will add depth to a talented pitching staff in 2024.

Infield:

For the second straight season, the Cards will return much of their infield, with just Kelsy Waite and Rebecca Diller departing from last year's infield group.

Plattsburgh's lone returning all-conference player is back as Claire Palmer (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) will look to duplicate her First Team All-SUNYAC selection from 2023. Her 58 hits from last year are the third-highest mark in program history for a single season and her .423 batting average led the team and was fourth in the SUNYAC. She will be rejoined by her double-play partner in junior Mikayla Manalo (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) who was fourth on the team last year with a .379 on-base percentage and was excellent defensively at second base. Golino will also return to the infield group where her bat will be welcomed after a season where she hit .355 and led the team in doubles (12) and RBI (32).

Other returning infielders for the coming season will be senior Kaitlin Smith (New Windsor, N.Y./Washingtonville), who was 6-12 in nine games last year, and Pillus as they will look to add experience to the infield unit.

First-year Sara Isaacs (Malta, N.Y./Shenendehowa) is the lone newcomer to the group and will look to help fill the void left by last year's seniors.

Outfield:

The outfield group will be a bit different than last season as Kristen Langdon, a two-time all-conference selection, and Michelle Gonzales departed after the end of last year. Senior Dolly Garguilo (Monroe, N.Y./Washingtonville) will be the main returning outfielder after 17 starts last year and will look to fill in and lead a young group in 2024. Senior Dimitra Mouhteros (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) is looking toward her final season with the Cardinals as she has played in 25 games over the last two seasons.

Three newcomers will be in contention to earn playing time in the outfield as Michelle DeFina (Commack, N.Y./Commack), Aislyn Liberty (Saranac, N.Y./Saranac), and Leila Toomey (Commack, N.Y./Commack) begin their Plattsburgh State careers in 2024.

Catchers:

Diller and Danielle Torres played nearly every inning at catcher the last two years for the Cards and will leave a big hole for Plattsburgh to fill. Luckily for Plattsburgh, Gwen Noll (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's), who played in 24 games last year and hit .333, will return to her natural position after playing outfield primarily last year and be a strong option for the Cards this year. Meghan Cox (East Norwich, N.Y./Oyster Bay) also returns to the team in 2024 and will be another option for Coach Van Dorn at the catching position.

Plattsburgh will get depth at an important position from two newcomers this year, as Emma Deo (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) and Alyssa Hemingway (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) will help out as backstops for the Cardinal pitching staff in 2024. In the conference's preseason poll, the Cards were picked to finish in the final playoff spot at sixth place, with defending conference tournament champion Geneseo and regular season champion New Paltz earning the poll's top spot. The full press release on the poll can be found here.