The Quinnipiac softball team was picked No. 9 in this year’s MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, tied with Merrimack. Despite that Quinnipiac hasn’t had the best start to the season, currently sitting at 8-18 overall and getting swept by Iona to start conference play.
“We made the schedule before this season, in preseason before conference play, wanting to challenge ourselves,” head coach Hillary Smith said. “We played a lot of Power 5 schools and we competed against a bunch of them, one-run games, extra innings and we even came out on top. We felt like we were ready for this and I just don’t know what happened today.”
With the team’s difficult schedule, one of the it’s bright spots has been the pitching, especially the duo of senior pitchers, Sydney Horan and Jaclyn Gonzalez. They’ve kept the Bobcats in games and kept the opposing team off the board. Gonzalez has pitched 39 innings this year while striking out 18.
“I think Syd did great,” Smith said. “I think we’ve gotta do a better job to get those wins for her because there’s too many games where she’s falling just short. It’s in our control to be playing better behind her. I thought she did everything she needed to do to get us that win. We, as a team, just need to have her back better.”
In a game against the University of Pittsburgh on Feb. 22, both Gonzalez and Horan only allowed two hits, but Quinnipiac only scored one run, leaving eight runners on base and losing 2-1.
The good news is it’s a long season, and if these problems correct themselves, the Bobcats can make strides and possibly go on a run. Led by some successful hitters this season, particularly at the top of the lineup in junior outfielder Mary Fogg, junior infielder Sofia Vega and sophomore catcher Riley Potter, the production has been there.
“Mary, she’s an animal,” Smith said March 29. “Ever since she went 3-3 against Mizzou, I feel like she’s just been on fire, and she’s really our table setter. If Mary’s on (base), then we know that we’re probably going to win. It’s big having Sofia step up this year, and she’s just killing it. Potter has stepped up a lot this year. Those are two girls that didn’t really get as much playing time. It’s just awesome to see the three of them string it together.”
At times during the season, mental mistakes and errors have proven costly in big moments. In a loss to Iona on March 23, all runs came off Bobcat errant throws that led to steals or advancing runners.
“We just were a little out of character,” Smith said. “Usually, if there’s one thing we’re good at, we know it’s defense. We just didn’t show that this weekend, at all. We just gotta get back to the drawing board and we gotta have a short memory. It’s not how you start, and it’s not really about how you finish either. It’s how we react after this (loss). This is going to set the tone for us.”
A positive sign for Quinnipiac is it split a doubleheader against Siena, a team that is the reigning MAAC champion and was picked No. 2 in the preseason coaches poll.
The Bobcats secured their first conference victory on March 25 against Saints, with both Fogg and Vega combining for four of the team’s eight runs in the victory.
The game versus the Saints followed the trend of Horan pitching a gem, where she earned her fourth win of the year, striking out 11 — matching a career-high — and allowing just three earned runs.
Horan followed that up with another star-studded outing on the mound, something that seems like a trend for the Bobcats’ ace. She pitched all 14 innings of a doubleheader against Rider on March 29. The ace carried a no-hitter through six innings in game one until it was broken up by a base hit from sophomore infielder Kiersten Buchanan.
“I honestly didn’t even know until after the game,” Horan said. “That was pretty cool. I mean, I wish it was a no-hitter, but can’t always go that way. That game was really good for me. Game two was too, but I definitely did really well. I was happy with it.”
The Bobcats have been building up Horan to try to pitch both games of a doubleheader. As the ace of the team, she has a 2.67 ERA in MAAC play so far. She has toed the slab in six of the seven conference matchups.
“Definitely a little stressful,” Horan said. “You know, pitching two games is definitely a lot, and I’m glad I was able to do it. Taking a deep breath, and definitely trusting my defense is such a big help.”
They may not be winning as much as they’d like, but there have been steps in the right direction for this Bobcats team. They can right the ship and beat good teams in the conference. The team is making strides to be great, picking each other up when they’re down or missing on a tough play, but most importantly, keeping the energy high.
“It makes the game a lot more fun,” Fogg said. “We are all able to stay loose when we have fun, and it’s a sport we play because we love it. It’s supposed to be fun, so why not have fun? We try to hone in on that, and we play our best when we just have fun.”
