After being swept in Friday’s doubleheader and being shutout in game one on Saturday, the Quinnipiac softball team defeated Mount St. Mary’s 5-0 to close out its weekend.

“They’re a great team,” Quinnipiac head coach Hillary Smith said about the Mount. “And I felt like we came out with a lot of energy in the first game and it just didn’t go our way… but I’m just super proud of them for making those adjustments.”

Sophomore pitcher Jaclyn Gonzalez got the start in the back half again this weekend, posting another complete game for her seventh of the year and her fourth shutout of the season.

“Me and Syd(ney Horan), we know we got this,” Gonzalez said on the mindset when her and fellow sophomore pitcher Sydney Horan are asked to pitch on consecutive days. “We know we have our team behind our backs… it’s just a contagious thing.”

Behind Gonzalez’s back, the Bobcats’ defense made some standout plays. Especially in the sixth inning that featured first-year infielder Sofia Vega showing quick reflexes at third base to snag a liner from junior Hannah Gartrell along with a running catch at the wall by first-year outfielder Mary Fogg.

“I keep saying it, I know they could do it,” Gonzalez said. “If we just keep playing it one game, one ball, one strike at a time, we can do it.”

Scoring started for the Bobcats in the bottom of the first inning when first-year shortstop Natalia Apatiga drove in Fogg on a single to center field.

In the bottom of the third inning, Quinnipiac added on two more runs after a safety squeeze by graduate catcher Hannah Davis and another single by Apatiga for her second hit and RBI of the afternoon.

“I definitely struggled in the first game,” Apatiga said, who went hitless in two at bats in the Bobcats’ 6-0 loss in game one. “I just knew I needed to make adjustments at the plate and be there for my team.”

The Bobcats tagged on their last two runs of the game in the fourth inning after a sacrifice fly by senior Lala Pascual and an RBI double from Davis.

Postgame, as Smith was sharing her thoughts on the game, she was met with various antics from her players as they stacked their visors on her head along with assistant coach Mandie Perez squatting a table in the background, as Smith talked about the culture of Quinnipiac softball.

“You could ask every single one of them in the locker room and I bet everybody would talk about being sisters,” Smith said. “That’s something we’ve always talked about but I don’t feel like we’ve really felt it until this year.”

The Bobcats return to action as they travel to take on Stony Brook University on Tuesday, April 11 at 2 p.m.