Regional wrap-up

AMHERST, Mass. — The last time Plattsburgh State won a regional and made the NCAA Division III Softball Championship finals, Stephanie Zweig was playing for the Cardinals instead of coaching them. She said the team that beat Keene State 6-1 Sunday to claim the Amherst Regional may have a few similarities to the 2007 squad, but it has even better chemistry.

“I’m not putting down my team at all — but I think this group is really together. They’re really a family,” Zweig said. “We were a family, but these girls love each other and they will do anything for each other. They’re willing to pick each other up like nothing, and I think it’s really important that we just have each other’s backs no matter what.

“I feel like this team is very similar to the 2006 team. That’s the one I definitely compare it to. Even though we went to the world series in 2007, that 2006 team could’ve easily won a national championship. And unfortunately we fell short (at the regional), but this group is doing it and they’re really coming together, starting with the senior class — they’re really just pushing their teammates to be better and better every day.”

Sean Cotter was the Cardinals’ coach when they made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2006 and their first finals appearance in 2007. Cotter left after the 2009 season to become the coach at UMass Lowell, and he made the 90-minute drive to Amherst to watch Zweig’s team add to the program’s accomplishments Sunday.

“He’s a big reason why we’re here today,” Zweig said. “And I think he would be really proud to see it’s really similar to the way it used to look and we did it in good old fashion. And I’m glad he was here to see it because I know that he’s really proud of this program and it will always be part of his heart.”

 

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Amherst: Kaitlin Silkowitz, OF

Cortland: Abby Martin, DP; Morgan Kuhn, P

Husson: Victoria Overlock, IF

Keene State: Katie Bradford, IF; Nicole Dupuis, C.

Keuka: Jill Hart, OF

New England: Ashley Gott, C

Plattsburgh: Samantha Capobianco, DP; Brianna Clarke, IF; Brittany Marshall, IF

St. Joseph’s: Emily Leverone, OF

Most Outstanding Player: Ashley Marshall, P, Plattsburgh

 

NOTES & QUOTES

• The Cardinals batted .410 in four games and totaled 43 hits. St. Joseph’s had the next highest average — .297 in two games — and Keene State had 29 hits in five games.

• Something was missing for the Cardinals in the championship game — home runs. They had six in the tournament, but Sunday they managed to score six runs without clearing the fence. No other team hit more than two dingers in Amherst.

• Bri Clarke led everybody with a .667 batting average, and she and teammate Sam Capobianco tied for first with six RBI. Brittany Marshall averaged .643 with a tournament-best nine hits.

Ashley Marshall on getting through the last inning: “We knew we had it right there. It was a done deal going into the bottom of the seventh. We knew we were going to win it, so it was just everything we could do to get out of the inning as fast as we could.”

Marshall on the final out: “I guess I was just hoping for the best — I wasn’t really hoping for a strikeout. The two inside pitches, I thought were strikes, but they weren’t. So I came back with riseballs and ended up getting her. She was just so anxious to swing, it just worked out in my favor.”

Erin Florkiewicz on Marshall: “She was throwing gas all day. Her change-up was awesome today. That last pitch, it couldn’t have been any prettier.”

Varsity Voice: Kasey Favreau

Editor’s note: Wind was a bit crazy the day this was recorded — apologizies for the inconsistent audio.

Cards hitting hard and then hitting the books

AMHERST, Mass. — Plattsburgh State would love to wrap up the Amherst Regional championship Sunday instead of having to play one more game Monday.

And not just because the title comes with a spot in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship in Salem, Va.

“As much as we want to win the championship just to win the championship, I think everybody wants to get out of here as quickly as possible because we’ve got a lot of papers to write,” sophomore Sam Capobianco said. “It’s finals week. We’re all in the study room until midnight, and then we sleep as much as we can and then we have games the next day.

“It’s craziness.”

The Cardinals can win the regional with a victory Sunday afternoon. Otherwise, they play the same team again Monday. They were in a similar situation last week in the SUNY Athletic Conference tournament and needed the second game to get it done.

They’re played all three of the other teams still alive in the regional. (They haven’t faced Cortland this week but are plenty familiar with their SUNYAC rival). Cortland and Amherst meet in the morning, and if either makes it to the finals, it would mean they’d play three consecutive games Sunday. Keene State, needing just one win to reach the finals, would be a little more rested, but it would also be going up against the team that shellacked it 15-0 Saturday.

“It’s just all about us, no matter who it is,” Plattsburgh coach Stephanie Zweig said. “And just because we’ve scored 30 runs in two days, it doesn’t mean anything. We still are going to have to work really hard to get that win.”

 

SCORING SURGE

Plattsburgh’s bats have been absolutely on fire lately. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 30-2 in three games in Amherst, and they put up similar numbers the previous two weeks.

In their last 12 games, they’ve outpaced teams 99-14 and averaged 8.25 runs per game. They’ve gone 11-1 during that stretch and posted six shutouts.

“It feels really good for us,” Capobianco said. “We’re great hitters already, but when we show it like that, it’s just the greatest feeling. I can’t even describe it.”

Baseball & softball rankings (Through May 6)

NYSSWA Scholastic Rankings
Top 5 and local teams
(Through May 6)
SOFTBALL
CLASS A
1. South Glens Falls-2 11-0
2. Pearl River-1           12-0
3. Mendon-5    10-0
4. Cornwall-9  11-1
5. Island Trees-8          14-2
CLASS B
1. Carle Place-8           15-3
2. Babylon-11 12-0
3. Rye Neck-1 12-0
4. Chatham-2   15-1
5. Windsor-4   8-2
12. Saranac-7 10-1
21. Peru-7 7-1
CLASS C
1. Elmira Notre Dame-4          15-2
2. Mechanicville-2       11-2
3. Sandy Creek-3        11-2
4. Duanesburg-2          9-2
5. Elmira Heights-4     12-2
20. Ticonderoga-7 5-0
CLASS D
1. Hamilton-3  12-0
2. Afton-4        10-4
3. Deposit-4     9-3
4. Loudonville Christian-2      12-0
5. Oriskany-3  10-2
10. Crown Point-7 6-0
19. Chateaugay-10 5-0
25. Elizabethtown-Lewis-7 6-3
25. Keene-7 5-2
BASEBALL
CLASS A
1. Clarke-8      15-0-1
2. Marlboro-9  11-0
3. Yonkers-1   11-1
4. Wantagh-8   15-1
5. Sleepy Hollow-1     9-0
CLASS B
1. Tonawanda-6          11-0
2. Wellsville-5 12-1
3. Oneonta-4   10-2
4. Oyster Bay-8           15-1
5. Babylon-11 16-1
17. Beekmantown-7 8-3
CLASS C
1. Lansing-4    16-0
2. Hoosic Valley-2      15-0
3. Haldane-1    10-0
4. South Lewis-3         12-0
5. Thomas Edison-4    14-2
17. Ticonderoga-7 7-3
CLASS D
1. Hancock-4   14-2
2. Smithtown Christian-11      11-5
3. Brookfield-3            12-0
4. Livingston Manor-9            9-2
5. North Collins-6       10-1
12. Crown Point-7 7-0
15. Chazy-7 6-1

Click here for the complete baseball rankings.
Click here for the complete softball rankings.

 

Baseball & softball rankings (Through April 29)

NYSSWA Scholastic Rankings
Top 5 and local teams
(Through April 29)
Softball
CLASS A
1. South Glens Falls-2 	8-0
2. Pearl River-1 	10-0
3. Mendon-5 	7-0
4. Cornwall-9	11-1
5. Island Trees-8	12-2
24. Franklin Academy-10 2-0
CLASS B
1. Carle Place-8	12-3
2. Babylon-11	10-0
3. Windsor-4	8-1
4. Waterloo-5	7-0
5. Rye Neck-1	9-0
18. Saranac-7 6-1
25. Peru-7 4-1
CLASS C
1. Elmira Notre Dame-4	11-2
2.Mechanicville-2	9-2
3. Sandy Creek-3	8-1
4. Caledonia-Mumford-5	7-0
5. Duanesburg-2	7-1
17. Ticonderoga-7 5-0
CLASS D
1. Hamilton-3	9-0
2. Afton-4	6-3
3. Oriskany-3	9-1
4. Deposit-4	9-3
5. Loudonville Christian-2	10-0
10. Crown Point-7 3-0
16. Elizabethtown-Lewis-7 4-1
20. Chateaugay-10 3-0
21. Minerva/Newcomb-7 4-1
24. Westport-7 3-1
Baseball
CLASS A
1. Wantagh-8	13-0
2. Clarke-8	13-0
3. Marlboro-9 	8-0
4. Yonkers-1	10-0
5. Pittsford Sutherland-5	8-1
CLASS B
1. Westhill-3	10-0
2. Tonawanda-6	9-0
3. Wellsville-5	9-1
4. Oneonta-4	8-1
5. Homer-3	8-0
19. Beekmantown-7 7-3
CLASS C
1. Lansing-4	11-0
2. Voorheesville-2	10-0
3. Hoosic Valley-2	13-0
4. Haldane-1	10-0
5. South Lewis-3	9-0
CLASS D
1. Hancock-4	11-1
2. Oriskany-3	7-2
3. Smithtown Christian-11	9-3
4. Brookfield-3	8-0
5. Livingston Manor-9	7-2
13. Crown Point-7 5-0
15. Chazy-7 4-1

Click here for the complete baseball rankings.
Click here for the complete softball rankings.