After a 4-1 loss in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, the Bobcats looked to get on track in game two.
Sydney Horan started the game for Quinnipiac and, after giving up an infield single to leadoff hitter Gabriella Mazzotta, retired the next three batters. Ava Metzger got the start for Manhattan. Quinnipiac got a runner on first but ended the inning on a 4-6-3 double play.
The top of the second would go by without a hitch for the Bobcats. Karissa Spring would come in to replace Metzger on the mound for the Jaspers. Sydney Rosenkranz led off the bottom half with a single to the right-center field gap and would come around to score on a double by Julia Woeste that just got past the left fielder Lindsey Hoag.
A grounder to second baseman Bella Cahueque by Mary Fogg with two outs looked destined to get the Jaspers out of the inning, but an errant throw from Cahueque to first base allowed Woeste to score. Fogg was eventually caught stealing to end the inning with the Bobcats leading 2-0.
Manhattan loaded the bases off three hit-by-pitches and a wild pitch in the top of the third with one out. Horan got the next two batters to strike out and fly out to left to get out of the jam. Quinnipiac got a runner on in the bottom half but ended the inning on an unassisted double play by Cahueque.
In the top of the fourth Manhattan would get the tying runners on base with a single by Kaitlyn Flood and a walk by Cahueque. Megan Hedlund would line a double to center to bring those runners home, tying the game at two.
Spring would retire the Bobcats one-two-three in the top of the fifth. Lauren Rende led off the bottom half with a bloop fly that looked easy to catch but was lost in the sun by Brooke Hilliard in right field. This would come back to bite the Bobcats as Rende eventually made it to third and was driven in on a sac-fly to left field by Lindsey Hoag to give Manhattan the 3-2 lead.
Quinnipiac got two runners on base off back-to-back singles by Sofia Vega and Ella McGalliard. “I want my team to keep going and I want to go into this conference tournament,” Vega said after the game, “I’m just swinging up there and looking for my pitch.”
A single to left by Natalia Apatiga looked likely to tie the game for the Bobcats but a great throw by Rende at short to the plate and a crossbody tag by catcher Maddie Weir cut down Vega at the plate to keep the score 3-2 Jaspers.
In the top of the sixth, the Bobcat dugout became lively in support of Horan on the mound. Horan would strike out two batters with players screaming in support and get the last out on a force to second.
“Our dugout is always loud,” Ally Hochstadter said after the game. “That always keeps us in the game.”
Brooke Hilliard would lead off the bottom half with a double and advanced to third on a Hannah Davis groundout. She came into score on a Julia Woeste single to center to tie the game at three.
Horan would retire the Jaspers one-two-three in the top of the seventh to pick up her 13th complete game of the year.
“We always thank Syd so much for just holding us in every game,” Quinnipiac head coach Hillary Smith said of Horan after the game, “She knows that if she just keeps doing what she just keeps doing what she’s supposed to do, the teammates are going to have her back.”
Sofia Vega walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh and would advance to second on an Ella McGalliard groundout.
“That just speaks volumes about how mentally tough she is and how bad she wants it,” Smith said of Vega after the game. “She’s always in the office, she’s always watching film, she’s always trying to find ways to get better.”
Manhattan would put in Alexandra Hess to try and get the save. Ally Hochstadter stepped up as a pinch-hitter and she would deliver, lining a triple to right center field to pick up the crucial win for Quinnipiac.
“I just think about matchups,” Smith said of her decision to pinch-hit Hochsadter, “I knew that was a kid (Hess) that Ally would be successful on and sure enough she came in in a big moment and got a hit, but that’s just what Ally does.
“I just tried to stay calm, stay ready and hot in the dugout and when my name was called I was ready to help my team,” Hochstadter said of her approach.
Sunday’s series finale becomes crucial for the Bobcats hopes to clinch a birth in the MAAC Tournament.
“I don’t sugarcoat things. We know it’s a do-or-die situation and I mean we’re prepared for it. We’ve worked really, really hard for this, and we know how good we are,” Smith said. “The sky’s the limit.”
