Clermont, Fla. – The Plattsburgh State softball team opened up their 2024 season on Sunday morning in Clermont, Florida, first falling to Framingham State 6-5, before taking down Washington & Jefferson 4-1 in their split doubleheader action. Sophomore Morgan Ormerod (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) pitched the team to victory in game two, tossing her first career complete game to earn the win. 

Gwen Noll (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) picked up four hits in between two games to help jump-start the Cardinal offense, scoring four runs while also driving in one run. Graduate student Julia Golino (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) drove in two runs and had three hits across two games for Plattsburgh State. 

The Cardinals move to 1-1 on the season and will be back in action tomorrow, March 18 for another split doubleheader, as they take on #22 Milikin at approximately 2 p.m. and Hamilton directly after at approximately 4:15 p.m. Framingham moved 1-2 with the win before falling to UW-River Falls to move to 1-4 on the season. They will next play UW-Whitewater on Monday, March 18 at 9:30 a.m. Washington & Jefferson moves to 1-3 with the loss to Plattsburgh, as they next take on St. Lawrence at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 18. 

Game One: Framingham 6, Plattsburgh 5

The Cards engaged in a tightly contested game to begin their 2024 season, just falling short at the end as they lost 6-5 to the Framingham State Rams. The Cards jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but five unanswered put the Rams up 5-2 in the fourth. Plattsburgh was able to come back and tie the game in the fifth, but Framingham scored the game-winning run in the following half-inning and held the lead to win 6-5. 

The sophomore Noll led the Cardinal offense in game one, finishing 3-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a double, and two stolen bases. Sophomore Megan Pillus (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) drove in two runs for the Cardinals, and first-year Sara Isaacs (Malta, N.Y./Shenendehowa) drove in a run in her first collegiate at-bat with a single. Golino took the loss in the circle for Plattsburgh, going five innings striking out seven, and giving up six runs. 

Plattsburgh started off the game as well as they would have hoped, as Claire Palmer (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) led the game off with a walk and Noll reached on a fielder's choice to put two on with none out.  A passed ball allowed both runners to advance and Isaacs singled home Palmer to give the Cards their first lead of the year. Pillus followed with an RBI groundout to score Noll and put Plattsburgh up 2-0 after their first half-inning of play. 

Framingham State responded immediately, putting up two runs, first on back-to-back doubles and then on an RBI single, tying the game after an inning of play. The Rams later took the lead in the third after a solo homerun and added two more runs in the fourth on another homer to lead 5-2 after four innings. 

Plattsburgh responded in the fifth, as Palmer got things started with a double down the left field line and was quickly brought home by Noll who doubled to right centerfield. Noll later stole third, allowing her to score on another Pillus groundout to put the Cardinals down just one run. Plattsburgh tied the game with two outs and runners on the corners when Dimitra Mouhteros (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) stole second and forced a throw down, allowing Isaacs to advance and score on the throw down to second. 

With a 5-5 game, the Rams wasted no time to add the eventual game-winning run, starting the bottom of the fifth with a double down the left field line and singled to move the go-ahead run to third with no outs. A sacrifice fly followed, giving Framingham a 6-5 lead. 

In the following half-inning, the tying run was nabbed at third for Plattsburgh after they turned too far past third in an attempt to score on a base hit. Sarah Milyko (Goshen, N.Y./Chester Academy) made her Cardinal debut in the bottom of the sixth in the circle, facing just three batters with a scoreless frame and a strikeout. 

In the seventh, the Cards were able to get the tying run in scoring position with two outs, but were unable to get the run home, falling 6-5 in their season opener. 

Ally Moran picked up the win for Framingham State in a complete game win, going seven innings, giving up four earned runs, and striking out three. Talia Duca homered and doubled to drive in three runs and score twice while Eliza Carignan had two hits including a two-run homer. 

Game Two: Plattsburgh 4, Washington & Jefferson 1

The Cardinals bounced back from a tough loss in game one to win 4-1 over the Washington & Jefferson Presidents behind a strong game from Ormerod on the rubber. The sophomore went seven innings, giving up just one run while striking out five batters, as she earned her first career complete game. 

Golino was 2-4 in game two, as she doubled and drove in two runs for Plattsburgh. Dolly Garguilo (Monroe, N.Y./Washingtonville) was 2-4 with an RBI and double, while Mouhteros also drove in a run for Plattsburgh. First-year catcher Emma Deo (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) picked up her first collegiate hit, scored a run, and walked in her first career start. 

Plattsburgh gave themselves all the breathing room they would need in the first inning, scoring three runs on three hits and one error. Noll reached on an error with one out to start the rally and Deo proceeded to single in her first college at bat. Golino then brought home Noll with a single to right and Garguilo brought in Deo with a single to left in the following at bat. Mouhteros followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Golino, putting Plattsburgh up 3-0 after an inning of play. 

Over the next six innings, the Cards cruised as Ormerod mowed down hitters and worked out of any jam, stranding nine baserunners over the course of the game. 

In the sixth, Plattsburgh got another run across for some insurance, as a Noll hit-by-pitch followed by a Deo walk put two runners on. Golino followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Noll and putting the Cards up 4-0. 

In the seventh, the Presidents finally broke the scoreboard, as Deanna Gratton singled home a run. With the tying run now at the plate with two outs, Ormerod came through once again, forcing a game-ending flyout for the 4-1 Cardinal win. 

Sydney Petrowski took the loss for Washington & Jefferson, tossing a complete game with six innings of work giving up just two earned runs while striking out two.