[media-credit id=2199 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]It was a windy Wednesday in Hamden as the Quinnipiac softball team split a doubleheader with visiting College of the Holy Cross, winning the first game 9-1 in five innings and losing the second 11-8 in eight innings.

In the first game, senior pitcher Casey Herzog continued to play as the Bobcats’ (18-22) ace as she got the win, pitching a complete game and four strikeouts. The Crusaders’ (9-25) bats were silent against Herzog as they only registered six hits.

Senior first basement Keala Cordeiro was on fire in the first game going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored, making her responsible for almost half of the team’s runs. Senior infielder Miranda Magana finished with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored.

While the pitching was on point for the Bobcats in game one, game two proved to be a different story as sophomore starter Abbey Long was pulled in favor of junior pitcher Kendall Brundrett after just 1.1 innings of work, having given up five runs and hit three batters.

“I’m not going to guess,” Quinnipiac head coach Jill Karwoski said. “We’re going to sit down with her tomorrow and analyze it a little bit and talk to her about it. So I’m not too sure, but we’ll figure it out, we’ll move on from it.”

The bats came alive for the Crusaders once Brundrett came into the game. She finished the day having pitched the last 6.2 innings of the game and giving up 12 hits on four runs. Four Crusaders finished the day with multiple hits including three having three hit games. Two Crusaders ended with two RBIs as well.

Despite losing in extra innings, the Bobcats still had something to take away from the win, according to Karwoski.

“It’s what we were talking about because every non-conference game or every opportunity it’s going to lead to potential opportunity for the MAAC,” Karwoski said. “Being down by two runs in the seventh inning, (the Bobcats) came back and tied and we had the opportunity to win with two batters. So getting in that position in itself is a success and we just have to come down to execution.”

The Bobcats next travel to Siena on Saturday, April 21, for a doubleheader with the Saints. The experience from these non-conference games should help them come MAAC play.

“It’s all experience for the confidence,” Karwoski said. “I like the close game because if we find ourselves in that situation in the MAAC, they know they can do it, they know they have the fight, they know they can come back from the deficit. We’re just 60 feet away from a win, it’s a good feeling to be there. It’s a better feeling to get that hit.”