The Quinnipiac University softball team lost both ends of a double-header to defending NEC Champion Long Island University in the conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats were no match for the Blackbirds and were shut out in both games, losing 8-0 and 7-0.
“I knew it was going to be tough going into it because they are picked to win the conference and they always have a great team, but I still knew that we could’ve won,” sophomore Christine Bourdeau said.
The Bobcats had a tough time against the Blackbirds pitching all day. They only managed a pair of hits in game one and three more in game two.
In game one, Bordeau and senior Brianna Sloane each had base hits for the Bobcats.
In the second game the Blackbirds pitched another shutout as the Bobcat bats came up short again. Singles from senior Jill Viglione and sophomore Emily Bellush and a double by Bourdeau were the only offense for the Bobcats. Eight runners were left on base for the Bobcats in game two.
The Bobcats defense struggled in both games trying to hold back the Blackbirds offensive attack. Jaimie Iaquinto held the visitors at bay until the second inning in game one, when the Blackbird offense combined with a pair of errors by the Bobcats gave LIU a 3-0 lead.
Pitcher Kristin Sheriff started the second game and gave up four runs. She was replaced in the sixth by Emily Bellush, who gave up the remaining three.
“I feel that we just let them play their game and we never made an adjustment. We never made them work extra hard for the runs they got, it was almost as if we gave them to them, “said Bourdeau. “We basically let them get away with too many basic plays that could’ve been made.”
The Bobcats came out on Sunday and split their double header against Wagner. They lost the first game 10-3 and won the second 5-2.
Belush, Viglione and Angela Casella each had a pair of hits in the Bobcats game two victory. Iaquinto went the distance to earn the win, allowing two runs on four hits and registering 10 strikeouts.
Quinnipiac ran their season record to 11-12 after Sunday and 1-3 in the Northeastern Conference.
The Bobcats travel to Rhode Island today before hosting a pair of double headers against division foes Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson this weekend. Saturday’s double header starts at 1 p.m. and Sunday’s begins at noon.
