On a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Quinnipiac Softball Field, the scene felt bigger than the game itself.

It was alumni day in Hamden, and former Bobcats from as far back as the 1980s walked the grounds with their families, hugging current players near the dugout and soaking in a program they helped build. 

“I just know how prideful it is for them to come back and see what they helped create,” head coach Hillary Smith said. “We’re nothing without our alumni.”

On the field, the Bobcats came out swinging against Marist, after losing both of Friday’s games by one run each.

Senior outfielder Mary Fogg reached on a throwing error by freshman second baseman Livia Wilsie to lead off the first, and senior infielder Sofia Vega beat out an infield single that bounced off junior pitcher Anna Sidlowski’s glove. Junior designated-hitter Riley Potter worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

“I thought we came out really hot,” Smith said. “I was really proud of them.”

However, what followed was one of the strangest plays of the weekend. Senior catcher Kennedy DeMott lined a shot to third that caught two runners in rundowns on the same play, nearly turning into a triple play before the ball was dropped at second. 

But senior outfielder Ally Hochstadter responded and hit a triple over the head of freshman outfielder Annabelle Geiser that rolled to the warning track to score two runs. Senior shortstop Natalia Apatiga lined a single to center to score Hochstadter and push the lead to 3-1.

The cushion, however, did not last. After senior outfielder Peyton Pusey singled home pinch runner Marissa Scarano in the second to trim the deficit to 3-2. The Red Foxes took over in the third. 

Graduate infielder Haley Ahr jumped on a first-pitch fastball from sophomore right-hander Shannon Kendall and drove it over the left-field fence to tie the game. On the very next at-bat, sophomore infielder Sienna Hunze crushed a 2-1 offering that cleared the same left-field fence by a good 15 feet farther than Ahr’s, giving Marist a 4-3 lead it never gave back.

The back-to-back home runs ended Kendall’s afternoon after just 2.1 innings. Smith, who gave Kendall the start after she pitched in both games the day before, said she trusted her pitcher completely.

“I asked her if she wanted the ball today, and she wanted the ball,” Smith said. “She’s just getting better every outing. She was behind some great pitchers last year, so it was a lot of learning, but she’s done a great job stepping in for us in the circle and being a great leader.”

Freshman right-hander Jasmine Kline came in and kept the Bobcats within range, just like she did in game one the prior afternoon, working 4.2 frames with two strikeouts on 60 pitches. 

In the fifth, Apatiga delivered the defensive play of the game when she caught a line drive off the bat of senior catcher Isabella Manory and gloved the ball to third to double up Wiltsie, cutting short a Marist rally that had already pushed the score to 7-3.

Pusey started the rally with a leadoff triple to right-center, finishing the day 4-for-4. Sidlowski settled in after the shaky first inning and tossed a complete game with zero earned runs on nine and two strikeouts on just 86 pitches. 

“We kind of beat ourselves a lot of the time this weekend,” Smith said. “We just made some uncharacteristic mistakes. But we’ll be okay. “We’re gonna bounce back from it.”

Smith added that the team wrote a letter to Marist after the game, as they do after every series, thanking the Red Foxes for the lessons learned, whether good or bad.

“We believe in ourselves, and we want it really bad,” Smith said. “Our goal is just to make that tournament, and we’re confident that we could beat anybody once we get there.” 

Assistant coach Hannah Davis, a Quinnipiac alum who graduated two years ago and now coaches the senior class she once played alongside, said the energy she brings to the dugout is her way of giving back to the group she still considers family.

“As a coach, I just try to keep everybody high all the time, make sure positive vibes are all around,” Davis said. “Whether we win or lose, we’re always gonna have each other’s back. That’s just who we are.”

Quinnipiac will look to get back into the win column when they travel to Mount St. Mary’s for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 25. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Quinnipiac Softball Field, the scene felt bigger than the game itself.

It was alumni day in Hamden, and former Bobcats from as far back as the 1980s walked the grounds with their families, hugging current players near the dugout and soaking in a program they helped build. 

“I just know how prideful it is for them to come back and see what they helped create,” head coach Hillary Smith said. “We’re nothing without our alumni.”

On the field, the Bobcats came out swinging against Marist, after losing both of Friday’s games by one run each.

Senior outfielder Mary Fogg reached on a throwing error by freshman second baseman Livia Wilsie to lead off the first, and senior infielder Sofia Vega beat out an infield single that bounced off junior pitcher Anna Sidlowski’s glove. Junior designated-hitter Riley Potter worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

“I thought we came out really hot,” Smith said. “I was really proud of them.”

However, what followed was one of the strangest plays of the weekend. Senior catcher Kennedy DeMott lined a shot to third that caught two runners in rundowns on the same play, nearly turning into a triple play before the ball was dropped at second. 

But senior outfielder Ally Hochstadter responded and hit a triple over the head of freshman outfielder Annabelle Geiser that rolled to the warning track to score two runs. Senior shortstop Natalia Apatiga lined a single to center to score Hochstadter and push the lead to 3-1.

The cushion, however, did not last. After senior outfielder Peyton Pusey singled home pinch runner Marissa Scarano in the second to trim the deficit to 3-2. The Red Foxes took over in the third. 

Graduate infielder Haley Ahr jumped on a first-pitch fastball from sophomore right-hander Shannon Kendall and drove it over the left-field fence to tie the game. On the very next at-bat, sophomore infielder Sienna Hunze crushed a 2-1 offering that cleared the same left-field fence by a good 15 feet farther than Ahr’s, giving Marist a 4-3 lead it never gave back.

The back-to-back home runs ended Kendall’s afternoon after just 2.1 innings. Smith, who gave Kendall the start after she pitched in both games the day before, said she trusted her pitcher completely.

“I asked her if she wanted the ball today, and she wanted the ball,” Smith said. “She’s just getting better every outing. She was behind some great pitchers last year, so it was a lot of learning, but she’s done a great job stepping in for us in the circle and being a great leader.”

Freshman right-hander Jasmine Kline came in and kept the Bobcats within range, just like she did in game one the prior afternoon, working 4.2 frames with two strikeouts on 60 pitches. 

In the fifth, Apatiga delivered the defensive play of the game when she caught a line drive off the bat of senior catcher Isabella Manory and gloved the ball to third to double up Wiltsie, cutting short a Marist rally that had already pushed the score to 7-3.

Pusey started the rally with a leadoff triple to right-center, finishing the day 4-for-4. Sidlowski settled in after the shaky first inning and tossed a complete game with zero earned runs on nine and two strikeouts on just 86 pitches. 

“We kind of beat ourselves a lot of the time this weekend,” Smith said. “We just made some uncharacteristic mistakes. But we’ll be okay. “We’re gonna bounce back from it.”

Smith added that the team wrote a letter to Marist after the game, as they do after every series, thanking the Red Foxes for the lessons learned, whether good or bad.

“We believe in ourselves, and we want it really bad,” Smith said. “Our goal is just to make that tournament, and we’re confident that we could beat anybody once we get there.” 

Assistant coach Hannah Davis, a Quinnipiac alum who graduated two years ago and now coaches the senior class she once played alongside, said the energy she brings to the dugout is her way of giving back to the group she still considers family.

“As a coach, I just try to keep everybody high all the time, make sure positive vibes are all around,” Davis said. “Whether we win or lose, we’re always gonna have each other’s back. That’s just who we are.”

Quinnipiac will look to get back into the win column when they travel to Mount St. Mary’s for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 25. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.