The Quinnipiac Bobcats split their doubleheader with the Sacred Heart Pioneers Wednesday, starting with a 4-1 loss, followed up by a dominant 7-1 win.
The Pioneers, who are set to join the MAAC next season, held the Bobcats to just six hits in the first game before the Bobcats posted seven runs in the game-two win.
After game two, Quinnipiac head coach Hillary Smith spoke to the resilience of her players after losing the first game of the day.
“I’m just really proud of how the girls stepped up especially in game two answering back,” she said.
Sacred Heart was led in the first game by sophomore pitcher Sam Kowalski, who went all seven innings, striking out five batters and only allowing one earned run during that time. The Pioneers started things off with a three run first inning, a lead that the Bobcats couldn’t surmount.
The lone run for Quinnipiac came in the bottom of the fourth off of a sacrifice fly from graduate catcher Hannah Davis. Sacred Heart responded almost immediately with a homerun from junior infielder Carly Koltko in the top of the fifth inning. Kowalski closed out the final two innings to pick up the win for the Pioneers.
Game two was a much different story, as the Bobcats picked up an early lead in the bottom of the first. Freshman pitcher Genevieve Gleason hit three of the first four Quinnipiac batters to load the bases. Junior infielder Ella McGalliard hit a sacrifice fly to put the Bobcats up 1-0 early on, a lead they would hold onto for the rest of the evening.
After a strong start from junior pitcher Jaclyn Gonzalez, who went three and one third innings, junior pitcher Sydney Horan closed out the back half of the game allowing one run. Quinnipiac scored six more runs in the final three innings to take home the win in game two and to remain above the .500 mark on the season.
The Bobcats are looking to carry over this momentum into a crucial series against Niagara this weekend. The Bobcats currently sit sixth in the MAAC just one game behind the Purple Eagles. The series will start on Saturday in Hamden with a double header followed by a Sunday morning matinee game to close out the series.
“As long as we can keep our energy up and keep our bats alive and play the defense I know we can play, I think we’re gonna come out with two wins at least this weekend,” Smith said.
