The Bobcats lost the first game, 5-4, and won the second, 8-2, against NEC-foe Monmouth. Angela Casella went 6-for-7 and scored three runs at the plate for Quinnipiac in the doubleheader. On the mound, Heather Schwartzburg pitched two complete games and struck out 16 batters.

Delong’s homer crushes ‘Cats

In the first game, the Hawks took an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run from Jessica Nicola. Schwartzburg responded, striking out the next three batters in the second inning.

In the fourth inning, the Bobcats rallied back with three runs. Kelly Wall hit a leadoff home run to center field. Two batters later, Katie Allendorfer hit a two-run shot of her own to put the Bobcats up 3-1.

The Bobcats scored their fourth run on a throwing error in the fifth. Then Monmouth started chipping away at the deficit with a run in the sixth, and then they put two runners on base in the seventh for their slugger Emily DeLong. On an 0-2 count with two outs, DeLong hit her league-leading 15th home run to bring the score to 5-4 where it would stay until the final out.

Schwartzburg wins No. 14

In game two, Monmouth scored a run in the first inning but Quinnipiac responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, and they never looked back.

Christine Bourdeau scored a fielder’s choice in the third to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead. In the fourth, Quinnipiac scored three runs thanks to back-to-back singles from Bourdeau and Casella to take a 6-2 lead.

The Bobcats pushed across another run in the fifth inning on a Heather Maffeo double to put the Bobcats up 6-2. Then in the sixth inning, Wall and Casella scored on a throwing error by the Monmouth shortstop on a routine ground ball to give the Bobcats an 8-2 lead, which they would hold onto to secure Schwartzburg’s 14th win of the season.

The Bobcats host Robert Morris in a doubleheader on Saturday. The Bobcats will need to sweep to reach the NEC playoffs.