The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team heads into its final weekend of the regular season sitting just outside of a playoff spot and will play a critical series on the road against Plattsburgh State Friday and SUNY Potsdam Saturday. The top six teams in the SUNYAC advance to the conference tournament, and SUNY New Paltz (13-18-1, 6-8 SUNYAC) sits in seventh place with 12 points. Plattsburgh State (16-15, 8-6 SUNYAC) is currently in line for a playoff spot, as the Cardinals are one of three teams tied for fourth place with 16 points.

"This upcoming weekend is really big for us," Hawks sophomore third baseman Taylor Fischer said. "We've taken on this mentality that any of these games could be our last, so we should leave it all on the field and not finish with anything left in us."

Plattsburgh State ranks fourth in the SUNYAC in runs (166), home runs (11) and batting average (.309). Five of the team's starters are batting over .300, including junior catcher Jennifer Groat who is second in the conference with a sizzling .505 batting average. The Cardinals are also fourth in the SUNYAC in ERA (3.64), thanks in large part to senior Taylor Smith whose 2.71 ERA is fifth in the conference and senior Katie Pitkin who is second in the SUNYAC with 64 strikeouts and leads the team with 89 and one-third innings pitched. 

Last season, Plattsburgh State and SUNY New Paltz split their season at a neutral site in Chester, New York. The Cardinals took the first game 4-2 while the Hawks won the second game 2-0.

"The series against Plattsburgh will be emotional for me," said Fischer, who played for the Cardinals last season. "I was friends with a lot of players on the team before I even started going there. But, I'm not going to play any differently or take them lightly. It's still a game that we want to win and it's even more important to me that we win since they're my old team."

Following its series against Plattsburgh State, SUNY New Paltz will travel to SUNY Potsdam (5-21, 2-10 SUNYAC) for its final series of the regular season. The Bears currently sit at the bottom of the conference standings with four points.

SUNY Potsdam is ranked last in the SUNYAC in runs (82), batting average (.254) and ERA (5.85). Senior catcher Lauren Brace leads the team with a .388 batting average and two home runs, while senior pitcher Samantha Hubinsky is ranked second on the team with a .333 batting average. Hubinsky also leads the team with 52 innings pitched, while freshman Kayla Palmer holds the lowest ERA on the Bears with a 3.80 mark.

The Hawks swept their series against SUNY Potsdam last year in dominating fashion, winning the first game 9-1 and the second game 13-4 as both games were limited to five innings due to the mercy rule. SUNY New Paltz has not lost a game to the Bears since the 2014 season.

"Potsdam is in last, but we can't take anything for granted," Hawks sophomore outfielder Julia DiSpigna said. "They played well against [Plattsburgh] the other day. You can't take any team lightly and you can't play down a level. You have to make sure you still play to your level."

The Hawks were in a similar scenario going into the final weekend of the regular season in 2017, eventually clinching a playoff spot on the final day.

"We experienced the same nerves at the end of last season," SUNY New Paltz head coach Samantha Miller said. "Six teams were tied and only five could make it to the tournament. All our returners got that experience of having their backs against the wall. At this point, we know the task at hand and we know the job we need to do."
The Hawks lost two one-run games in their last series against first-place SUNY Geneseo back on April 23. SUNY New Paltz senior pitcher Lauren Cappello didn't give up a run after the first inning in the first game, but the Knights won 2-1. Hawks sophomore pitcher Alyssa Pfitscher didn't allow a run until the 10^th inning in the second game, but the offense couldn't muster any runs as Geneseo took the second game 1-0.

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